“The Library That Target Built” and other articles from our Summer Issue

Summer issue coverThe Library that Target Built,” by teacher-librarian Rachel Cloues, reveals what happened when Target donated a library “makeover” to a San Francisco elementary school: the district’s anti-branding policy wasn’t enough to keep the students from being engulfed by corporate messaging.

Rethinking Schools’ summer 2014 issue, “Targeting Books and Films.”  asks how are media affecting students, and how can we engage students to explore social justice themes?

In “‘May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor’: Teaching Class and Collective Action with The Hunger Games,” Elizabeth Marshall and Matthew Rosati base a role play on the wildly popular novel in order to deepen students’ understanding of social class and its impact on alliances and resistance.

Then Linda Christensen shows how she uses Myrlin Hepworth’s  poem “Ritchie Valens” to teach cultural history, “raise the bones” of a biographical poem, and inspire students to write their own poetry. You won’t want to miss her article, “Singing Up Our Ancestors.”

On the policy front, we are honored to share “Colonialism, Not Reform: New Orleans Schools Since Katrina.” This interview with parent activist Karran Harper Royal is a disturbing warning for parents and educators everywhere.

Other articles in this issue include:

Disarming the Nuclear Family” by Willow McCormick. Most children’s books-even those with animals as the protagonists–portray families with two heterosexual parents. A 2nd-grade teacher has her students create a book that represents their own more diverse families.

Image for Disarming the Nuclear Family
Illustration: Christiane Grauert

12 Years a Slave’: Breaking Silences About Slavery” by Jeremy Stoddard. A teacher educator puts the award-winning 12 Years a Slave in the context of other films used to teach about slavery.

Independence or Catastrophe? Teaching Palestine through multiple perspectives” by Samia Shoman. A social studies teacher uses conflicting narratives to engage students in studying the history of Palestine/Israel, focusing on the events of 1948.

Carbon Matters: Middle school students get carbon cycle literate” by Jana Dean. A 6th-grade teacher uses the carbon cycle to help students understand climate change. Along the way, she deals with a parent who wants her to give equal time to “climate change is a myth.”

Articles in Spanish

Three articles in this issue also appear in Spanish:

La biblioteca que construyó Target  Por Rachel Cloues, traducido por Nicholas Yurchenco. Cuando Target le donó a una escuela primaria en San Francisco la remodelación de su biblioteca, la política del distrito en contra de las marcas no fue suficiente para impedir que los estudiantes fueran bombardeados por mensajes corporativos.

El desarme de la familia nuclear Por Willow McCormick, traducido por César Peña-Sandoval. La mayoría de libros para niños–hasta los que usan animales como protagonistas–retratan a las familias con dos padres heterosexuales. Una maestra de 2do grado pide que sus estudiantes creen un libro que represente la diversidad de sus propias familias.

“Que las probabilidades estén siempre a su favor” Enseñar sobre las clases sociales y la acción colectiva a través de Los juegos del hambre (The Hunger Games)Por Elizabeth Marshall y Matthew Rosati, traducido por Shireen Cotterall. Los juegos del hambre se usa como base para una dramatización que profundiza el conocimiento de los estudiantes sobre la clase social y cómo esta impacta las alianzas y la resistencia.