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"Teachers can implement [these] specific methods and strategies which will communicate to Indian students an attitude of understanding and caring while demanding high performance."

A few years ago, First Lady Michelle Obama was criticized for revealing some not-so-flattering details about her husband, Barack: He snores. His morning breath is “stinky.” He never picks up his dirty socks. To those who said this was too much information about the president of the United States, Mrs. Obama had an answer. “Barack is very much human,” she told Glamour magazine, “so let’s not deify him.” Putting somebody on a pedestal, she said, is only preparation for knocking him from it.

Every marking period I contact the parents of my most remarkable students to tell them how great their kids are. I do this for a few reasons. Too often, my attention is consumed with kids who need refocusing, redirecting and all the other IEP-mandated practices teachers do anyway. But mostly I contact the remarkable students because I’ve noticed that the kids who do good work often go unacknowledged.

Planning for Black History Month can be authentic without falling into the pitfalls of the “heroes and holidays.” Look for ways to involve the entire school community and teach about the history and experiences of African Americans across the curriculum and throughout the year.

The theme of Women’s History Month 2013 is “Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.” Make March a jumping-off point for a year-long effort to invite female students into the world of STEM.

When it comes to the damage inflicted by racist mascots and sports posturing, apologies are not enough.

Do a critical reading of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This teacher dreads reducing her students to a few words on a progress report. So what would she rather tell them instead?