by Alex Cuff “White cops are racist,” a student said. It was September 2014, and we were discussing Ferguson in my third-period, tenth-grade ELA class. “I hate white people,” another student asserted, holding my gaze. A hush came over my class of 28 students as they studied my face, gauging how I, a white teacher…
By Caron Levis The classroom phone rang as Mrs. Pearson’s first-graders tumbled in, pulling off coats and scarves, shoving backpacks into the overstuffed closet along the wall. As Mrs. Pearson excused herself to answer the call, a small girl swimming in a large, red sweatshirt offered me a plastic flower that she’d made, “because you’re…
By Rachel DeWoskin My eleven-year-old student Siran turned to me recently during a conversation about Shel Silverstein’s poetry and said, in her native Chinese, “English is so wasteful!” I had just been thinking the opposite, that rhyme is a lovely expression of compression and economy. “Why?” I asked. She pointed to a “k” at the…
By Kelly Quayle Richie is five foot nothing and not even a hundred pounds, just months out of elementary school. He wears a SpongeBob backpack high on his shoulders and Gap Kids khakis picked out by his mother. He’s never seen an R-rated movie, never been reprimanded in school, and rarely comes to class without…
by Tim Myers Editors note: This article was originally published in Teachers & Writers Magazine 1997. Can adolescents learn anything profound about the intricate and powerful relationship between language and war? In a century haunted by phrases such as “acceptable losses” and “mutually assured destruction,” can we as teachers help guide our students to some…
By David Surface When I tell people that I work with military veterans, one of the first things they say is, It must help them to talk about their experiences, or, It must be good for them to get those terrible things off their chest. The truth is that there are many other places where…
By Erika Luckert This lesson from T&W teaching artist Erika Luckert helps students understand the importance of acknowledging and citing sources, and gives them an opportunity to practice revising to avoid plagiarism. Grade(s): 9–12 Genre: Nonfiction, Essay Download: Avoiding Plagiarism: The Melania Trump Speech Common Core Standards (Refer to ELA Standards > Writing > Grade…
By Nicole Giannone Nicole Giannone shares their personal experience with training others in LGBTQ competency in the workplace. With a specific focus on Transgender and Gender Non-Confirming issues, much of the information that Nicole provides can also serve as actionable guidance for classroom teachers looking to create a safe and welcoming learning environment for all…
By Jai Dulani Queer writer and activist Jai Dulani shares his experience in creating a trans-inclusive learning environment by introducing his own key methods and values. How can classroom teachers get started? Have an anti-oppression framework, center intersectionality, and value safe space. As an educator and writer, I have experienced the classroom as both a…
By Jude Dry I am nine years old and about to audition for Tom Sawyer. I’m at a semi-professional children’s theater in Palo Alto, California, where my family is living for the year as part of my father’s sabbatical. There are two lines: boys and girls. Tom and Becky. I’m preparing to read for Tom….