A place for educators to find thought-provoking news, conversation and support for those who care about diversity, equal opportunity and respect for differences in schools
Cesar Chavez Monument Means More for Students
As a child I asked my father whether there was someone like Martin Luther King Jr. who had fought for Latino rights. “Yes,” he said, and told me that his name was César Chávez. My father, a former farmworker who had toiled in the agricultural fields from childhood until adulthood, taught me about César Chávez, Dolores Huerta and the farmworker struggle.
Students Organize a Peace Rally, Get Inspired
Every autumn, on an evening around dusk, a luminary-lit path appears on campus. Dozens of students gather for inspiration in their social justice work. They celebrate peace. Planned and executed by the students, this Peace Vigil includes readings, performances, art installations and demonstrations.
Coming Out as a Safe Zone for LGBT Students?
In an ideal world, our students would be safe to openly be who they are at all times. Since the world we live in is far from ideal, we must support our students’ rights to privacy and trust them to make the decision to reveal their sexuality when they feel the time is right.
Don’t Let Malala Yousafzai’s Voice Be Silenced
Few of us really ever have to answer the question, “What am I willing to risk my life for.”
Malala Yousafzai, 11, did answer.
Collaboration in the Coatroom
It’s hard to think of coat hooks as being instructional tools. Last year, however, my students and I learned some important lessons about the benefits of diversity and including many voices in the decision-making process when we restructured our closets.
The Southern Poverty Law Center – Teaching Tolerance
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry. Founded in 1971, SPLC is known for investigating and exposing hate group activities throughout the world. They focus on widespread issues of social injustice including children at risk, hate and extremism, immigrant justice, and LGBT rights. But they go a step beyond fighting hate and seeking justice for the vulnerable. The SPLC conducts one of the nation’s leading programs for teaching tolerance.
More Mix It Up Days Ahead
By now, you’re well under way to having a great Mix It Up at Lunch Day. It’s a good time to starting thinking about what happens beyond the Oct. 30.
Celebrate Reading Freedom with a Banned Book
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is my favorite book to teach. It’s the reason I became a high school English teacher. Years ago when my teacher handed me that book, I was both engrossed and frightened to learn of a dystopian world in which books were not only illegal, they were burned.
Our new guide, 
