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My students are too young to remember the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Just four years before their birth, they refer to them as something from “back in the day.”But the themes of police brutality, poverty and racism are all too familiar. And most drew an immediate connection between the Rodney King verdict that sparked those riots and the 2009 fatal shooting of Oscar Grant. Grant was shot in the back by Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle less than one mile from our school in Oakland.

A look at the 'dream deferred' and the legacy of Dr. King's dream.

What keeps Michelle Spathelf in the classroom? Giving truant teenagers—and their families—hope.

When the start of Mix It Up at Lunch Day was announced at Seth Johnson Elementary in Montgomery, Ala., cheers rose up in the halls. At lunch, the fifth-grade class – leaders of this year’s activities – proudly displayed the banner they created for the event.

“You can’t sit with us!” I giggled as I, along with the 20 or so other girls in my high school health class, sprawled out on the classroom floor and watched Mean Girls. Gretchen Wieners had just told Regina George she couldn’t sit at their lunch table because she was wearing sweatpants­­. We’d all seen the movie countless times before, but it didn’t matter. The scene was perpetually funny.

When Maggie receives two pairs of shoes for her birthday, she must learn to walk between two cultures.

The 2008 election showed us that true progress in the struggle for equality is possible. Yet there is still much work to be done.

As these young activists prove, it's never too early to change the world.

A 7th grade Holocaust history project evolves into a memorial sculpture.