Search

The editor of Teaching Tolerance reflects on a peace project that is beating the odds.

In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, many people—educators chief among them—joined activist Facebook groups. Researchers at the University of Florida studied how these groups influenced educators’ civic engagement. Here’s what they learned.

Three weeks ago at lunch, the tenth-grade teachers met with the class "repeaters,” students who have repeated either their freshman or sophomore year. These students make us want to pull our hair out because of the many small (and not so small) ways they choose to self-destruct. One has completed two years of school and has a total of three credits. As a straight- A nerd during my own high school career, I don't fully understand how this could have happened in the first place. Regardless, the teachers called the meeting, ordered pizza, explained the purpose and discussed credits with the students in small groups. We were honest and open, explaining what their next steps are, how they can get it together and how to sign up for credit recovery.

Teaching is a tough profession. We know it. It comes with a lot of responsibilities and challenges. Nevertheless, teaching is a very rewarding life path. Perhaps equally as tough is teaching teachers to be culturally competent. For the last six months, I’ve led a book study at my school on Gary Howard’s We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know, which looks at cultural competency programs.

When JT Eberhard of the Secular Student Alliance (SSA), an organization providing support to nontheistic students, received a letter from a teacher bragging about blocking formation of an atheist club, the lack of a return address didn’t slow him down. He used the email address provided by the sender to locate the teacher and alert administrators.

Educators at this school find that their book club helps build the teacher community and provides a vehicle for support when needed.

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

This teacher offers suggestions for how to better support our colleagues and create a more just and welcoming environment across the entire school.