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Michael needed help. He was in the dress-up center trying, with little luck, to shimmy a shiny turquoise mermaid dress over his head. Clearly he had no clue what he was doing. But the look on his face told me he really wanted to wear the frock. I walked over and helped.

I literally don’t know how I would handle the 2016 election if I were teaching today.

A weekly sampling of articles, blogs and reports relevant to TT educators.

The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq marked my first year of teaching. When one of my students referred to Iraqis as “towel heads,” I told him he had to do extra homework researching turbans and present a report to me the next day. It took him a week to complete the assignment, and instead of gaining insight and compassion for a different group of people, he probably just became more resentful. I now see this as a lost opportunity. As a precursor to our social studies unit on conflict in the Middle East, I taught a unit this year on world religions. We started off studying seven of the world’s major faiths and then narrowed it down to the three Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

One of the simplest ways to foster compassion and understanding in our classrooms is to give students opportunities to share stories about their lives. By communicating and listening, students can break down stereotypes and see each other as real people. This can be done through curriculum-related projects such as personal narrative and poetry or as part of a daily class meeting.

Implement a successful home-visit program! Our experts tell you how.

Unfortunately, encounters like the one in this issue’s “Story Corner” happen often; in a split second, we must decide whether to confront a hateful or biased statement and what to say. Below is a list of authentic

Creating schools that are safe and empowering requires the involvement of every stakeholder.

Writing poems can help students address difficult issues and become agents for social change.

A study of the Armenian Genocide raises troubling questions of remembrance and responsibility.