Search

It happens in every class. We’re discussing a text, a publication, a current event, a poem. The content doesn’t matter. It’s the phrase that counts. A student comments and uses the phrase “African American” or even “black people.” The student is white. The reaction of the class – almost all white – is swift. As if choreographed, all eyes turn to the one student of color. The spotlight of eyes shines down and he or she blinks back as if staring into the sun. The teacher should use this moment to open a discussion.

After a candid classroom discussion, this high school teacher marvels at the questions and concerns that educators like herself must confront at school.

Facilities and resources matter. How can educators bridge divides amongst schools?

Every morning, Leo's smile brightens the cafeteria at my elementary school. He hobbles in, holding his teacher's hand. His eyes squint at the bright lights. He squirms at loud noises. And always, he smiles.

Spanish teacher Tricia Kelly reflects on one of her favorite teaching days.

"She's just trying to act white." I remember those piercing but confusing words cutting me like a knife. I clinched my Super Reader certificate. My puzzled expression was taken as bravado by the African-American girls, who responded with a threatening question, "Do you want us to fix your face?"

This writer had a light-bulb moment about his student's family—and about himself.

This toolkit for “Anatomy of an Ally” addresses the complex and challenging work of being an ally and presents a framework for helping social justice educators think about their own ally identity development.

A Mix Model School coordinator explains why her school participates in Mix It Up at Lunch Day and how she extended it beyond one day with an in-depth social experiment.

The month of Ramadan comes upon my classroom slowly. The non-Muslim students don’t notice the changes at first, but soon the little things start creeping in. They see that the classes are smaller, because more students are staying home. Or they might notice that the Muslim students are a little more tired than usual, or that when offered food, they politely put up their hand and say, “No food for me, I am fasting.” This is when the questions start.