Articles

Join the conversation on priority issues in our nation’s public education system and find resources, suggestions and news.

298 ARTICLES

February 27, 2012

Inspiration Knows No Gender

When the Dallas Texas Public Schools District decided to show its fifth-graders Red Tails, an action-adventure film based on the Tuskegee pilots who formed the country’s first black aerial combat unit, it was a tremendous idea. The district felt students would be inspired by the story of these men who fought segregation, integrated the Army and were trained as combat pilots for the United States during WWII.

Topic

Race & Ethnicity Gender & Sexual Identity

February 21, 2012

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.

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity

February 15, 2012

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.

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity Rights & Activism

February 14, 2012

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.”

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity Rights & Activism

February 9, 2012

A PFOX in Sheep’s Clothing

Can you imagine buying groceries if boxes of sugar were labeled "peanut butter" and ice cream cartons read "chicken noodle soup"? You may laugh, but our daily lives are often adventures in just such misinformation.

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity

February 7, 2012

Celebrate Women This Black History Month

Historian Carter G. Woodson established the first Negro History Week in 1926—a celebration that later became Black History Month. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, a group founded by Woodson, selects a new theme for Black History Month each year. This year’s theme is "Black Women in American Culture and History."

Topic

Race & Ethnicity Gender & Sexual Identity

Issue 41, Spring 2012