Introduction: Creating Classrooms for Equity and
Social Justice                                                    x

Part One: Points of Departure

“Lions”                                                               2

By Langston Hughes

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us: Critiquing
Cartoons and Society                                         3

By Linda Christensen

     Rethinking ‘The Three Little Pigs’                    8

By Ellen Wolpert

10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children’s Books for
Racism and Sexism                                         10

By the Council on Interracial Books for Children

Celebrating the Joy in Daily Events                    12

By Linda Christensen

“Ode to My Socks • Oda a los calcetines”          13

By Pablo Neruda

Taking Multicultural, Anti-Racist Education
Seriously                                                         15

An interview with Enid Lee

“My Hair Is Long”                                              18

By Loyen Redhawk Gali

Part Two: Rethinking My Classroom

Race and Respect Among Young Children          20

By Rita Tenorio

Holding Nyla: Lessons from an Inclusion
Classroom                                                       25

By Katie Kissinger

Teaching for Social Justice: One Teacher’s Journey          28

By Bob Peterson

Songs That Promote Justice                          33

By Bob Peterson

“Forgiving My Father”                                        35

By Justin Morris

Playing with Gender: Lessons from an Early
Childhood Center                                              36

By Ann Pelo

The Challenge of Classroom Discipline               41

By Bob Peterson

Helping Students Deal with Anger                      43

By Kelley Dawson Salas

Building Community from Chaos                        47

By Linda Christensen

Discipline: No Quick Fix                                    53

By Linda Christensen

“Honeybees”                                                    55

By Paul Fleischman

Teaching About Global Warming in Truck Country 57

By Jana Dean

Students Use Math to Confront Overcrowding      63

By Erin E. Turner and Beatriz T. Font Strawhun

Getting Off the Track: Stories from an Untracked Classroom          68

By Bill Bigelow

“what the mirror said”                                        76

By Lucille Clifton

Part Three: Teaching Ideas

Using Pictures to Combat Bias                          78

By Ellen Wolpert

My Mom’s Job Is Important                               80

By Matt Witt

Father Was a Musician                                     83

By Dyan Watson

There’s More to Heroes Than He-Man                 84

By Marcie Osinsky

The Military Recruitment Minefield                      85

By Bill Bigelow

Coping with TV: Some Lesson Ideas                  93

By Bob Peterson

What Do We Say When We Hear ‘Faggot’?        95

By Leonore Gordon

Learning from Worms                                        97

By Rachel Cloues

The Organic Goodie Simulation                        100

By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond

World Poverty and World Resources                103

By Susan Hersh and Bob Peterson

Math, SATs, and Racial Profiling                      106

By Eric Gutstein

The Day Sondra Took Over: Helping Students
Become  Self-Directed                                    109

By Cynthia M. Ellwood

Little Things Are Big                                        113

By Jesús Colón

Haiku and Hiroshima: Teaching About the Atomic
Bomb                                                            114

By Wayne Au

Students as Textbook Detectives: An Exercise in
Uncovering Bias                                              116

By Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson

What Can Teachers Do About Sexual Harassment?          118

By Ellen Bravo and Larry Miller

Flirting vs. Sexual Harassment: Teaching the
Difference                                                       121

By Nan Stein and Lisa Sjostrom

Celebrating the Student’s Voice                       124

By Linda Christensen

“Rayford’s Song”                                             125

By Lawson Inada

Promoting Social ImaginationThrough Interior Monologues 126

By Bill Bigelow and Linda Christensen

“Two Women”                                                 128

Anonymous

Role Plays: Show, Don’t Tell                            130

By Bill Bigelow

Testing, Tracking, and Toeing the Line: A Role Play
on the Origins of the Modern High School         133

By Bill Bigelow

‘Salt of the Earth’ Grounds Students in Hope     141

By S. J. Childs

“The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.”             144

By Nikki Giovanni

Part Four: Rethinking Our Assumptions

My Dirty Little Secret: Why I Don’t Grade Papers 146

By Linda Christensen

Expectations and ‘At-Risk’ Children: One Teacher’s Perspective    151

By L. C. Clark

Teachers and Cultural Styles                           152

By Asa G. Hilliard III

Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?  154

by Linda Christensen

Seeing Color                                                  158

By Lisa Delpit

When Small Is Beautiful                                  161

An interview with Héctor Calderón

I Won’t Learn from You! Confronting Student
Resistance                                                     165

By Herbert Kohl

Food Is Not for Play                                        167

By Jean Hannon

The Politics of Children’s Literature: What’s Wrong
with the Rosa Parks Myth                               168

By Herbert Kohl

“In Memory of Crossing the Columbia”              172

By Elizabeth Woody

Heather’s Moms Got Married: Creating a Gay- and Lesbian-Friendly Classroom      173

By Mary Cowhey

Thoughts on Teaching Native American Literature 175

By Joseph Bruchac

Why Students Should Study History                179

An interview with Howard Zinn

History Book Resources                              182

By Howard Zinn

“To the Young Who Want to Die”                      186

By Gwendolyn Brooks

Part Five: Beyond the Classroom

Why We Need to Go Beyond the Classroom     188

By Stan Karp

“Rebellion Against the North Side”                    194

By Naomi Shihab Nye

Teachers Teaching Teachers                           195

By Linda Christensen

Equity Claims for NCLB Don’t Pass the Test     200

By Stan Karp

Why Standardized Tests Are Bad                    203

By Terry Meier

“Lineage”                                                        205

By Margaret Walker

Students Mobilize for Immigrant Rights             206

By Ryan Knudson and Al Levie

Part Six: Resources

Poetry Teaching Guide                                    212

By Linda Christensen

Videos                                                           215

By Bill Bigelow and Linda Christensen

Video Teaching Strategies                           216

By Bill Bigelow and Linda Christensen

Books for Young People                                  219

Curricula and Teaching Resources                   224

Periodicals                                                     228

Organizations                                                 229

Poetry Credits                                                231

Index                                                             232