Writing for Teaching Tolerance

Teaching Tolerance provides several opportunities for supporters to contribute freelance articles and lessons. All of these require simple, lively, concise writing. Please keep in mind that ours is a national audience of preK-12 educators interested in diversity, multiculturalism, anti-bias and social justice topics. We suggest that prospective writers become familiar with Teaching Tolerance’s style of writing and content before contacting us.

Teaching Tolerance accepts freelance submissions for magazine articles, blog posts and weekly lessons.  

Teaching Tolerance magazine
Teaching Tolerance welcomes all submissions but rarely prints unsolicited manuscripts. We strongly suggest that writers contact an editor ahead of time to discuss any prospective article or lesson. Those who have questions concerning submissions should contact Teaching Tolerance at (334) 956-8374 or editor@teachingtolerance.org. Examples of current magazine articles can be found at http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/archives.

Four types of magazine pieces are accepted:

Features:  800–2,000 words.  These articles focus on stories and issues related to anti-bias education and generally appeal to classroom teachers, counselors or administrators. They are usually accompanied by sidebars containing resources, how-to steps and short profiles. Writers are typically freelance journalists with knowledge of issues in education or educators with experience writing for non-academic publications. We pay up to $1 per word. Articles should be sent to editor@teachingtolerance.org. Please put “TT magazine article” in the subject line when you submit. Include your name, the name and address of your school, your title, an email address and a telephone number. Also, please include a suggested headline. Writers will only be contacted if an article is used. Replies may take several weeks. 

Why I Teach columns: 800 words or less. These are personal reflections about life in the classroom. Writers should be educators who have day-to-day contact with students at school. Each essay must be an original, unpublished work. Why I Teach columns are unpaid and may be published either in the magazine or on the blog. Articles should be sent to editor@teachingtolerance.org. Please put “Why I Teach article” in the subject line. Include your name, the name and address of your school, your title, an email address and a telephone number. Also, please include a suggested headline. Writers will only be contacted if an article is used. Replies may take several weeks.

Story Corner: 400-800 words. These articles are designed to be read by or to students and must cover topics that are appealing to children.  They can be either fiction or non-fiction. Story Corner articles can be written for any age range within grades PreK-8. However, they must use age-appropriate vocabulary and sentence length. We pay up to $1 per word. Articles should be sent to editor@teachingtolerance.org. Please put “Story Corner article” in the subject line when you submit. Include your name, the name and address of your school, your title, an email address and a telephone number. Also, please include a suggested headline. Writers will only be contacted if an article is used. Replies may take several weeks.

Activity Exchange: 250-400 words. These are brief descriptions of classroom lesson plans, special projects or other school activities that can be used by others to promote tolerance. They are usually submitted by teachers, counselors or administrators and are based on successful classroom activities or techniques. Fee: $250 per accepted submission. Lessons can be sent to editor@teachingtolerance.org. Please put “Activity Exchange article” in the subject line. Include your name, the name and address of your school, your title, an email address and a telephone number. Also, please include a suggested headline. Writers will only be contacted if an article is used. Replies may take several weeks.

The Teaching Tolerance Blog
Teaching Tolerance’s blog is an online conversation about teaching and education issues, especially as they relate to social justice. In general, a blog post should be about 500 words or less and be conversational in tone. The best blog posts offer insights or describe practices that help other teachers. They also fuel further online discussion. To find previous blog posts, go to www.tolerance.org.

Teaching Tolerance pays $50 apiece for posts that appear on the blog. Posts should be sent to editor@teachingtolerance.org. Please put “Blog post submission” in the subject line. Include your name, the name and address of your school, your title, an email address and a telephone number. Also, please suggest a headline. Writers will only be contacted if a post is used. Replies may take several weeks.

Classroom Lessons
Classroom lessons are published weekly online. Writers should be PreK-12 teachers or counselors. Each lesson must be original and follow Teaching Tolerance’s lesson format and style of writing. We encourage submissions on a broad range of social justice issues. Lessons should be accompanied by the standards they address from McREL and Common Core for English Language Arts. All lessons should also include target grade levels. Previous lessons can be found at http://www.tolerance.org/activities. Teaching Tolerance will pay $250 to $300 per published lesson. Lessons should be sent to editor@teachingtolerance.org. Please put “Lesson submission” in the subject line. Include your name, the name and address of your school, your title, an email address and a telephone number.