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Twenty-eight teachers in my master’s level class silently moved en masse to the right side of the room to signify that they would teach the civil rights movement to their elementary students. In fact, most considered it negligent to ignore this historic movement that brought about the end of segregation in our country.

My first year of teaching in middle school was an onslaught of reading quizzes, vocabulary lists, lunch duty, reading skills and faculty meetings. It didn’t really leave a great deal of time for reflection other than the simple thought that I wasn’t quite living up to my ideal of changing the world through teaching.

When teaching his seventh-graders about the Syrian refugee crisis, this teacher decided to step back and let his students immerse themselves in the topic.

Last spring, a fifth-grade girl approached me in the lunchroom with a question. Asalah is a Muslim student from Yemen. Our connection had started right there in the school cafeteria two years ago. I was passing out trays and sporks when the third-grade version of Asalah approached me with a question about whether or not the “ham” sandwich was really pork. I told her no, that it was turkey, and shared with her that my religion, Judaism, has dietary laws as well and that I don’t eat pork either. We’ve been pals ever since.

Find suggestions for how to avoid external disruptions of school meetings.

Too often, lesson plans surrounding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy fail to move beyond “I Have a Dream.” These classroom suggestions acknowledge the depth and complexity of the movement he helped to lead.

Today, the North Carolina legislature debates what’s being called a repeal of the controversial “bathroom bill.” But is it really a repeal? Explore this question with your students.

Teaching kindness is a staple of elementary practice, but that isn’t the same as teaching justice.