Does Thurgood Marshall Deserve a Place in History?
How about Cesar Chavez? In Texas, the State Board of Education has been mulling those very questions. Two members of a Board-appointed advisory panel suggested removing both Chavez and Marshall from the fifth-grade social studies curriculum, arguing that they don’t stand quite as tall in the American story as, say, Ben Franklin.
Banned Books Week
Many years ago when I was teaching in Cairo, Egypt, the school director approached me about how he heard my students were reading three novels, not just one as was required by the curriculum, in the course of a semester. Instead of being encouraged and supported, I was asked to limit the reading to only one novel. I thanked the director for keeping me informed, but politely let him know that I would continue to support reading in my classes, that I would not limit how many books the students wanted to read. I continued to include three novels.
Gender in the Fast Lane
“Is that for a boy or a girl?”
This is the question posed to thousands of parents and guardians as they sweep through drive-throughs each day, seeking some quick eats for their children.
The Fourteenth Amendment and Latinos in the U.S.
The history of any of us is the history of all of us. As Hispanic Heritage Month begins, we’re pleased to offer a standards-based lesson plan on Hernandez v. Texas, the court case that defined Latinos as “a class apart” and set the stage for the Latino Civil Rights Movement.
Americans Are Poorer, Census Bureau Says
The Census Bureau has put out its annual report on personal income. It’s probably no surprise that we’re poorer, on average, than we were a year ago. Turns out we’re also making less than we were a decade ago. One out of five children live in poverty.
