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National Teacher of the Year Betsy Rogers talks teaching, segregation and poverty.

"The Trouble with Tuck by Theodore Taylor,” I began to tell my class, “is an important book to me because it was one of the first that I read again and again.” I held up the 100-page paperback book for my students to see. A couple looked as if they might laugh at me, showing off a kid’s book. But I continued to tell them how the main character, Helen, trained a guide dog to lead her first dog, Tuck, when he went blind. Despite my fear that talking about books would create opportunities for put downs, I soon heard rumblings through the classroom as students dropped names of their favorite books.

Bilingual books are great tools for teaching languages and changing attitudes about other cultures, but finding quality books can be challenging. Here’s what to look for.

Many kids listen to music as often as they possibly can. Educators can tap into students’ interests in music by teaching them to critically read the lyrics they are listening to—and promote social justice through that examination.

The greatest achievement for this Teacher of the Year is the daily practice of empathy.

This high school language arts teacher marvels at how his students were engaged in controversial and difficult topics.