Columbia Spotlight

Banned Books Week begins on September 18th and this year it has much importance since many educators across the country are facing fierce political attacks. Here's a great student opinion from the NYT. Ialso want to share this update from  Open Campus  regarding banned books .  We have covered it before: school districts across the United States  are increasingly censoring books  that don’t align with white-washed conservative visions of the world. Art Spiegelman’s  Maus ,  The Illustrated Diary of Anne Frank , Alice Walker’s  The Color Purple,  Toni Morrison’s  The Bluest Eye,  and Harper Lee’s  To Kill a Mockingbird –these are some of the many books getting pulled from library shelves in American schools. In response to  this concerning trend , the Brooklyn Public Library has made a bold move: For a limited time, the library  will offer a free eCard  to any person aged 13 to 21 across the United States, allow...

Many of our students will have questions and concerns after this weekend's horrific mass shooting and a terrorist attack in Buffalo . After all, it was a teenage white supremacist who posted a racist manifesto online and then walked into a grocery store armed with an assault rifle and battle gear and traveled over 100 miles to specifically target Black shoppers.  This page has some resources in case you broach this subject in class. It will be updated throughout the week as more resources are made available and specific to this tragedy. If you have suggestions, please email me and we will add them to this list. Thank you all for your support of our students.  For Parents CSTS - Restoring Normalcy after Mass Shooting NCTSM - Parent Guidelines for Helping Youth after Recent Shootings .  This document offers parents guidance on helping their children after a shooting. This fact sheet describes common reactions children may have, how parents can help them, and self-care...

We're huge fans of the Edutopia blog here. Check out some of the highlights from that blog from the past 2 months.   Benefits of Service-Learning for High School Students Service-learning and volunteering help high school students give back to their community and grow as individuals. 9-12 High School 3 Steps to Better Peer Feedback High school teachers can use this method to guide students to give each other specific, actionable comments on their writing. 9-12 High School A Fun Activity to Promote a Sense of Belonging in High School Math Creating memes and cartoons around mathematical concepts and themes helps students realize how much they’ve learned. 9-12 High School 5 Simple Virtual Programs to Keep in Your High School Flexibility when meeting student needs is a key component of high school counselors’ work. Maintaining virtual programs aids in that process. 9-12 High School 5 Image-Based Activities for World Language Learners Discussing images of people, places, and foods ...

  As part of our celebration of   Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month , we are highlighting resources teachers can use to highlight the accomplishments and contributions of influential Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. (Here are some resources from   last year .) In addition, check out the New Jersey DOE's new Diversity & Equity website which has a special focus on Asian American history and culture.  Finally, in response to the recent violence targeted at Asians and Asian Americans across the country, we will also be sharing resources on dismantling racism throughout the month to help facilitate dialogue in classrooms and schools.  If you have additional resources or materials, please let me know so we can add them here. This  infographic  from ASCD includes fast facts about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to help you kick off the celebration.    1. MAPSO/SOMA's 2022 AAPI events can ...

Check out this BLOG POST for updated resources for poetry month which is in April. 

I  am sure many of our students have questions about the invasion of Ukraine. Below are resources for parents and teachers about the current war. If you have additional ones to share with colleagues, please send them our way. For PARENTS . Your children may have asked questions about the current conflict in Ukraine. I know as a parent, I sometimes leave the news on in the evening while working on my laptop or doing other things, without realizing my ten-year-old is walking around observing the television without any context. That’s why I have found the National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s “ Talking to Children about War ” document an excellent resource, especially when I want to talk with my teens about what they are hearing about this conflict.  Here are three additional resources for this topic: ABC News -  Honesty when talking with children about Ukraine Newswise -  Talking with children about traumatic events Childmind Blog -  How to talk with kids abou...