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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.

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

For two years I taught preschool to a diverse group of energetic children. Every morning one boy would enter the classroom, throw down his stuff, run over to the dress-up corner and slip into a shimmery polyester wedding gown.

Despite efforts of college and university admissions people, high-achieving students from small towns and rural areas are being left out of the matriculation process because of poverty.

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

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