Search

Jackie Brown prided herself on teaching her students about disabilities. But could she confront her own feelings about her mother and polio?

I really should be practicing Aura Lee right now—or Merrily We Roll Along.I will soon be marching on stage, balancing my sheet music on the stand, wetting my reed, and playing the clarinet in front of parents, school board members, students, even the superintendent.How exactly did I get myself into this mess?It all started with a simple email.Pull out your instruments, Teachers, and join our Beginning Band students in their October concert….

The Southern Poverty Law Center held a Health Fair yesterday at which employees could get their blood pressure checked, visit with fitness experts and determine their fat-to-muscle ratio. Our screening began with a familiar ritual of childhood physicals: We each stepped onto a platform, stood much straighter than usual and had our height measured. And then something very interesting happened. Each and every person, upon hearing the result, insisted they were taller, questioned the accuracy of the device (a steel measure) and reacted as if they’d been denied a birthright.

I am intellectually aware of Paola’s poverty. Nine out of 10 students at our school come from families whose income level meets the federal poverty guidelines. Paola, an immigrant from El Salvador, is one of them. The first-grader lives in a small apartment with her grandma, mom, sister and uncle. Combined, the adults earn less than $26,170 a year.

It’s time for us and our students to talk about the word lame.

What keeps Michelle Spathelf in the classroom? Giving truant teenagers—and their families—hope.

This blogger wants the media to know that their words and editorial choices matter because young people all over the country—and the world—are watching.

Each year, as the anniversary of 9/11 approaches, I feel a twinge of trepidation. My students don’t remember that horrible day. It’s not on their radar. I struggle with balancing wanting to honor those who lost their lives and the heroes of that day with the need to respect the innocence and hope of my students. Reconciling these conflicting emotions is always tricky.