Instruction & Curriculum

In 1939, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was a big hit in theaters. The film is about a naive small-town guy who takes on corruption. The movie instantly became a classic and a part of the American zeitgeist.  We’ve had many Mr. Smiths sent to Washington since then. Most, if not all, have claimed that […]

Indigenous Peoples‘ Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October, and with that comes disinformation about the people who first inhabited North America. Many students know the phrase, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” However, Columbus was not the first foreign explorer to reach the Americas, nor did he or his predecessors “discover” […]

Dear Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), My name is Shareefah Mason. I am a Presidential Leadership Scholar who currently serves as the Director of Teacher Experience at a national non-profit that prepares prospective teachers. I worked as an Associate Dean of Educator Certification at the largest community college system in Texas. I taught in […]

“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it.” Those are the words from former president Donald Trump last month. Like so many other lies he tells, I didn’t personally believe him. For me, Donald Trump has made it clear where he stands on the notion of many things, like […]

“I think the task of philosophy is not to provide answers but to show how the way we perceive a problem can be itself part of the problem” – Slavoj Zizek. I’ve probably asked my coworkers 1000 times if they’ve seen Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Not just because it’s a great movie but […]

In anticipation of Banned Books Week this week (September 22-28, 2024); the American Library Association has released preliminary data documenting attempts to censor books and materials in public, school, and academic libraries during the first eight months of 2024. Between January 1 and August 31, 2024, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 414 attempts to censor library materials and […]