We were saddened to learn of the death of lifelong activist and freedom fighter Lawrence Guyot, who died on November 23, 2012. Born in Pass Christian, Mississippi, Guyot dedicated his life to the fight for voting rights, first with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) and then for decades in Washington, DC. We …
The Secrets to Great Parent Meetings
The cornerstone of an effective parent engagement strategy is building relationships between parents, teachers, and administrators—but schools are becoming increasingly aware that traditional conferences and meetings with parents are not exactly engaging. “How to Have Better Parent Meetings,” Teaching for Change’s third Cross-City Parent Coordinator Training of the school year, detailed the essentials for a …
2012 Teaching for Change Staff Favorites
Here are some of our favorite children’s and young adult titles from 2012. Please read and share. Elementary Middle School Young Adult
Independent Publishers Take Lead on Latino Literature
Publishers Weekly responded to the Dec. 4, 2012 New York Times article on the lack of classroom books written by and featuring Latinos. While the scarcity is a big problem, the New York Times left out the independent publishers who have taken the lead in trying to fill that gap for many years including our friends at Arte Público Press, Cinco Puntos Press, Lee …
How to Build a Better Parent-Teacher Night
For many schools, parent-teacher conferences, back-to-school night, and report card day are the only attempts to bring parents and teachers together. Typically, these meetings do little to foster sustainable parental engagement and sometimes the format even hinders meaningful collaboration. Teaching for Change’s Tellin’ Stories initiative offers a powerful alternative with its signature activity, parent-teacher grade …
Lawrence Guyot, ¡Presente!
We were saddened to learn of the death of lifelong activist and freedom fighter Lawrence Guyot, who died on November 23, 2012. Born in Pass Christian, Mississippi, Guyot dedicated his life to the fight for voting rights, first with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) and then for decades in Washington, DC. We …
Testifying Against D.C. Public School Closures
Sign the petition, and for updates on the fight against D.C. school closures visit Empower DC’s education blog. The following testimony was given Thursday, November 15, 2012 by Teaching for Change’s Associate Director, Allyson Criner Brown, before the D.C. Council to oppose Bill 19-734, the School Closures and School Boundary Review Act of …
Sarah Markes Visiting to Discuss and Sign New Book, Street Level
Teaching for Change welcomes Sarah Markes to discuss and sign her new book, Street Level: A Collection of Drawings and Creative Writing Inspired by Dar es Salaam Thursday, November 1, 2012 6:30 – 8:00 PM at Busboys and Poets (14th and V) Street Level was selected as 2012 Honor Book for Older Readers by the Children’s …
“Mix It Up at Lunch Day” – Has Your School Signed Up?
Since 2001, schools across the country (and in fact the world) sign up for the annual national Mix It Up at Lunch Day campaign launched by Teaching Tolerance. The goal is to “encourage students to identify, question and cross social boundaries.” As Teaching Tolerance explains, It’s a simple act with profound implications. Studies have shown …
Pearson Erases Paul Robeson from History: Students Write 100 Letters to Challenge Omission
By Ken Giles For the past several years, I have been the music teacher at Shepherd Elementary School in Washington, D.C. This has given me the chance to combine two passions: music and social justice activism. I teach students the civil rights songs, peace songs, and union songs that I learned throughout my life. And …
Baseball News Based on Biased Math
The Washington Nationals playoff game in Washington D.C. against the St. Louis Cardinals was held on October 10, 2012. According to the majority of the mainstream media and baseball press, it was the “the first postseason baseball game in Washington since 1933.” They were wrong. This oft repeated line omits the championships of the legendary Homestead Grays, the winners of …