Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Rethinking Schools Online Losing Our Favorite Teacher

Rethinking Schools Online

Losing Our Favorite Teacher
By Bill Bigelow for the staff and editors of Rethinking Schools
Howard Zinn will be remembered as the historian who transformed the way we think about and teach U.S. history. He was also a brilliant teacher, a passionate activist, and a warm and generous friend.

“One Long Struggle for Justice”
An interview with historian Howard Zinn
In his last recorded interview, Zinn holds forth on Haiti, persistent silences in the curriculum, and early influences in his life—before offering advice to new teachers.
Looking Past the Spin: Teach for America
By Barbara Miner
Most TFA recruits are idealistic and dedicated. But who is behind the organization, and does its approach bolster or hinder education reform?
Editorial — Building Hope
By the editors of Rethinking Schools
Recent events in Milwaukee, Wis. , offer hope to despairing teachers, parents, and education activists throughout the country: Grassroots organizing has stopped what appeared to be an inevitable mayoral takeover of the public schools.
School Reform We Can’t Believe In
By Stan Karp
Education joins healthcare, the economy, and foreign policy as issues where campaign promises of “change” and “hope” have morphed into Washington business as usual—or worse.
“Don’t Take Our Voices Away”: A Role Play on the
Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit on Climate Change

By Julie Treick O’Neill and Tim Swinehart
Students learn about the impact of climate change on the world’s most vulnerable cultures and geographic areas, then share their knowledge as they discuss strategy for saving the planet.
Teaching About Haiti
As the devastation wrought by the earthquake fades from the headlines, this is a critical time to re-examine the history and culture of Haiti, and to develop ways to integrate Haiti into our curricula.