Rethinking Our Classrooms : Teaching for Equity and Justice / Bill Bigelow, Ed.

This collection includes creative teaching ideas, articles, essays, poems, reproducible handouts, resources, lesson plans, narratives and hands-on examples of ways teachers can promote values of community, justice and equality, while building academic skills. The book is divided into seven parts. Part 1, "Introduction", includes: (1) "Creating Classrooms for Equity and Social Justice" (editors); and (2) "Lions" (Langston Hughes). Part 2, "Points of Departure", includes a number of readings that exemplify teaching principles outlined in the introduction, including: (1) "Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us" (Linda Christensen); (2) "10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books" (Council on Interracial Books for Children); and (3) "Ode to My Socks" (Pablo Neruda). Part 3, "Rethinking My Clasroom" includes "core" articles. At various grade levels and disciplines, teachers offer concrete examples of how a social justice curriculum transformed their classroom practice. Articles include: (1) "Race and Respect Among Young Children" (Rita Tenorio); (2) "The Challenge of Classroom Discipline" (Bob Peterson); and (3) "Building Community for Chaos" (Linda Christensen). Part 4, "Teaching Ideas", explores practical ways young people can critique powerful influences such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. It includes: (1) "Using Pictures to Combat Bias" (Ellen Wolpert); (2) "Bringing the World into the Math Class" (Claudia Zaslavsky); (3) "Coping with TV" (Bob Peterson); (4) "Looking Pretty, Waiting for the Prince" (Lila Johnson); and (5) "Flirting vs. Sexual Harassment: Teaching the Difference" (Ellen Bravo; Larry Miller). Part 5, "Rethinking Our Assumptions," addresses issues ranging from cultural differences between students and teachers to biases in children's literature. It includes: (1) "Teachers and Cultural Styles" (Asa G. Hilliard III); (2) "The Politics of Children's Literature" (Herbert Kohl); and (3) "Students as Textbook Detectives" (Bill Bigelow; Bob Peterson). Part 6, "Beyond the Classroom," includes: (1) "Why We Need to Go Beyond the Classroom" (Stan Karp); (2) "Forging Curriculum Reform Throughout a District" (David Levine); (3) "Why Standardized Tests Are Bad" (Terry Meier); and (4) "Detracking Montclair High" (Stan Karp). Part 7, "Teaching Guide/Resources," includes: (1) "Poetry Teaching Guide"; (2) "Videos with a Conscience" (Bill Bigelow; Linda Christensen); (3) "Books to Empower Young People"; and (4) "Other Resources." (EH)

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