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Deciding to Teach Them All

This 2001 Cultural Survival Quarterly article examines the "English Only" Movement in the United States as exemplified by the passage of Proposition 203 in Arizona and 227 in California. It argues for language freedom and documents what is being lost through efforts to suppress indigenous languages.

Noting that the terms "Native American" and "American Indian" are both legitimately used to refer to the indigenous people of North America, this digest identifies stereotypes about Native Americans that children gain from media portrayals and classroom role playing, and suggests strategies for teachers to use to counter stereotyped portrayals and to reflect cultural diversity among Native Americans. Stereotypes are perpetuated by television, movies, and children's literature when these media depict Native Americans as uncivilized savages or as romanticized heroes. Many teaching materials and children's books present a generalized image of Native American people with little regard for differences among tribes. In their classrooms, teachers can use specific positive strategies to counter these stereotypes and generalized images. Suggested strategies are to: (1) provide knowledge about contemporary Native Americans; (2) prepare units about specific tribes; (3) use books that show contemporary children of all cultures engaged in their usual daily activities; (4) obtain posters that show Native American children in contemporary contexts; (5) use dolls with different skin colors in the dramatic play area; (6) cook ethnic foods; (7) be specific about which tribes use particular items when discussing cultural artifacts; (8) critique a Thanksgiving poster depicting stereotyped pilgrim and Indian figures; and (9) at Thanksgiving, shift the focus away from reenacting the "First Thanksgiving" to items children can be thankful for in their own lives. Besides engaging in these positive practices, teachers can avoid: using over-generalized books and lesson plans; using a "tourist curriculum" that teaches predominantly through celebrations and holidays; presenting sacred activities in trivial ways; and introducing the topic of Native Americans on Columbus Day or at Thanksgiving.

Reteaching Gender & Sexuality presents fresh perspectives on gender and sexual diversity. We produce media and other educational resources about the shifting dynamics of gender and sexuality among young people. We use these as tools to facilitate dialogue in communities and among students and practitioners in youth-serving professions. It's a creative and pragmatic approach with a cross-sector impact.

"In a March 14, 2005, Op-Ed piece published in The New York Times, Dr. Armand Marie Leroi, an evolutionary developmental biologist at Imperial College in London, challenged scholarly approaches that treat race as a social construction, arguing that recent research in the biological and the social sciences offers fresh evidence that racial differences are genetically identifiable. His editorial, "A Family Tree in Every Gene," expresses a more widespread tendency among certain communities of researchers to revise longstanding scientific understandings about the relationship between race and genetics. The SSRC believes the subject of race and genomics warrants critical reflection and debate among researchers and the broader public, given its important implications across an array of disciplines in the biological and social sciences, its potential impact on a number of policy domains, as well as broader consequences for society at large. In an effort to contribute to this discussion, we have commissioned a series of short essays by leading researchers with a diverse set of disciplinary and analytic perspectives. We hope this forum will serve as a tool for scholars, educators, policy makers and students, and promote informed debate on what is no doubt one of the most important public issues of our time."

The mission of SEDL is to solve significant problems facing educational systems and communities to ensure a quality education for all learners. SEDL is committed to long-term, systematic, research- and experience-based solutions derived from research, development, evaluation, information provision, technical assistance, and professional development. SEDL's primary efforts are in five program areas: improving school performance, strengthening teaching and learning in content areas, integrating technology into teaching and learning, involving family and community in student learning, and connecting disability research to practice. Work in these areas concentrates on K-16 education and on underserved students, particularly those living in poverty. SEDL is a private, nonprofit corporation dedicated to fulfilling its mission with clients and other education stakeholders on a national, regional, state, and local basis through diverse and interrelated funding, partnerships, and projects.

The site, sponsored by EdChange and completely free of charge, contains resources related to education equity and multicultural education for educators, students, and activists. It includes free print-outs, an international listserv, classroom activities, and other resources.

This resource is the web site for The Equity Alliance at ASU. The Equity Alliance at ASU works with principals, teachers, parents, community members, students, school boards, and other school leaders to create the conditions necessary for culturally responsive schools. Our systemic approach to equity is designed to help every district and school succeed. The Equity Alliance at ASU is devoted to promoting equity, access, participation and outcomes for all students.

"The purpose of this website is to provide anyone interested in improving U.S. schools with valuable information and resources about important issues in education and teaching. The information and resources presented here are the product of ongoing work by an education professor, Jeff Claus, at Ithaca College, in Ithaca, NY and students in one of his courses. "

"When teachers say they are color blind, they are usually saying that they do not discriminate and that they treat all their students equally. Of course, being fair and treating each student with respect are essential to effective teaching. However, race and ethnicity often play important roles in children's identities and contribute to their culture, their behavior, and their beliefs. When race and ethnicity are ignored, teachers miss opportunities to help students connect with what is being taught. Recognizing that a student's race and ethnicity influences their learning allows teachers to be responsive to individual differences. In some cases, ignoring a student's race and ethnicity may undermine a teacher's ability to understand student behavior and student confidence in doing well in a school culture where expectations and communication are unfamiliar. An individual's race and ethnicity are central to her or his sense of self but they are not the whole of personal identity. Moreover, how important an individual's race and ethnicity is to her or his identity will vary and teachers need to take that into account as they seek to learn more about their students."

Talking about what appear to be racial issues with respect to student interactions, student-teacher interactions or interactions among members of the school staff is uncommon. Race is a "hot button" issue in our country, and it may feel that discussing potential misunderstandings or conflicts would make things worse. Moreover, many worry about being seen as insensitive or preoccupied with race. No doubt some issues that could be race-related are not actually related to race. But, this cannot be known without bringing up the issue. The country has made great progress in reducing racial prejudice and discrimination, but negative stereotypes, concerns about fairness, and the absence of comfort in interracial relationships persist. For racial issues to be openly dealt with, school leaders must make clear that it is important to be candid and to trust one another while ensuring that action is taken when problems are identified.