Five-year-old Ellie started off the year on good footing. She not only joined her classmates in play but was able to negotiate with friends when conflicts arose. When she was at an activity in the classroom, whether at an art activity or in the block corner, she would almost get lost in her own motivation and passion. Each day, her rapport with her peers and teachers increased. Then things began to change.
Lydia Wright is a law fellow in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Mississippi office. Before joining the SPLC, Lydia graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and clerked for a federal judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana. She also taught sixth-grade language arts in rural New Mexico and worked with refugee children as a Fulbright fellow in Jordan. Lydia is passionate about educational equity and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.
Ann Lindsey is a curriculum integrator for Jackson Middle School, a science and math specialty school in the Anoka Hennepin district in Minnesota. She is currently on sabbatical, living in Kolkata, West Bengal, India focusing on international collaboration and inquiry-based learning with secondary students in several countries. She represents the Urban Sites Project as a teaching consultant with the Minnesota Writing Project and finds every way possible to travel whenever she can.
Breeanna is a Massachusetts history teacher who currently works as the outreach specialist at Boston University’s African Studies Center. She is an educator with a global focus whose work meets at the crossroads of equity in educational opportunities and African studies. Elliott has taught internationally and domestically, and she advocates for rigorous, interdisciplinary education approaches as a means to encourage intercommunal understanding, empathy and global citizenship. She has spent much of her adult life traveling in East Africa and working in African studies.
Dr. Ruth A. Wilson works as an educational consultant and curriculum writer. She has a doctorate in early childhood and elementary education and a master’s degree in special education. Dr. Wilson taught at the university level for over 14 years, including ten years at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Professionally, her primary areas of interest are early childhood environmental education and peace education. Much of her work focuses on the holistic development of children, with an emphasis on connections between body, mind, and spirit.
Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a critical piece of that legally protected citizens from discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender or religion. The following is one title, or part, of the law.
When dealing with a student whose behavior is a challenge, first ask yourself if you have a relationship with the student. When you build a relationship, you’ll notice a huge difference in behavior.