Educator News

An Updated Look at Diversity in Children's BooksUsing numbers from the Cooperative Children's Book Center, this infographic—updated from 2015—illustratesrepresentation in children's literature. The quantity of diverse books may have gone up, but thatdoesn't necessarily indicate accuracy and quality oftitles.

Honoring the Cultural Backgrounds of All Students

How to Sustain Black Educators

How Can Teachers Explain Slavery to Students?

Creating Educational Spaces Full of Joy and Justice

EPISODE SUMMARY:National Teacher of the Year Juliana Urtubey reflects on the importance of valuing all parts of a student’s identity and what that means for a teacher today.

How to Improve Education at Scale

The Greatest Battle in HistoryAmerica is once again asking the question: Who gets to decide how we teach the history of our country’s past?

Ed. Harvard ED. Magazine Articles

Harvard EdCast: The State of Critical Race Theory in Education

Harvard EdCast: Fugitive Pedagogy in Black EducationHow Black educators worked together, often employing covert actions, to lead valuable learning for students in the Jim Crow South.

2024 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In - Teaching for Change2024 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In Register | Schedule | Keynote | Workshops ONLINE via ZOOMSaturday, November 2, 202412:00PM – 3:00PM ET / 9:00AM – 12:00PM PT The annual 2024 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in collaboration with Teaching for Change, is an opportunity for educators around … Continue reading "2024 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In"

Native Knowledge 360— The “First Thanksgiving”: How Can We Tell a Better Story?This NK360° inquiry resource provides evidence in multiple formats to help teachers and students dispel misconceptions and misunderstandings of the “First Thanksgiving,” especially in regard to the Wampanoag who have been largely absent from this national story. #NK360

Native Knowledge 360֯ and Teaching for Change Teach-In - Teaching for ChangeNational curriculum teach-in for educators held online on Saturday, November 4th, 2023. A day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, workshops, and idea exchange to promote improved teaching about American Indian communities.

Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's HistoryThe Zinn Education Project promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history in middle and high school classrooms across the country. Based on the lens of history highlighted in Howard Zinn’s best-selling book A People’s History of the United States, the website offers free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level.

Webinars | Professional Development | Teachers | Programs | Library of Congress Online workshops and conferences facilitated by Library of Congress education specialists

Books We LoveHere are 400+ great reads from 2022 handpicked just for you by NPR staff and trusted critics.

Candlewick Press PresentsCandlewick Press Presents is a new audio podcast about the storytellers behind your favorite children’s books! To celebrate Candlewick Press’s twenty-fifth anniversary, we sat down with local authors and illustrators of picture books, board books, and middle-grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction to discuss their journeys into the world of children’s publishing.

The Black Creators SeriesIn this educator-focused series highlighting the work of Black authors and illustrators, Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul, best-selling author, founder of Red Clay Educators, and cofounder of the Institute for Racial Equity in Literacy, leads discussions with children‘s book creators about their work and the powerful ways their books can live in classrooms.

Harvard EdCast: How to Be a Social Justice Parent and Raise Compassionate KidsAuthor Traci Baxley shares ideas and offers support to families eager to engage with their children about issues of social justice.

Harvard EdCast: How to Be a Social Justice Parent and Raise Compassionate Kids

THE 1619 PROJECT- NEW YORK Times

“1619 Project” Poised to Reframe Teaching of Slavery. Here's How Educators Are Using the Information, CurriculumThe New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project and companion curriculum is being used by teachers to change the narrative of American history lessons in the classroom.

The 1619 ProjectAmerican slavery began 400 years ago this month. This is referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: It is the country’s true origin.

Learning for Justice Articles

Educators’ Supplement

When Schools Cause TraumaTrauma-sensitive and trauma-informed schools are spreading around the country. But if they don’t start with how schools themselves can induce trauma, they won’t work.

Issue 2, Spring 2022We do students a terrible disservice if we don’t educate them honestly. Connect our nation’s past to our present to create an inclusive future.

Reimagining Digital Literacy Education to Save OurselvesMisinformation and online hate are crisis-level threats to democracy and liberation movements. Digital literacy education must be among the solutions.

Learning Virtually RedefinedWhen the pandemic halted in-person professional learning, facilitators and trainers began imagining a new world.

We Can Create Change TogetherUnderstanding key concepts about solidarity and the power of diverse coalitions can help students work toward justice.

Creating Brave Spaces: Reckoning With Race in the ClassroomEpisode 2, Season 4 People from all corners of public life are telling teachers to stop discussions about race and racism in the classroom, but keeping the truth of the world from students simply doesn’t work. English teacher Matthew Kay urges educators to create brave spaces instead. He provides examples of classroom strategies for engaging with students at the intersections of race, literature and lived experience. Hint: it involves vulnerability, accountability and quality affirmations.

Teaching Honest History: A New LFJ Resource for Teaching the Civil Rights MovementLFJ is pleased to introduce a forthcoming educator resource: ‘Teaching the Movement: A Framework for Teaching the Black Freedom Struggle.’

Favorite Holiday Poster Projects Aren’t InclusiveAn educator and mother recommends strategies for supporting all students’ religions and cultures, during the winter holidays and year-round.

Language Access: More Than TranslationSchool districts in Washington state illustrate the power of making language access foundational—not an add-on.

Humanity, Healing and Doing the WorkHonoring our collective humanity will result in an education system in which all children thrive.

Anti-Racist Work in Schools: Are You in it for the Long Haul?In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, educators and schools across the nation are planning anti-racist work. How will you ensure your school isn’t just going through the motions?

Black Lives MatterInternational protests in response to the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Tony McDade show the vast reach and profound importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. These resources can help you talk with students about the historical context and mission behind Black Lives Matter and work toward making your school a more affirming, safer space for Black students.

Teaching About Race, Racism and Police ViolenceIn 2014, the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in New York City, Tamir Rice in Cleveland and too many others caused waves of nationwide protest and appeals for stronger protections against police brutality. These events—along with the lack of accountability for the police officers who shot and killed these unarmed victims—also prompted educators to seek resources on how to address these subjects in the classroom.

Black Students and Educators at Confederate-Named SchoolsIn more than 100 U.S. schools, black educators and students see Confederate names on their walls, jerseys and diplomas. That’s a problem.

A Trauma-Informed Approach to Teaching Through CoronavirusExperts from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network share their recommendations for educators supporting students during the COVID-19 crisis.

Supporting Students Through CoronavirusWe’re grateful to the educators continuing to support students and families through the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve developed these resources to support student well-being and learning during school closures, and we will keep this page updated as we publish new pieces.

Teaching Kindness Isn’t EnoughTeaching kindness is a staple of elementary practice, but that isn’t the same as teaching justice.

#USvsHate: The Winners Are In!We are pleased to share the winners of the #USvsHate challenge. These winning messages counter bigotry and promote safe and welcoming communities.

Online Teaching Can Be Culturally ResponsiveAmid school closures, online classes can offer new opportunities for culturally responsive teaching. Here’s what one educator is trying with her fifth grade students.

Teaching in SolidarityThis February, join educators from Philadelphia to Seattle for Black Lives Matter Week of Action.

SLJ Articles

How American Indian Storytelling Differs From the Western Narrative StructureAmerican Indian storytelling has enjoyed a major resurgence over the last 20 years. It has survived several attempts at eradication, largely by external forces. Here are some of the incredible difficulties it’s been through in the past 100 years or more, followed by a closer look at some of the traditions of American Indian storytelling.

Best Books 2021After months of deliberation, the editors and our insightful reviewer committee members have selected 139 exemplary titles as the best books for children and teens published this year.

'New Kid' Makes History as First Graphic Novel To Win Newbery; Caldecott Goes To 'The Undefeated'Jerry Craft's title named Newbery winner on a huge day for Graphic Novels at the 2020 Youth Media Awards. Kadir Nelson's illustrations earn the Caldecott for 'The Undefeated' by Kwame Alexander.

How Can Libraries Support Children and Immigrant Families? By Doing What We Do Best. The plight of immigrant families at the U.S. border prompted the Brooklyn Public Library and others to act.

Migración de niñas, niños y adolescentesLos derechos de niñas, niños y adolescentes migrantes viajan con ellos y deben ser respetados.

Harvard EdCast: How We Can Better Support Refugees in EducationAssociate Professor Sarah Dryden-Peterson talks about the ways we can better support refugee children and teachers in education around the world.

From Rethinking Schools: Volume 34, No. 2 — Winter 2019-20 A community dedicated to creating a world that works for all.

Black Lives Matter at School: From the Week of Action to Year-Round Anti-Racist Pedagogy and ProtestBy the editors of Rethinking SchoolsEvery social justice educator should make building the BLM at School Week of Action during the first week of February a top priority.

Doing Race Talk with TeachersHow to stay in the conversationBy Dyan WatsonA teacher-educator describes how she keeps her students talking about race, even when it's uncomfortable — and shows how those conversations make better teachers.

"WE DID WHAT HAD TO BE DONE"www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/we-did-what-had-to-be-doneA Milwaukee student responds to critics of a mural about ICE that she and a group of teenagers legally painted on a county busBy Yazmillie Reyes

AS AN ARAB AMERICAN MUSLIM MOTHER, HERwww.rethinkingschools.org/articles/as-an-arab-american-muslim-mother-here-is-the-education-i-want-for-my-childrenE IS THE EDUCATION I WANT FOR MY CHILDRENBy Nina Shoman-Dajani

HOW ONE 2ND-GRADER'S STORY INSPIRED CLIMATE JUSTICE CURRICULUMwww.rethinkingschools.org/articles/how-one-2nd-grader-s-story-inspired-climate-justice-curriculumBy Rachel Hanes

Where Teachers Thrive, Students Do

by MARINA N. BOLOTNIKOVA

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2019

Where Teachers Thrive, Students DoEducation policy should focus on schools as a whole, not individual teachers, argues Susan Moore Johnson.

New York Times Article

I Was a Low-Income College Student. Classes Weren’t the Hard Part.

By ANTHONY ABRAHAM JACK SEPT. 10, 2019

Anthony Abraham Jack, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said "Night came early in the chill of March. It was my freshman year at Amherst College, a small school of some 1,600 undergraduates in the hills of western Massachusetts, and I was a kid on scholarship from Miami. I had just survived my first winter, but spring seemed just as frigid. Amherst felt a little colder — or perhaps just lonelier — without the money to return home for spring break like so many of my peers."