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Every week I write a quotation on the board and ask my students to write responses to it in their journals. One of our favorite quotes is by William Butler Yeats: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." This quote aptly captures the reason why I teach. A group of minds in a room–thinking through problems together–can generate amazing heat and ignite a fire.

Class discussions about To Kill a Mockingbird typically focus on the book’s white protagonists. This brand-new TT lesson turns the lens by focusing on the perspective of one of the book’s African American characters.

A TT awardee discusses how Talking Circles empower her middle school students.

Our students cannot afford to have their caretakers and teachers on opposite sides.

The confluence of President Obama’s second inauguration and MLK Day is a fitting legacy and inspiration to continue making changes.

It was a whirlwind day, and yet it was entirely typical of what happens at our high school—in most high schools, probably. I just thought it was worthwhile to put this day down as an official mark that this is what regularly happens. First thing in the morning my secretary called me on the radio to tell me that I had a visitor. This could be anybody: former students, current students, teachers in other buildings who are visiting and wanted to drop by to say hello. It was Janelle. Janelle graduated early this year, so I never get to see her much anymore. She brought her month-old daughter and wanted to show me that she had all ten fingers and all ten toes. Of course, I said, “You know I’m going to hold her, right? And smell her? And kiss her? And then I’ll steal her.” She laughed and looked at me sideways because I’m always joking with her. If I keep it light enough, I sometimes think I can force her to stay in school.

Schools in Maryland and Connecticut are rethinking suspension policies and practices.

When this teacher asked newly-minted sixth-graders how they want to treat themselves, others and their communities during middle school, paper airplanes made for a creative way for these students to offer answers.

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Dean Hamer shares how his documentary A Place in the Middle, co-directed with Joe Wilson, can help students see the value of inclusion, the power of cultural heritage and their ability to create a more positive school climate.

To close an English unit on social activism, this teacher had her students reflect by recognizing and writing about the activist potential in their classmates.