Recommended lessons, books, films, events for social justice educators, and more
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Coordinated by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change
Latinx Heritage Month
Teach Outside the Textbook
When we talk about American history, too often we forget that the Americas include more than the United States.
Latinx (also called Latine or Hispanic) Heritage Month is a good time to remember how all Americans are part of an interconnected history.That is especially true today, when millions of immigrants from the Americas are being slandered and criminalized by the current administration. People have fled their homes in Mexico and Central and South America often because of decades of U.S. military, economic, and climate policies that have exploited people and turned so many into refugees. And let’s remember, too, that much of the United States used to be Mexico, and that Mexicans have a history that stretches back to before there even was a United States.
In response to the disruptions wrought by U.S. policy, people throughout the Americas have sought to build lives of dignity in their original homelands, and also here. Whether we think of the Cuban Revolution, the election of the socialist Salvador Allende in Chile, the union activism of U.S. farmworkers, the Chicano student blowouts in East L.A., or today’s struggles against the racism and lawlessness of ICE — Latinx Heritage Month means we should teach about everyone’s work for justice.
We offer free lessons and recommendations for books and films, including the titles below.
Reading the Worldby Catherine Murphy and Iris de Oliveira. A documentary about Paulo Freire, focusing on the Brazilian community where he and colleagues developed the literacy education approach described in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Airs on PBS on October 9.
Check out these events hosted by the Zinn Education Project and our coordinating organizations (Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change).
On Thursday, October 8,as part of our call-to-action to teach about voting rights and the Constitution this fall, we’re hosting a “Who Gets to Vote?” curriculum workshop. This workshop introduces educators to a lesson about people with firsthand experience having their voting rights granted or denied.
Participants will have an opportunity to meet social justice educators from across the country to discuss ways to address this topic in their own teaching. Learn more and register.
On Wednesday, October 14, Join Rethinking Schools and Race Forward for a free virtual political education training and discussion about social justice unionism.
Examining North Carolina as a case study, guest speaker Bryan Proffitt will offer building-level organizing tools and strategies to help build power in schools, unions, and beyond. Learn more and register.
On Saturday, October 17th, attend the 19th Annual Northwest Teaching for Social Justice Conference — co-sponsored by Rethinking Schools — at Lindbergh High School in Renton, Washington (near Seattle).
Workshop leaders include Rethinking Schools editors Wayne Au, Linda Christensen, Grace Cornell Gonzales, and Ursula Wolfe-Rocca, and Prentiss Charney Fellows Julia Kirkpatrick and Suzanna Kassouf. Learn more and register.
The Teach the Black Freedom Struggleonline series combines live access to leading people’s historians, structured reflection in small groups, and an ongoing national community committed to truth and historical justice.
Join educators, students, and community members committed to teaching truth and building a more just world.ASL interpretation and professional development certificates provided. Learn more and register.
Teachers are under attack for teaching truthfully about U.S. history.Please donate so that we can continue to offer free people’s history lessons and resources, and defend teachers’ right to use them.
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