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Challenging regional bias in the classroom is important.

Manuel J. Fernandez makes cultural responsiveness a "principal" priority.

A community gets to know its own stories—past and present—through the study of slave deeds.

As a child I knew my grandfather was different. Grandpapa had been a sharecropper in southern Indiana. He had worked most of his adult life raising corn and pigs. His hands were big and callused. He stooped when he walked and the skin on his neck and face was scarred. His earlobes were long, stretched and fused down low at the back of his jawbone. His eyes seemed to be a bit elongated in their sockets. He was different because he looked different. You see, when he was a young child he had played with matches and caught his clothes on fire. His facial disfigurement was the price he paid for the bad judgment of a toddler.

Tracking and ability grouping remain common practices in schools across the country despite research showing these practices contribute to segregated classes and opportunity gaps. In Walla Walla, Washington, a group of educators decided to try something different.

I’m a Teaching Tolerance Fellow, and I’m working to develop classroom resources that balance the requirements of the Common Core State Standards with culturally responsive instruction. I’m hoping to draw upon our readers’ expertise to meet this challenge. What readings or texts do you recommend that answer the call of the Common Core and culturally responsive pedagogy?

Experience the benefits of play with these five activities.