Search

A school district in the midwestern town of Erie, Ill. found Todd Parr’s award-winning children’s book objectionable because it included references to gay and lesbian families. The school board gave in to pressure from a small group of outspoken parents and decided to remove The Family Book, written and illustrated by Parr, from their elementary school’s social and emotional development curriculum. According to school district Superintendent Brad Cox, the concerned parents took issue with the fact that "the book references families with two mommies or two daddies."

I was excited by my lesson plan about the presidential elections. I planned to help students research issues and form opinions by guiding them through a variety of perspectives. Then my student teacher asked a question that surprised me. “Do you ever have parents complain about elections being discussed in school?” he wanted to know. “Why would they?” I asked.

A family of four came to speak to my high school juniors and seniors. Two dads and their 16-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son talked about their family, the adoption process and their experiences with discrimination and prejudice.

Incorporate the ABF into your community and classroom with these activities.

A ZIP code shouldn’t determine the quality of a student’s education.

Stories from the past, like those of Freedom Summer, serve to remind us that change happens when everyday people create it.

Help kids navigate our sometimes-violent world.

When LGBT teachers have to live in fear of being outed, their capacity to service students in an authentic way is diminished.

Introverts are often pushed to be talkative and outgoing. Doing so devalues their identities.

In the final installment of the three-part blog series, this Mix It Up coordinator shares how her school plans for the big event