We Should Teach "Banned" Topics...

• Title: Ban? No, Teach the Topics.
• Source: Teaching Tolerance Website and Blog/Hoyt J Phillips III/9-26-16
• URL: Here's the Link to the blog post.
• Key Points: Mr. Phillips noted two key themes from the list of 10 most challenged books of 2015- Gender/Sexuality themes, and Religious themes. He understands why they are challenged, but believes that it is critical to have students "engage" with texts like these because it can "serve as mirrors of their own experiences and as windows into those of others." In honor of Banned Books Week, he encourages educators to use a book that deals with controversial themes in their curriculum.
• Relevance: I believe that in the society we are living in now, it is more critical than ever for us as teachers to find ways to challenge our students to develop empathy and a perspective of "the other". Banned Books Week is a reminder that there will always be people who want to shelter our youth from the hard issues we face in the real world. However, if they are not taught about struggles and life experiences different than their own, are we really creating consious members of their communities committed to making it better than when they encountered it?

Courage to Blog

"The Courage to Blog with Students"
by Marsha Ratzel
Education Week
Posted online on April 27, 2011
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2011/04/27/tln_ratzel_courage.html?tkn=XNRFqQynRdxc1wDd4EJdOmqGnmvZ6oYGux5a&cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS2

We have discussed this issue in class about whether we should or should not blog with students.  This article really helped relieve my stress when it came to blogging with my kids.  The author, a teacher, gives eight really great points in how to start blogging.

Tip #1: The best way to get your feet wet without drowning is to use a group blog.
Tip #2: Teach students how to write comments.
Tip #3: Use what you already have in your teaching plan, with some minor modifications.
Tip #4: Practice commenting without computers.
Tip #5: Make student use of the class blog a privilege.
Tip #6: You can’t emphasize safety too much.
Tip #7: Decide how you will choose usernames.
Tip #8: Communicate with parents early on.

This article is the best I have seen so far for teachers in not only providing information about classroom blogging, but also providing great resources.  Ms. Ratzel provides many links so you can see examples of what she is talking about and also has links to the resources she mentions.  At the end of the article she talks about a Student Blogging Challenge and also a professional development site, Teachers Challenge, for teachers to learn about blogging and sharpen their blogging skills.

I now am excited to start blogging activities with my future classrooms and to get started in learning more about it.  It will be interesting to see how the blogs turn out!