Here’s a little glimpse into the origin of a Teaching Tolerance feature story. Every time we consider a topic, we use a decision matrix to determine if it’s a good fit for our magazine and our audience. One of the most important decision points: How will our readers use this information?
Enter TOOLKITS, a crucial but unsung feature of our feature stories. A toolkit might take the form of a lesson you can use or adapt with students, a reflection exercise you can do yourself or a PD activity that can help you put the topic on your departmental agenda. Toolkits provide a way for educators to become advocates and put anti-bias concepts into practice.
Here are five toolkits from our Summer issue.
“Ask Angy”
In this feature story, TT interviews Angy Rivera—a leading activist for undocumented youth and immigrant rights—about growing up without a green card, her activism at a young age and what educators need to know about their undocumented students. The toolkit, which offers a set of short videos created by Rivera and discussion prompts, help educators bring Rivera’s voice into their classrooms.
“Browder v. Gayle”
Is this court case part of your civil rights teaching? The feature story explains why it needs to be and how the “60th anniversary of Browder v. Gayle offers an opportunity to get to know this critical case, the unheralded women behind it, and its wider relationship to the [Montgomery bus] boycott and the crusade for racial equality.” The accompanying toolkit walks educators through a special version of Civil Rights Done Right, a detailed set of curriculum improvement strategies for teaching the movement and this court case in particular.
“Flagler County: A Case for Suspension Abolition”
Flagler County, Florida, is a pioneer in school discipline reform and may do away with out-of-school suspensions altogether. Read about the how and why of this county’s road toward suspension abolition. The toolkit, a printable A-Z list, helps educators learn more about this concept. For example, here’s what ‘A’ stands for: “Identify and use alternatives to suspension, expulsion and arrests that have been proven effective in addressing student misconduct.”
“The New Sex Ed”
A more inclusive model of sexuality education is gaining traction. Is it at your school? Read this story to learn how schools can make the transition to comprehensive sex ed—a model that is, among other features, age-appropriate, medically accurate and LGBT-inclusive. It also addresses consent. The accompanying toolkit helps educators assess the current state of sex education in their schools and plan for ways to adopt a more inclusive approach.
“Teaching at the Intersections”
Intersectionality is a buzzword and with good reason: An intersectional approach is crucial to understanding people’s multi-faceted identities and experiences. This feature story breaks down the word, its origins and its relevance to educators and students. The toolkit offers a set of suggested readings, essential questions and grade-level outcomes from Perspectives texts that support teaching about multiple identities, oppression and privilege.
Interested in “opening up” more toolkits? In the print issues of Teaching Tolerance, follow the URL listed next to the toolkit icon at the bottom of a feature story. When reading a story online, you can access the toolkit by clicking on a hyperlinked sentence (for example, “Put this story into action.”) near the bottom of the page.
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