Articles Archives

Scholastic Inc. — Pushing Coal: A 4th-grade Curriculum Lies through Omission

Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Summer 2011.
Rethinking Schools exposes links between Scholastic and the coal industry.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Tourgee Marker (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Students Secure Marker for Reconstruction Era Lawyer Albion Tourgée

Article. By Richard Dana.
A group of students at Kent State University-Ashtabula helped secure local recognition for Reconstruction era lawyer and writer Albion Tourgee, including a historical marker at his birthplace.

Students “Warrior Up” for Climate Justice

Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Fall 2018.
Teaching hope instead of despair, teachers invite students to research “climate warriors,” those who “know the truth” and yet are not defeated by it.

Tarantino Bloodies the Truth: A History Teacher’s Lament

Article. By Larry Miller. January 2013.
A review of the film Django Unchained.

Tax the Rich (Art by Michael Duffy) | Zinn Education Project

Tax the Rich, Fight Climate Change

Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Winter 2018.
The “just transition” away from fossil fuels can also be a move toward a society that is cleaner, more equal, and more democratic.

Teach Voting Rights

Voting rights toolkit for students.

Gaby Lemieux testifying before the school board.

Teachers vs. Climate Change: The Story of Teachers’ Work for Climate Justice in Portland, Oregon

Article. By Bill Bigelow.
The story of how teachers, parents, and students in Portland, Oregon organized to demand that climate change be taught honestly and to pass a climate justice resolution.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Teaching Social Activism in Prison | Zinn Education Project

Teaching Social Activism in Prison: The Leap Manifesto and Incarcerated Youth

Article. By Rachel Boccio. Rethinking Schools, Winter 2018.
A Connecticut educator who taught English to incarcerated young men for 20 years describes what happened when she introduced her students to the Canadian “Leap Manifesto.”

Climate Change (Art by Michael Duffy) | Zinn Education Project

Teaching the Truth About Climate Change Is Up to Us, Because Textbooks Lie

Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Spring 2018.
Every single one of the texts adopted in Portland, known for being green and liberal, misleads young people about the climate crisis.

The Bonus Army

Article. By Mickey Z.
History of the 1932 Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF) or Bonus Army.

The Export of Colors

Article. By Manlio Argueta. From Cuzcatlán, Donde bate la mar del sur.
An excerpt from a novel of historical fiction about the impact of an export economy on peasants in El Salvador.

The First Decoration Day

Article. By David W. Blight. 2011.
The people's history of Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina during Reconstruction.

The Green Feather Movement

Article. By Alison Kysia. 2013.
History of a little-known student resistance movement against McCarthyism and censorship.

Teaching Activity by Alison Kysia

The Green New Deal and Our Schools

Article. By the Rethinking Schools Editorial Board. Rethinking Schools, Summer 2019.
The Green New Deal will only be brought to life by people who grasp the enormity of the crisis that humanity faces and the radical changes necessary to address it. This requires that we teach a climate justice curriculum.

The Limits of Master Narratives in History Textbooks: An Analysis of Representations of Martin Luther King Jr.

Article. By Derrick Alridge. 2006. 25 pages.
Critique of textbook representation of Martin Luther King Jr. as messiah, embodiment of the Civil Rights Movement, and a moderate.

The Missouri Tigers and the Hidden History of Black College Football Activists

Article. By Dave Zirin. 2015.
The protest by the University of Missouri football team placed in the context of a long history of activism by college athletes.

Teaching Activity by Dave Zirin

The Politics of Children’s Literature: What’s Wrong with the Rosa Parks Myth

Article. By Herbert Kohl. Rethinking Schools.
A critical analysis that challenges the myths in children's books about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The Power In Our Hands: Introduction

Article. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 1988.
Teaching insights and introduction to using The Power In Our Hands curriculum book.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond

The Real Bread and Roses Strike Story Missing from Textbooks

Article. By Robert Forrant. 2013.
The author challenges the common myth that the Bread and Roses Strike was spontaneous.

The Truth About Helen Keller

Article. By Ruth Shagoury.
A review of children's picture books about the life of Helen Keller reveals the omission of any description of her active role in key social movements of the 20th century.

Teaching Activity by Ruth Shagoury

The Voting Rights Act: Ten Things You Should Know

Article. By Emilye Crosby and Judy Richardson. 2015.
Key points in the history of the 1965 Voting Rights Act missing from most textbooks.

Teaching Activity by Emilye Crosby

The Women Who Gave Us Christmas

Article. By William Loren Katz. 2010.
The abolitionist influence on the history of Christmas celebrations in the United States.

Teaching Activity by William Loren Katz

There’s Infinitely More to Martin Luther King Jr. Than ‘I Have a Dream’

Article. By Craig Gordon.
Back in 2001, I was trying to get my eleventh grade U.S. history class to focus on a passage from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? Unfortunately, I was not surprised when a student protested, "We already know about him. We're tired of hearing about Martin Luther King."

Time to Abolish Columbus Day

Article. By Bill Bigelow. 2015. If We Knew Our History Series. When the school curriculum celebrates Columbus, children are taught that it’s OK for white people to rule over peoples of color and that militarily powerful nations can bully weaker nations. By his own account, Columbus enslaved people, destroyed cultures, and terrorized those who challenged his rule. It’s time to abolish Columbus Day.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Who Freed the Slaves (Material) | Zinn Education Project

Timeline on the Civil War and Abolition

Student Handout. By Bill Bigelow. 3 pages.
This timeline can be used as a resource for lessons on the Civil War, President Lincoln, the 54th Regiment, and the end of slavery.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

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