Books have the power to introduce us to new places, cultures, and perspectives. But right now students across the country are facing empty bookshelves in their classrooms and school libraries, as books that fairly address issues of race, gender, and culture in age-appropriate ways are at risk of being banned from classroom and library shelves by state or local officials.

This week, we're joined by Dr. Heather Harding, Executive Director of Campaign for a Shared Future (https://www.campaignsharedfuture.org/), to discuss what we can do in our local communities to ensure that all children have the opportunity to access inclusive content.

Censorship in Schools

Writing projects can feel like a distraction, unless we look at the ways in which projects increase learning for students, and the ways we can integrate them into our calendars without losing teaching time for skills or content that we need to cover.

Today, we revisit our conversation with participants from one of our Student Publication Initiative (SPI) projects last year: participants from all levels — Meg Davis, SPI coach; Vicky Beswick, NYC DOE teacher; and Juan Filan & Deylin Pena-Rodriguez — two 9th grade students who established their voices as student authors throughout the writing process.

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Call Back Conversation: Amplifying Student Voices

Teaching Today is brought to you by The Center for Professional Education of Teachers (CPET) at Teachers College, Columbia University.

In conversation with teachers, researchers, and school leaders, we’re dedicated to breaking down the problems, policies, and promising practices that define teaching. Uniting theory and practice, CPET promotes rigorous and relevant scholarship, and is committed to making excellent education accessible worldwide.

Call Back Conversation: Amplifying Student Voices

Teaching Today

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