The prevailing cultural narrative about middle school is that those years are extremely difficult, and the best students can hope for is to endure them until finding relief in high school. Nancy Deutsch argues that these years are, in fact, a time of great potential if schools can abandon their stereotypes about young adolescents and create school…

Despite complaints about a "boy crisis" in schools, girls in many parts of the world continue to face unnecessary obstacles to getting an adequate education. Many experience sexual assault and harassment at school, lack bathroom facilities they need during their menstrual periods, and must contend with gender stereotyping that keeps them…

While subdued forms of everyday prejudice may seem harmless, appearances can be deceiving. Such commonplace prejudices form the foundation upon which more extreme acts of prejudice build. And they also leave us vulnerable to costly errors of judgment that can have tragic consequences. That is why addressing prejudice in the classroom is as crucial…

Black students may have little choice in what social burdens they must bear, but educators have a choice in alleviating them. Schools with a genuine commitment for disrupting inequities find ways to lighten the unenviable burdens black students bear. The author recommends that schools disaggregate data by race, provide ongoing professional…

Behind every student dealing with a mental health problem is a family trying to grasp what's happening to their child and struggling to do its best. This personal story shares the journey of a family as it confronts a child with Generalized Anxiety and Panic Disorder and describes the many starts and stops and confusion of diagnosing and…

Meeting the mental health needs of black children will take more than just increasing access to mental health services and early identification. It also will require a critical evaluation of the practices and models being used to diagnose and treat mental health concerns. Frameworks have been established that use a positive, strengths-based,…

Teacher education no longer deserves the denigrating stereotypes it has had in the past. With students who are more academically able than those in the past and with promising new avenues for research, teacher education institutions are on the brink of a renaissance. In addition, the sheer size of the academic teacher education enterprise ensures…

If we are going to make progress in helping teachers develop awareness and pedagogies that are sensitive to children who live in poverty, we need to challenge the widespread misinformation that is being disseminated in this area and then set a new course. The work of Ruby Payne merely furthers negative stereotypes of the poor.

The "model minority" myth is multi-layered and need to be demystified on several levels. Authors Yong Zhao and Wei Qiu challenge four myths about Asian-American students: (1) Not all Asian American students achieve the level of academic excellence and thus efforts must be made to treat each student as an independent individual; (2) Asian American…

The author was disappointed after reading Kevin St. Jarre's article entitled "Reinventing Social Studies". Rather than reinventing social studies, this article reflects the field's major problems. It recycles stereotypical views of history teachers, confuses chronology with history, and offers a one-dimensional, single-cause explanation for how…

Unconscious biases affect one's relationships, whether they are fleeting relationships in airports or longer term relationships between teachers and students, teachers and parents, teachers and other educators. In this article, the author argues that understanding one's possible biases is essential for developing community in schools.…

Presents stereotypical assumptions and examples of sexual discrimination in school physical education and athletic programs. Suggests that present inequities can be resolved by changing attitudes and by legislation. (Author/DN)

Examines sex discrimination in the curriculum, its administration, and in the rationale of certain courses and procedures, especially with regard to athletics and vocational preparation courses. (Author/DN)

Presents a feminist case against the elementary school by summarizing existing documentation in this area. Shows the limits of a liberal approach to sexism and suggests directions for future analysis and activity. (Author/DN)

Examines how the role of women within the home has changed and reviews legislation that makes equal job opportunity for women a requirement in theory. Considers five stereotypes about women that will have to be changed if women are to have equal job opportunities in practice. (Author/DN)