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In Support of All Body Types |
Ronjanae broke down recently. She said she felt
like “the only overweight child at this school.”
This is not true, but it is understandable that she... |
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Simple Mix Idea Brings Fun, Laughter to Lunch |
At
first the idea sounded too simple to be anything worthwhile. Have students sit
with someone new at lunch? How much effect could that really have?... |
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Excited to Mix It Up in New Orleans |
More than half the students in my
middle school receive special education services or some extra help for
academics or behavior. We polled our... |
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Identifying Ways to Let Your Students Shine |
What would it look like if schools
offered every child daily opportunities to do something in which they excel?
What if, instead of just celebrating... |
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When Language Intersects with Race and Culture |
The
room was quiet.
In our
staff development session, we had just watched a short video about the
best way to instruct our students in speaking... |
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A Caution About Labels |
At my school, we often call a student’s
misbehavior a “poor choice.” A staff member suggested that the phrase
unintentionally promotes a bias against... |
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Student Expulsion is a Last Resort |
Ms. Simmons had two first-grade boys by
the arms.
“Fighting in the bathroom,” she said. “Send
them home.”
It’s the second week of day camp... |
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Cleaning the Middle School Mess with Teamwork |
In New Orleans it’s called “mess.”
That cancerous, manipulative drama that teenage girls get wrapped up in every
year. We dealt with our share of it... |
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Keep Trying Even When the Student is Prickly |
Rodrigue
drove me nuts. He stood too close and talked too much. If his hand was raised
and I didn’t call on him, his face would contort and he would... |
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Sharing Overcomes Stigma of Asperger’s |
Sarah had a strange way about her. She
would focus so completely on whatever she was reading that she seemed oblivious
to the world around her.... |
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A Tale of Two Students |
During spring
break, I was reminded of what a huge impact a small decision can make.
I caught
up on information about two former students: Richard... |
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Seeing the Pain Beneath the Challenge |
Carlisha certainly
has her share of challenges. I work with her both in small groups and
one-on-one. Sometimes she falls asleep, which she attributes... |
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Students Must not be Treated as Criminals |
I don’t remember exactly what
instigated it, but something had made Cashanda mad. She positioned herself—and her
desk—right smack in front of the... |
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For the Love of Our Hair |
My day
begins supervising fourth-grade recess. It’s a nice way to ease into being in
the school building, where I often cringe at how we insist that... |
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Death Comes Early, Often to the Poor |
A plea from students. Editor’s Note:
This month, Teaching Tolerance launched a new series of lessons called Issues of Poverty. This week’s featured... |
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The Courage to Speak Up |
I didn’t say a word.
I never saw myself as a person to let a
homophobic comment slide. Even from another adult. Even from someone with more
power... |
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Defining the Line Between Fun and Bias |
Man, am I
just a total killjoy?
I
struggled today with a decision whether or not to dress up for Spirit Week.
Monday was Crazy Sock Day; Tuesday,... |
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Students Need Skills to Say No to Fist Fights |
We must
teach conflict resolution, empathy and individual responsibility to students as deliberately as we teach math and science.
Schools will not... |
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Stamping Out Disrespect in Class |
“Man that boy booty sweaty!”
The comment rang out in a room that was supposed to be
silent. Although the student whose “booty” was being... |
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Exploring the Power of the N-word |
“Ms. Craven, we
can put ‘nigga?’”
I pause. Images of
earnest sitting-in-a-circle chats in college flash through my brain:
A classmate from... |
