Increase your awareness of religious obligations and ethnic and cultural festivities that may affect students, colleagues and neighbors in your community.
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The Pyramid of Hate illustrates the prevalence of bias, hate and oppression in our society. It is organized in escalating levels of attitudes and behavior that grow in complexity from bottom to top. Like a pyramid, the upper levels are supported by the lower levels; unlike a pyramid, the levels are not built consecutively or to demonstrate a ranking of each level. Bias at each level reflects a system of oppression that negatively impacts individuals, institutions and society…
November is Native American Heritage Month, which was first declared by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. The month provides an opportunity to commemorate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions and histories and acknowledge the important contributions of Native American/Indigenous people. It is also an important time to educate the general public, as well as young people in schools, about the bias, discrimination and unique challenges faced by Native American/Indigenous people…
Teach students about the importance of diverse literature and engage them in a study on the diversity of books in their classroom or school library.
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the High Holidays, are celebrated by Jewish people all over the world. The High Holidays fall on different days each year. For the specific dates each year, check our Calendar of Observances. These and other Jewish holidays fall on different days in our calendar because they follow the Jewish calendar, which has a different number of days than our calendar. The Jewish calendar is a Soli-lunar calendar. …
There are 1.8 billion Muslim people worldwide and an estimated 3.45 million Muslims living in the United States. Islam is currently the second largest religion in the world next to Christianity. Despite the fact that there are so many Muslims in the world, in many places there is a lack of understanding about Muslim people and Islam. In addition, the increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric and the unfortunate conflation of terrorism with Muslim people contributes to biased attitudes and…
Table Talk: Family Conversations About Current EventsBullying is a phrase we hear regularly and often: in the media, on TV shows and movies, in schools and in conversations among both adults and children. Parents, students and schools are rightfully worried about bullying. It is a problem and cause for concern but may not be as widespread as many think because the term “bullying” is often used as an umbrella to describe all kinds of mean behavior—from a rude comment to a…
Early Childhood Question Corner For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Children’s literature can be an effective tool for addressing the growing concerns about physical, verbal, and relational bullying in schools. Though bullying has been traditionally dismissed by some as “just a part of growing up,” most educators today understand that it is a pervasive problem with harmful and damaging effects on all members of the school community. The use of literature to…
GRADE LEVEL: High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Language We see symbols every day in all aspects of our lives. Symbols are used to convey ideas, qualities, emotions, material objects/products, opinions and beliefs. Unfortunately, symbols are also used to convey hate and bias. Lately, we have seen a lot of hate symbol graffiti in public spaces and specifically the swastika, which in most circumstances is understood as an expression of antisemitism. There has reportedly…
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Speaking and Listening, Language The surge of antisemitic incidents in the United States is alarming to many. Several reported incidents include graffiti using swastikas, bomb threats, vandalism and shootings, bomb threats targeting Jewish Community Centers (JCC) and Jewish institutions across the country. Over the past 10 years, ADL has recorded a record number of antisemitic incidents across the U.S. Since 2015,…
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Language, Speaking and Listening In commemoration of Women’s History Month, this resource helps educators engage students in thinking broadly and critically about the experience of women and gender in all of its complexity. In highlighting the significant events as well as people that have made a substantial contribution to women’s experience, instruction should…
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Rosalind Wiseman talks about raising teenagers in a complex world, the role of social media and gaming, what teachers can do to engage students and how her own parenting informs her work. Rosalind Wiseman is a teacher, thought leader, author and media spokesperson on bullying prevention, ethical leadership, the use of social media and media literacy. She is the author of several books including Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter…
For Educators Our country has a long history of youth-led movements that brought about significant social change. Young people have advocated for child labor laws, voting rights, civil rights, school desegregation, immigration reform and LGBTQ+ rights. Through their actions, the world has changed. Because young people often have the desire, energy and idealism to do something about the injustice they see in the world, they are powerful agents for change. Our work in education helps…
Being able to have respectful and constructive conversations is the bedrock of any relationship—whether those connections take place at home, school, work or in communities. However, when controversy or conflict arises, the discussions can quickly become polarized, heated and personal, making it very difficult to have a conversation where different points of view are aired and discussed. These conversations can be about something controversial like politics, current events, moral…
Teachers may want to engage young people in conversations about presidential and other elections and provide opportunities for students to learn more, ask questions and understand what they see and hear. Below are tips and strategies for engaging in these potentially contentious conversations in the classroom and doing so with a critical thinking and anti-bias lens. These strategies can also be used with other controversial issues that arise in your classroom. It is critical that students…
Early Childhood Question Corner For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers You can help children embrace differences by exposing them to diversity as early as possible. This can be a natural part of everyday living as children develop relationships outside their family. Answer children’s questions about differences openly and honestly as they come up, and if you don't know the answers, seek them out. Another way to ensure diversity in children’s lives is to…
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Language, Speaking and Listening Commemorating National Hispanic Heritage Month
In commemoration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we present this resource to help teachers engage students in thinking broadly and critically about the Hispanic American experience in all of its complexity. In highlighting the significant events as well as people that have made a substantial contribution…
A Guide for Counselors and Camp Administrators For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Summer camp is a wonderful time in children’s lives when they get to spend time outdoors, meet new people, have novel experiences and gain insight into themselves. There are about 12,000 day and resident camps in the U.S. and each year more than 11 million children and adults attend camp. According to an American Camp Association (ACA) report, parents cite the following reasons as the…
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | For Students Here are some simple things you can do to be an ally to targets of name-calling and bullying. And remember—always think about your safety first when deciding the best way to respond. 1. Support targets, whether you know them or not.Show compassion and encouragement to those who are the targets of bullying behavior by asking if they’re okay, going with them to get help and letting them know you are there for them…
Young people are exposed to discussions of extremism every day through social media, news and overheard conversations between adults. As an educators, the topic can be challenging to teach because the situation is always changing and evolving and worse--classroom conversations can themselves lead to stereotyping, bias and bigotry when discussing perpetrators, targets and victims. The following resources will help you teach about extremism while ensuring that the…