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
CIVILITY n. practice essential for democracy (obsolete)
Last weekend was a busy time for less-than-tolerant people in Washington, D.C.
All Dressed Up – No Place to Go?
By now, most people have heard about Constance McMillen. Last week, her school in Fulton, Miss., cancelled its prom because Constance wanted to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo. The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up Constance’s cause. So have a bunch of celebrities. Today, for instance, Constance will tell her story on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
‘What Will You Do After Graduation?’
This time of year, high school seniors around the country answer that question on a daily basis. Most can offer a ready—and truthful—answer. They’re heading off to college, joining the military, starting out in a trade.
Policing Our Schools
Last month, 12-year-old Alexa Gonzalez used an erasable marker to scribble on her desk. “I love my friends Abby and Faith,” she wrote, along with, “Lex was here. 2/1/10,” punctuated with a happy face. But neither her Spanish teacher nor the principal at Alexa’s Queens, New York, middle school were amused. They called school security—New York City police officers—who arrested and handcuffed Alexa, and walked her across the street to their precinct, according to the New York Daily News.
Remember the (all-white) Alamo!
The Texas State Board of Education approved standards for U.S. history and other social studies courses Friday. That is national news because of Texas’ huge role in shaping textbooks across the country. Given that conservative Christians dominate the board, the result was predictable.
The Mississippi Misstep
A school district in northern Mississippi has cancelled its high school prom rather than let a lesbian student wearing a tuxedo attend with her girlfriend.
Texas Takes Another Crack at Textbooks
The Texas State Board of Education has made nationwide headlines in recent weeks by rewriting the curriculum standards for its k-12 textbooks. Texas is the 500-pound gorilla in textbook publishing. It has the second-largest textbook market after California and a highly centralized way of buying the books. Long story short, Texas often creates the template for others states’ textbooks.
When Schools Dump Diversity
Teaching Tolerance has reported many times and in many ways that the United States is plunging headlong toward racial and cultural re-segregation. That process took an enormous leap in the wrong direction last week when the Wake County school board in North Carolina voted to dismantle its policy of diversifying the schools.
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