Rethinking Schools is a project as well as a publishing company that publishes educational materials focusing on urban schools and racism (in the Americas).
The publishing house was born out of the vision of a group of Milwaukee-area teachers back in the 1980s: Not only was teaching to be improved in their own classrooms, but the entire system of public schools in the U.S. was to be successively reformed.
The focus was on the content of teaching materials used, standardized testing procedures, and textbook-fixed curricula.
The Rethinking Schools project, which now operates with enormous reach, continues to pursue the goal that public education and teaching should be starting points for a humane and mindful democratic society.
Practice guides on a wide variety of topics have been published in a Rethinking publication series in recent years. For example, booklets have been published on “Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality,” “Rhythm and Resistance: Teaching Poetry for Social Justice,” “A People’s History for the Classroom,” and a DVD on “Unlearning ‘Indian’ Stereotypes.”
All materials can be ordered from Rethinking Schools.
Rethinking Schools also operates a blog: Through the activist platform, text posts and references to resources encourage teachers, parents, and students to advocate for public schools whose learning positively relates to and impacts all students.
Every three months, Rethinking Schools publishes a magazine that showcases innovative teaching methods, useful resources, and provides analysis on important sociopolitical issues.
The Rethinking Schools project can be supported via donations here.