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“I have been watching to see how you stood, but have not noticed anything yet. Don't forget to be a good boy… .”Tennessee state lawmaker Harry Burn received that note from his mom in August 1920. And like a good son, he subsequently changed his vote from “nay” to “yea,” breaking a 48-48 deadlock in the state’s general assembly. “I knew that a mother’s advice is always safest for her boy to follow,” Burn commented afterward, while noting it wasn’t often that a man had a chance “to free 17 million women from political slavery.”

I overheard two students talking in class one day about their after-school plans. One said she would be volunteering at the local women’s shelter. I hurried over, excited to congratulate her on this great thing she was doing—being part of her community and supporting marginalized groups. Lesson plans were already beginning to form in my head: writing prompts about social awareness, student interviews with our populations of homeless, hungry, mentally and intellectually disabled and those in poverty. I imagined students writing editorials to the local newspaper about the needs of our community.

Want to take these teachers’ advice? Educate yourself on the deep and complex history of American slavery and how it shaped the American institutions and beliefs about race.

This teacher's classes were in the middle of reading a Sherman Alexie classic that spurred deep discussions and powerful writing. Then several women came forward to say #metoo about the author.