"I'm Calling My Lawyer": How Litigation, Due Process and Other Regulatory Requirements Are Affecting Public Education

Jean Johnson and Ann Duffett. Prepared for Common Good, 2005.

In this pilot study, many teachers and school administrators reported that the possibility of being sued or accused of abuse is ever present in their minds. Avoiding suits and fulfilling due process requirements is a time-consuming part of a principal or superintendent's job and many feel the requirements give unreasonable people a chance to get their way. Yet many educators say protecting children from abuse is a higher priority than reducing the threat of litigation.

Resource Link: http://www.publicagenda.org/research/research_reports.cfm

"I'm Not White": Anti-Racist Teacher Education for White Early Childhood Educators

Tara Goldstein. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood (Volume 2, Number 1), 2001.

Conceptualising and implementing early childhood teacher education for racial and cultural diversity is a complex task that involves learning about social stratification and race, acknowledging the privileges associated with whiteness, and finding ways to create positive racial teaching identities. This article discusses three ways that teacher educators might prepare white early childhood education students for anti-racist work in their classrooms.

Resource Link: http://www.wwwords.co.uk/ciec/

A Public Voice '95: Contested Values: Tug-of-War in the School Yard

Milton B. Hoffman Productions.

Each year, many public television stations around the nation air an hour-long program that features U.S. citizens deliberating in National Issues Forums around the nation. The programs also feature distinguished panels of nationally known political leaders, commentators and journalists meeting at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to reflect on what this 'public voice' may mean in setting direction for America. The topics are different each year.

Resource Link: http://www.nifi.org

Active Citizenship: Empowering America's Youth

John Minkler. Educators for Social Responsibility, 1998.

This curriculum introduces students to the knowledge, skills, and values of responsible citizenship in the context of analyzing and solving real school and community problems. Contains 17 lessons with extensions including a group project in which students identify a real political problem, research related issues, and propose a solution.

Resource Link: http://esrnational.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

Administrative Structure and Social Democratic Results: The Case of Education

Kevin B. Smith.

At the center of the contemporary education reform debate is an argument that organizational structure makes a difference to school outcomes. This in turn centers on a basic premise of the public choice literature -- that public and private goods and services are in some fashion analogous, and public sector performance can be improved by adopting at least some of the institutional arrangements and processes of the market (Tiebout 1956). This case study of education with respect to administrative structure examines the goals and challenges to differentially structured education systems.

Resource Link: http://sansfoy.hti.umich.edu/pdf/0472113178-ch11.pdf

Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education (4th ed.)

Sonia Nieto. Allyn & Bacon, 2003.

In this Fourth Edition of her best-selling book, renowned scholar Sonia Nieto explores the meaning, necessity, and benefits of multicultural education for students of all backgrounds. Intended for preservice and in-service teachers and educators, Affirming Diversity looks at how personal, social, political, cultural, and educational factors affect the success or failure of students in today's classroom. Expanding upon the popular case-study approach, the 496-page Fourth Edition examines the lives of 18 real students who are affected by multicultural education, or a lack thereof.

AmericanValuesAre.com

AmericanValuesAre.com was designed to promote civic education and civic engagement. Civic education leads to responsible citizenship. Responsible citizens are the core foundation of our democratic system. Our guides are designed to encourage dialogue about what it means to be a citizen, and to energize more Americans to be engaged in shaping and interacting with their own government. We also hope to be able to inform and educate people on how to engage in the dialogue that leads to common ground and minimizes partisan debate that divides and demoralizes us.

Resource Link: http://www.americanvaluesare.com

Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children

Louise Derman-Sparks and the A.B.C. Task Force. Educators for Social Responsibility.

This resource shows early childhood educators how to examine biases, learn how they influence children, and explore ways to reduce, handle, or even eliminate them. The guide moves beyond multicultural education to creating an anti-bias environment that is developmentally appropriate. Includes a comprehensive bibliography as well as sections on learning about disabilities, gender identity, racial and cultural differences, and how to resist stereotyping.

Resource Link: http://esrnational.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

At Issue: Marriage. Exploring the Debate Over Marriage Rights for Same-Sex Couples

GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network), 2003.

This resource offers educators six lesson plans for high school aged students that challenges them to explore the range of complex issues reflected in the marriage debate. The resource was developed at the time when the U.S. was awaiting the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court on the right of same-sex couples to civil marriage.

Resource Link: http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/educator/library/record/1411.html

Before Push Comes to Shove: Building Conflict Resolution Skills with Children

Nancy Carlsson-Paige and Diane E. Levin. Educators for Social Responsibility, 1998.

For Calvin and Angela, trash day is the best day of the week to find great playtime items. But when they end up in a conflict that results in anger and put-downs, they find themselves searching for a way to communicate and arrive at a solution that makes both of them happy. By using Best Day of the Week as a starting point, Before Push Comes to Shove shows teachers how they can begin to build conflict resolution skills in young children in ways that are meaningful and embedded in every day school experiences.

Resource Link: http://esrnational.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

Belvedere

Belvedere is software designed to help support problem-based collaborative learning scenarios with evidence and concept maps. With Belvedere, middle school and high school students learn critical inquiry skills that they can apply in everyday life as well as in science.

Resource Link: http://lilt.ics.hawaii.edu/lilt/software/belvedere/

Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development

Enid Lee, Deborah Menkart, and Margo Okazawa-Rey, Eds.. Washington, DC: Network of Educators on the Americas, 2002.

Beyond Heroes and Holidays is a 432-page interdisciplinary guide for teachers, administrators, students and parents. It offers lessons and readings developed by teachers that show how to analyze the roots of racism; investigate the impact of racism on our lives, our families and our communities; examine the relationship between racism and other forms of oppression; and learn to work to dismantle racism in our schools, communities, and society.

Resource Link: http://www.teachingforchange.org/Beyond_Heroes/beyond_heroes.html

Beyond Race Awareness: White Racial Identity and Multicultural Teaching

Sandra M. Lawrence. The Journal of Teacher Education, 48(2), pp.108-117., 1997.

Interviews examined whether white students' shifts in thinking about themselves as racial beings and about systems of oppression during a multicultural education course were evident in later teaching practice. Though students initially resisted learning about their own racism, they eventually became more willing to take some responsibility for racism.

Resource Link: http://jte.sagepub.com

Building Cultural Bridges

Joby S. Robinson, Robert P. Bowman, Tod Ewing, Janice Hannah and Ana Lopez-De Fede. National Educational Service, 1997.

The publication of Building Cultural Bridges is an exciting move toward building a set of tools to better raise our children. It provides a repertoire of methods and approaches for teachers, families, community workers, and others to teach children the rich value and potential of diversity. Includes more than 50 interactive, hands-on lessons form the core of this research-based resource for addressing diversity. One great activity is on page 112 of the Leader's Guide ("Put Your Fears in Arrears"). In this wonderful resource, the emphasis is on action - taking a stand against prejudice and building bridges across cultures and communities.

Canadian Peace Institute (CPI) Discussion Group

As part of the Canadian Culture of Peace Program (CCOPP), this list is intended to promote networking, communication and information dissemination among all (formal and informal) Canadian Peace Educators.

Resource Link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CPIdiscussion

Center for Art and Public Life's Art and Social Justice Curriculum Project

In 2005-2006, the Center for Art and Public Life worked in a year-long partnership with two Oakland-based schools to tap the expertise and energy of teachers and artists to develop and deliver arts integrated curricula to all students via The Art and Social Justice Curriculum Project. The project teamed K-12 teachers and Center coaching artists to develop and implement curricula focused on social justice and civic engagement through the arts via art workshops, seminars, classroom visits, and one-on-one coaching for non-arts teachers. Sample curricula from the project can be found on the Center website.

Resource Link: http://center.cca.edu/academics/institute/curriculum.php

Choices for the 21st Century Program

The Choices Program at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies offers deliberation-focused supplemental curriculum units for U.S. History, World History and Global Studies. Choices units feature historical background, a role play centered on alternative policies, primary source materials, detailed lesson plans and study guides. Units are affordable.

Resource Link: http://www.choices.edu

City Voices, Children's Needs

The National League of Cities.

Describes widespread concerns about the quality of schools, violence by and among young people, and inadequate opportunities for youth to become engaged in constructive activities during non-school hours.

Resource Link: http://www.nlc.org

Community Public Art Guide: Making Murals, Mosaics, Sculptures, and Spaces

Olivia Gude, Editor. Chicago Public Art Group.

The Chicago Public Art Group claims that their web-based Public Art Guide is the most comprehensive manual for making public artworks through collaboration with community that has ever been produced. The website represents the collective experience of dozens of dedicated community public artists, working on hundreds of projects, with thousands of participants.

Resource Link: http://www.cpag.net/guide/index.htm

Conditions for Change: Georgians Talk About How to Improve Public Schools and Education

Prepared by The Harwood Group for the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, 1994.

Conversations with Georgia residents reveals that improving public education is a top priority for Georgians across the state. Our experience suggests that to tap this desire and move ahead effectively, Georgians - and citizens everywhere who, like those in Georgia, want to improve their public schools - need to focus on seven key principles for building sustainable changes in education.

Resource Link: http://www.theharwoodinstitute.org/resources/