December 10, 2019

Here Are Appropriate Ways to Teach Kids About Slavery

This week, a photograph of a math assignment asking fifth graders to set prices for enslaved people went viral. Students can learn about slavery in ways that recover the lives and histories of enslaved people or dehumanize them; celebrate their resistance or erase their agency; recognize how slavery shaped our nation or ignore it completely. Educators can teach this hard history—and teach it well—in any discipline, to students of almost any age. Here are a few examples of how.

Teaching Kindness Isn’t Enough // Bret Turner

School Safety and Guns Don't Mix // Coshandra Dillard

#USvsHate // Adrienne van der Valk
Friday Is the Last Day to Sign Up for Our Spring Magazine
This Friday, December 13, is the last day to subscribe to receive the upcoming Spring print issue of our magazine. If you’re already a subscriber, it’s a good time to make sure we have your current shipping information. Just sign into your TT profile or create an account to subscribe or manage your subscription preferences. 

They Didn’t Back Down: Supporting LGBTQ Youth 

Progress in social justice education is often met with pushback. Nationwide, outside groups put immense pressure on schools to rescind policies supporting LGBTQ students. In this story, progress began with a community of dedicated Florida educators. Meet the educators—facing lawsuits, media misinformation and threats— who decided it was worth it to stand up for their students.

We’re Hosting PD Workshops Across the U.S. in 2020

We’re once again offering daylong, interactive professional development workshops in cities across the country. Our first stop in 2020 is Fort Lauderdale! These workshops are ideal for educators working with K–12 students and teachers. Space is limited—register today! We’ll be announcing more cities soon, so keep an eye on our Workshops page.

Advice for New Social Justice Educators From Our Board

The TT Advisory Board is composed of educators working in a range of fields, at all stages of their careers and from all corners of the United States. Sharing their expertise, their ideas and their voices with us, they play an invaluable role in TT’s work. In the latest issue of our magazine, board members told us what they wish they had known when they began social justice work. Read their advice here.

Check Out What We’re Reading

“The number of black and Latino students enrolled in teacher preparation programs had decreased by 25%. The teacher workforce, in which 80% of educators are white, 9% are Latino and 7% are black, is already less racially diverse than the overall U.S. labor force, despite being a profession in which the importance of teachers of color cannot be overstated.” — U.S. News and World Report

“[I]f I am to restrain a student, then I’m essentially putting forth a situation that’s going to create trauma for that student.” — National Public Radio

“What’s happening in California is a version of a conflict that’s likely to ramp up around the country in coming years. What some parents and conservative groups call ‘indoctrination,’ sex education advocates call changing the world: teaching students to respect each other’s identities and autonomy in ways they hope will lead to less sexual assault, harassment, and homophobia in society at large.” — Vox
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