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
Remembering the “Lost Cause”
Recently my family stopped at the Civil War battlefield at Vicksburg, Miss., to take a walk and soak in some history. Near the monument to Louisiana’s troops stood a young boy, about 8 or 9, with his mom and dad. The boy was dressed up as a gray-clad Confederate soldier. The combination of the outfit and the Confederate flag sticker on his family’s car told me something important about this boy.
It told me that he was a lot like me at that age.
Boosting Empathy with Five Simple Words
Ricky was a big ball of anger. In all fairness, he had plenty to be angry about. The first years of his life were pretty rough. Now, at age 7, home life was starting to normalize. But sometimes just getting through the day without throwing a chair was enough for him to handle, let alone any sort of academic rigor. He had a hard time seeing others’ points of view. He was definitely my most challenging student and constantly in need of my attention.
‘Not One Step Back’ in Wake County
Last Saturday, on one of North Carolina’s sunniest, warmest days this winter, thousands of people gathered in front of Shaw University in Raleigh to participate in the NAACP’s annual march for justice, workers’ rights and educational equality. The march has been dubbed the “HK on J,” or “historic thousands on Jones Street.” By mid-day, that’s exactly what it was: Too many people to count snaking through downtown Raleigh toward the state legislative building.
Taking History Out of Context
There are three questions students of history should always ask:
- What’s the context?
- What’s the context?
- What’s the context?
Yes, I know, it’s a play on the old real estate joke (location, location, location), but the importance of understanding how a quote or an event sits in terms of what’s happening around it cannot be overstated.
The Height of Unintended Bias
The Southern Poverty Law Center held a Health Fair yesterday at which employees could get their blood pressure checked, visit with fitness experts and determine their fat-to-muscle ratio.
Our screening began with a familiar ritual of childhood physicals: We each stepped onto a platform, stood much straighter than usual and had our height measured. And then something very interesting happened. Each and every person, upon hearing the result, insisted they were taller, questioned the accuracy of the device (a steel measure) and reacted as if they’d been denied a birthright.
Why I Teach: Courting the Spark
The fall semester begins. There are 17 undergraduate college students sitting in front of me in a room designed for about twice that many. Some students have the courage to sit a foot or two from the front table and computer podium where I face them. Others (those a colleague calls “the back row boys,” no matter the gender) choose the seats furthest away. Many sit near one or more of their friends and chat with each other before and after class.
Helping Immigrant Children Build a Better Life
I love to receive letters. When I was a little boy, I lived on a straight street where I could see the mail truck coming from a long way off. After the mailman stopped in front of our house, I ran with hope in my heart down our front walkway, between our two giant maple trees and across the street to our mailbox. Would there be a letter for me? Was someone in the world thinking of me?
Earning the Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest honor that the U.S. government awards to civilians. Presidents select a handful of people each year who have made significant contributions in national security, world peace, promoting culture or “other significant public or private endeavors.”
This year’s medals will be presented to 15 distinguished people on Tuesday, Feb. 15. Among the list of honorees are some names that are familiar here at Teaching Tolerance.
Our new guide, 
