A place to find thought-provoking news, conversation and support for those who care about diversity, equal opportunity and respect for differences in schools
Making Black History Month Memorable
We asked our 25 Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board members asking what advice they would offer to fellow educators about Black History Month. Each of these experienced educators offers a wealth of expertise, especially when it comes to bringing multicultural topics into the classroom.
When Boys Love Barbie
For two years I taught preschool to a diverse group of energetic children. Every morning one boy would enter the classroom, throw down his stuff, run over to the dress-up corner and slip into a shimmery polyester wedding gown.
When Kids Laugh at Hobos, Teach Compassion
"When you went downtown, did you see a hobo?" The tone was mocking with a giggle at the end.
I cringed. Turning around, I saw one of my students: a young girl with freckles and a polka dot bow in her hair. She was a student who always had a smile to share, was the first to offer an extra pencil if anyone lacked and was always willing to help others. The callousness of her remark was out of character. I wondered if she was repeating something that someone else had said. Perhaps she just thought hobo was a funny word.
Bias Makes LGBT Equality Tough to Teach
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.
Struggle Continues for Marriage Equality
In 1967 the Supreme
Court ruling on Loving v. Virginia went
a long way toward making marriage a right that more Americans could exercise.
In Loving, the court decided that
laws prohibiting African Americans and white Americans from marrying violated
the Constitution. The Loving ruling
said, among other things, “Marriage is one of the ‘basic civil rights of man,’ fundamental
to our very existence and survival.”
