Rethinking Schools- Teaching Ferguson

Teaching Ferguson Compilation of blog posts and resources from Rethinking Schools, Teaching for Change, and Zinn Education Project

From Teaching For Change: Teaching About Ferguson by Julian Hipkins III Credit: Reuters As the new school year begins, first and foremost on our minds and in our hearts will be the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Teachers may be faced with students' anger, frustration, sadness, confusion, and questions.  Some students will wonder how this could happen in the United States. For others, unfortunately, police brutality and intimidation are all too familiar. Here are a few ideas and resources for the classroom to help students think critically about the events in Ferguson and ways they can be proactive in their own communities. READ MORE

From the Rethinking Schools Blog : Teach About Mike Brown. But Don't Stop There. By Rethinking Schools magazine contributor Renée Watson Credit: flickr user no scream @ the end This time last summer, I researched articles and collected poems about police brutality, racial profiling, and the murders of black men in the United States. The George Zimmerman verdict was fresh on my mind and I wanted to talk about it with my students once school was back in session. I revised a lesson I had taught six years prior on the murder of Sean Bell that asked young people to turn their pain into poetry. And now, here I am again, swapping out the articles I used last year on Trayvon Martin with articles about Mike Brown. I have accepted that I may have to teach this lesson every school year. READ MORE