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It’s time to update the way we think—and talk—about immigrant students.

Kids disappear from schools and communities every day. This teacher does all she can to keep them where she can see them.

Making the conference experience more supportive to families ultimately benefits students.

Every student teaches you something, and this educator will never forget the powerful lesson one student taught him about the diverse ways students can show their learning.

Jeffrey Farley prizes students who might slip through the system otherwise.

Minnesota youth and elders turn life histories into song.

“Will we be learning history from a biblical or counter-biblical perspective?” James asked. I could see an intense honesty in his eyes, one that I’m pretty sure only teachers know. It was another one of those moments

Whenever I see a movie about teachers, I get a little nervous. I wonder how my profession will be represented. I’m always curious, but usually disappointed. I have found that on-screen teachers tend to perpetuate two frustrating stereotypes about the profession. The first is that anyone can teach—or worse—“those who can’t, teach.” There’s a misconception that teaching requires no special skills or talents beyond a basic knowledge of the content area. The other stereotype is teacher as martyr-saint. This portrayal assumes that the one qualification for being a good teacher is a heart of gold, a willingness to sacrifice everything out of love for children. Most films ignore the complexity of the craft of teaching. This makes me cringe.

Through Big Brothers, Big Sisters, I’ve been working with a little girl from the neighborhood where I used to teach. I think very highly of this group and have only had good experiences with them. However, at a recent area-wide picnic, I noticed something disturbing. Most (not all, but the vast majority) of the children being mentored were African American or Latino. Most of the adult mentors were white or Asian. Again, this was not without exception, but was apparent.

This toolkit outlines an activity that uses personal reflection, writing and class discussion to address cyberbullying.