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Picture Imperfect Number 46: Spring 2014 Illustration by Byron Eggenschwiler Dr. Neal Lester, a professor of English at Arizona State University, says his journey into studying children’s literature began 30 years ago. A parent of biracial children (he is African American and his wife is Italian Argentinean), Lester went searching for children’s books that reflected his family—and found only a few. His experience isn’t surprising considering that—even today—only a small percentage of children’s books are written by or about people of color. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison receives most trade books released by large publishers—and many smaller ones—in the United States. Of the approximately 3,600 books they received in 2012, fewer than eight percent were about people of color. And just because a book depicts people of color does not mean it necessarily sends the right message. Lester points out that the long-awaited Dis

Equity and iPhones Submitted by Jim Hiller on February 21, 2014 Blogs and Articles: Teaching Printer-friendly version A few years ago, I attended a training called Coaching for Educational Equity. During this four-day conference, the 40 or so participants discussed inequitable school systems and strategies to interrupt and transform them to support all students. To maximize the impact of this conference, we were all asked to stay at the hotel that was hosting our work, a former lodge repurposed into a hotel. Days before the conference, I purchased my first iPhone from the Apple Store and was in love with my new gadget. Since this was my first smartphone, I was in a learning curve when it came to my device. One evening, I returned to my room and plugged my phone in to recharge. I noticed an hour later it wasn’t recharging. I wiggled the power cord connected to the phone and saw the familiar lightning bolt indicating power flow. All was well, so I went to be

Tell Governor Rick Scott to halt Florida's racist education policy #BelieveInFloridaKids by Southern Poverty Law Center 3,527 supporters

Graça Machel Classroom Resources: Gender Equity Anti-Bias Domain: Justice Grade Level: Grades 9 to 12 Subject: Social Studies Printer-friendly version "We Africans may be impoverished, but we are not poor. ... We can learn things from others, but we also have a lot to offer the world." Timeline: Mozambique 1950 Mozambicans form independence movements seeking self-rule from Portugal. 1962 FRELIMO (Frente de LibertaVào de Mozambique) is formed and Samora Machel nominated as its president. A war of decolonization from Portugal begins. 1975 Mozambique becomes independent under the Lusaka Accord, which allows for rapid transfer of power to FRELIMO. The new government establishes a Socialist development model, nationalizing social services and intervening in banks, railways, and ports. They take over big Portuguese plantations to give land to peasants; they build schools and health clinics. Most of the Portuguese leave, taking their ski

Teaching Septima Clark Submitted by Liz Clift on October 1, 2013 Blogs and Articles: Civil Rights Movement Printer-friendly version In Freedom’s Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark , Katherine Mellen Charron documents the public life of a lesser-known civil rights activist and gives modern educators an opportunity to fill some gaping holes in the teaching of the civil rights movement. Charron’s book tells the story of Clark, an African-American woman who founded a citizenship training program to help black Americans subjected to citizenship questions when they tried to register to vote in the Jim Crow South. This book offers the opportunity for discussions about history, community activism and why civic engagement matters. The book follows the progress of the movement for African-American equality in South Carolina and the rest of the South and reveals how Clark’s experiences and connections with other powerful people informed her activism. Charron bases he

G.R.A.Y.S. Project Inc. (Granting at Risk Adolescents & Youth Sustainability) WWW.GRAYSPROJECT.COM Words from the Founder: Hi Supporters, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read our newsletter. We continue to offer SAT/ACT Test prep to local high school students from Middleton, Blake, and Jefferson High School in Tampa, FL every Saturday.   We also attended an educational fair through Hillsborough County Public Schools and I am proud to announce that we have signed an agreement with two facilities (PACE Center for Girls & Hillsborough HS) to provide GED Test Prep & Tutoring Services.   Our vision is to promote SUCCESS “One child at a time”. GRAY’S SPOTLIGHT feature this month is Project Promise; an organization that provides opportunity & promise to at-risk/delinquent youth.   The services they provide include mentoring, intervention, and educational support in collaboration with the Federal Title I Student Intervention and

Boasts About Textbooks Aligned to Common Core a 'Sham,' Say Researchers

Cultivating Happiness in Graduate School | Inside Higher Ed

The Pedagogy of Discovery | Inside Higher Ed

What’s an Online Student? | Inside Higher Ed

Brown releases analysis of how a lecture got canceled due to protests | Inside Higher Ed

Admissions leaders gather and consider how to define merit | Inside Higher Ed

Study: 1-hour program can close achievement gap for first generation college students | Inside Higher Ed

For Stanford U. MOOC instructors, trial and error breeds success | Inside Higher Ed

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http://urbanedgirl.blogspot.com/2014/02/florida-damaged-message.html

One of the realities of the modern classroom is that talking about LGBT individuals, issues and history can make students uncomfortable. Nervous laughter is common. When I lecture or lead a discussion on the gay liberation movement, I’ve seen students—particularly male students—shake their heads and proclaim their disapproval at the mention of gay men. It’s as if these students feel the need to draw a public distinction between themselves and gay men, ensuring that everyone in the room knows that they’re not gay. I am uncomfortable with these responses, but I think I understand where they come from. Many young male students are still struggling with adolescence and learning what it means to be an adult man. They don’t have a great variety of role models because our society unfortunately clings to a narrow definition of masculinity in which “real” men are understood to be breadwinners, tough guys and ladies’ men who don’t cry, while gay men are defined as emotional, fashion-obsessed,

OCTAE Connection - Issue 182 - February 6, 2014

Deborah Meier blogs—and debates—with others about what matters most for today's students, educators, and policymakers. Education and the Media Mark Walsh examines news media coverage of education, as well how schools, teachers, and students are treated in popular culture. OPINION Living in Dialogue Science educator and activist Anthony Cody explores education reform and teaching for change. OPINION Of, By, For: In Search of the Civic Mission of K-12 Schools Education activist Sam Chaltain writes about the changing nature of public education and highlights where the K-12 learning revolution is already underway. OPINION OpEducation OpEducation is a roundtable opinion blog featuring a variety of education thought leaders discussing K-12 issues. Politics K-12 This must-read coverage follows federal and state developments in education, with reporters Michele McNeil and Alyson Klein. OPINION Public Engagement & Ed R