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Social Justice Domain
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2,007 Results

article

Twenty States Still Use the Paddle

In 1964, my third-grade teacher relied mainly on an air of motherly authority to maintain control over her classroom of more than 50 8-year-olds. But when pushed, she warned darkly of deploying her spanking machine.
article

Finding Character in 'Lord of the Flies'

My colleagues thought my teaching Lord of the Flies was “perfect.” My seventh-grade class is two-thirds male. The group contains several strong personalities and many “followers,” who often mimic bad behavior. Last year, teachers struggled with this group, several instances of bullying, and a developing culture of negativity. I saw the power struggles on the first day of school and knew I had to address them early.
Topic
Bullying & Bias
article

Problem-Solving as a Class Earns Merit

Last year, our staff adopted the positive discipline approach to replace ineffective no-tolerance policies. Positive discipline is based on the practice of problem-solving instead of punishment. At its core are weekly class meetings, where students work through problems together. At the beginning of the year, teachers “train” students to present problems and offer solutions. Within this process, both teachers and students explore topics such as mutual respect, encouragement and recognizing mistaken goals. One of the biggest challenges is to shift our focus from punishment to solutions.
Topic
Bullying & Bias
author

Kelly Griffith

Kelly Griffith is a middle school social studies teacher in Brownsville, Texas—a city on the U.S.–Mexico border. She graduated with a B.A. in Political Science and Education and a Master's in Education from the University of Notre Dame. She is a recent graduate of the Alliance for Catholic Education program at the University of Notre Dame. She teaches history through a lens of literacy and is particularly passionate about the education of English language learners. Griffith is the recipient of the Charles Redd Center Teaching Western History Award and the Brownsville Rotary Endowment for