For educators, the fight for social justice does not necessarily begin with a Third World cause in another hemisphere but begins instead with the children they serve to empower every day in their classrooms. The author teaches because he believes that each person, at his or her core, carries a sense of justice, however shrouded. That sense of…

Educators--and parents and politicians and others--say children are their future. They say that they want students to think critically, that they want them to be problem-solvers, to ask questions, to challenge educators to make the world a better place. And yet, the author sees educators set aside these high aspirations and silenced by the fear of…

On Feb. 12, 2008, 15-year-old Lawrence King was shot twice in the head in front of other students, in Oxnard, California. When Larry King was murdered allegedly due to a classmate's prejudice, some pundits asked if adults were to blame for encouraging him to come out. One can't be sure what adults did or didn't do in this case, but the question…

Social justice issues have long had a strong presence in some content areas. History is often a chronicle of the struggle for peace and equity. In English, students can discover how language can be a catalyst for change, can bring clarity to protests against injustice and can enhance healing and reconciliation through authentic dialogue. Likewise,…

The "achievement gap" is one of the most disturbing phenomena in American education. Teachers want to close the gap in their own schools--but because the gap is rooted in longstanding and widespread problems, the task sometimes feels like a monumental undertaking. This fall, Teaching Tolerance launched the Teaching Diverse Students Initiative…