In 1998, I first published the article "What the Tour Guide Didn't Tell Me: Paradise and the Politics of Tourist Hawaii" in Rethinking Schools. The article promoted a critical rethinking of Native Hawaiian history and culture.

The life of the article and its resonance for educators reflects the important role Rethinking Schools has played in my life and the powerful model Rethinking Schools provides for teachers. In this way, Rethinking Schools has offered several lessons that have helped guide me over the years.

Albeit by proxy, my personal relationship with Rethinking Schools actually goes back to 1988. My wife, Mira, was a student of Rethinking Schools editors Linda Christensen and Bill Bigelow at Jefferson High School in Portland, Ore., and Linda has used examples of Mira's writing in the pages of her articles and book.

Rethinking Schools' Lesson #1: Student voice matters. Classroom activities need to relate to students' lives and Rethinking Schools articles should reflect this.

Between what I knew of the politics and perspectives of the journal, their recently published book, Rethinking Columbus, and the impact they had on Mira's life, I felt that I needed to connect with Rethinking Schools. So after entering the Master In Teaching program at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., I began student teaching under the guidance of Linda, a master teacher and editor of Rethinking Schools.