Presents a collection of essays and practical advice, including lesson plans and activities, to promote writing in all aspects of the curriculum.

Give students the power of language by using the inspiring ideas in this very readable book.

Rick and William Ayers renew their challenge to teachers to teach initiative, to teach imagination, to “teach the taboo” in the new edition of this bestseller. Drawing from a lifetime of deep commitment to students, teaching, and social justice, the authors update their powerful critique of schooling and present classroom stories of everyday teachers grappling with many of today’s hotly debated issues. They invite educators to live a teaching life of questioning—to imagine classrooms where every established and received bit of wisdom, common sense, orthodoxy, and dogma is open for examination, interrogation, and rethinking. Teaching the Taboo, Second Edition is an insightful guide to effective pedagogy and essential reading for anyone looking to evolve as an educator. What’s new for the second edition of Teaching the Taboo! A deeper exploration of issues of white privilege and racism and war and peace. A more thorough examination of the problems with math and science education, including possible solutions. An expanded exploration of the importance of creative writing for validating individual and community experiences. A more thorough discussion of Freire’s work and comparison to the radical teaching projects of African American activists in the south during the Freedom Schools. An in-depth look at how students can be part of co-constructing historical narratives and analyses. An update on school struggles in Atlanta, Chicago, and Seattle. Praise for the first edition of Teaching the Taboo! “For those frustrated by the thrust of educational 'reform'…this book provides what can be described as both a challenge and a set of alternatives.” —Education Review “Drawing from a lifetime of deep thinking about education and courageous commitment to precious students, Rick and William Ayers have given us a marvelous book. Their devastating critique of the pervasive market models in education and their powerful defense of democratic forms of imagination in schools are so badly needed in our present-day crisis!” —Cornel West, Princeton University “Teaching the Taboo is provocative, challenging, funny in places, wild but sensible enough to be useful, inspiring, and practical for educators who are working to negate the educational madness that is infecting the schools.” —Herb Kohl, author of 36 Children and Painting Chinese Rick Ayers is a university instructor and founder of the Communication Arts and Sciences small school at Berkeley High School, and teaches at the University of San Francisco. William Ayers is a school reform activist and a Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Armstrong argues that genius comes in many different forms and that too often we overlook or even "shut down" that genius in students.

Voices for Diversity and Social Justice: A Literary Education Anthology is an unflinching exploration through poetry, prose, and art of the heart of our educational system—of the segregation, bias, and oppression that are part of the daily lives of so many students and educators. It is also a series of poetical insights into the fights for liberation and resistance at the heart of many of the same students’ and teachers’ lives. The contributors—youth, educators, activists, others—share what it is like to face discrimination, challenge unjust policy, or subvert monotony by cultivating a vibrant, equitable, revolutionary school environment. This is not a prescriptive text, but instead a call to action. It is a call from many literary voices to create schools where social justice is at the core of education. Stunning in its revelations, Voices for Diversity and Social Justice is an anthology by educators and students unafraid to be passionate about what is missing, what is needed, and what is working in order to make that vision a reality.

How do teachers educate responsibly in an age of mass incarceration? And why should English teachers in particular concern themselves with unequal treatment and opportunity and the school-to-prison pipeline? The authors address these and other critical questions, examining the intersection of restorative justice and education.

"Rhythm and Resistance offers practical lessons about how to teach poetry to build community, understand literature and history, talk back to injustice, and construct stronger literacy skils across content areas and grade levels-- from elementary school to graduate school. Rhythm and Resistance reclaims poetry as a necessary part of a larger vision of what it means to teach for justice." from cover.