Tips & Ideas
Guidance and inspiration to help you build skills and community in your classroom and school
The widely hailed documentary about a French teacher and his elementary class is a paean to conformity, says reviewer Maxine Phillips.
Alan Shapiro reviews two books by Adam Hochschild about injustices and those who fought to end them.
Alan Shapiro reviews Stephen Kinzer's compelling account of "America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq."
Alan Shapiro asks: Are we, as teachers and citizens, willing to examine the disturbing actions of our government since 9/11? And what are the consequences of not examining them?
Alan Shapiro appreciates the book about Greg Mortenson, the man who builds schools and bridges of understanding with people in the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Our ever-inquiring curriculum writer Alan Shapiro suggests books, articles, and a blog that are sure to sharpen your thinking.
The theories of Freire and Ayers--and the Massachusetts curriculum framework--guide Emma Rose Roderick in creating a unit plan for fifth-graders on work (Freire, Ayers & an Economics Lesson for Fifth Graders).
Students enter the test room with time-honored ways of playing the cheat. But what if they could tattoo their bodies with numbers if it pleased them and examine them anytime they wished?
Alan Shapiro's essay challenges us to consider current education policies and what real reform might look like.
An Earth Day presentation to students prompts educator Alan Singer to reflect on some vital questions that Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth left out