Dear Morningside Center friends,

In this issue, we share a new lesson on hurricanes and climate change - as well as an activity that uses Halloween as a starting place for exploring strategies for handling fear. Plus, good stuff to read, including a new report on the disparities in out-of-school suspension.

Hurricane Season: A Climate Lesson

An unusual hurricane season opens up an exploration of the climate crisis. Students hear voices from Puerto Rico about the impact of hurricanes, and consider steps we can take  toward climate justice. 

A Halloween Circle on Fear

This classroom activity uses Halloween as a taking off point for students to share their experiences of being fearful, explore how fear is a normal part of life, and share ways we can handle our fear. The activity is structured as a circle, but can be adapted for other formats.

Hispanic Heritage: Culture Community Gallery

Students celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by uplifting - and making a gallery of - all things Hispanic in our lives, from everyday items to sounds to people in our lives.

Pushed Out: Trends and Disparities in Out-of-School Suspension

"While suspension is intended to produce safer schools and deter future misbehavior, research shows that exclusionary discipline is ineffective at improving school safety and deterring infractions. This is because suspensions do not address any of the underlying reasons that may be leading to behavioral incidents, nor do they create opportunities for students to learn new approaches to communicating or resolving conflicts." By Melanie Leung-Gagné, Jennifer McCombs, Caitlin Scott, and Daniel J. Losen at Learning Policy Institute

Opinion: Children must learn the truth about racism and help our country move forward

"Teaching about racism and intolerance in our history is not about making kids feel bad, guilty, or uncomfortable. Teaching this history is about acknowledging the truths of our country and guiding our students to understand and grow from those truths." By Brad Capner at The Hechinger Report 

We Are Still Here

"As a child, I knew I was different from the other children at school, but I could not articulate what that difference was. I was troubled when the textbooks we read spoke about Natives in the past tense—always implying that we no longer existed." By Camille Seaman at Global Oneness Project

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

-Nelson Mandela