For many years, educational practitioners have been implementing multicultural literature about African-American, Asian, and Latino families. Teachers have also presented literature about great leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Helen Keller. However, the same cannot be said about literature depicting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and…

At many universities and colleges across this nation there is an annual commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his vision of "a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." At these ceremonies, it is common for various campus leaders and administrators to vow renewed…

To this day, the widespread racial disparities that prompted the August 1965 riots in the Watts community of South Los Angeles frame many of the discussions about race in America. The death and destruction wrought during that five-day upheaval, along with the findings of the December 1965 McCone report that the lack of adequate health care…

Building joint-use libraries to foster new types of learning and collaboration is a growing phenomenon that is of great interest to academic library planners around the world. Noteworthy among these efforts, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in San Jose, California, is a collaboration of a metropolitan university library and a major public…

Education reform based on technical and rational processes often short-circuits reform because it is uncontentious, abstract, and provides educators with no legitimate ways to question the marketplace values and policies that drive much contemporary school reform. The perspective referred to as "betterment" is an alternative reform that…

More and more schools in California and across the nation are showing that when school communities accept the possibility and responsibility of bringing all of their students to proficiency levels, they can do amazing things. Six schools located in southern California--Martin Luther King and Harvey of Santa Ana Unified, Morrison Elementary of…

In this California state curriculum model for grade 4, "California: A Changing State," students study the history and development of California from earliest times to the present. The curriculum emphasizes the role of immigration, the development of California's economy, agriculture and infrastructure, its geography and the contributions…

In response to the Kerner Report, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the prodding of a few reporters on the staff, the "San Francisco Examiner" began an internship program in the summer of 1968. With some modifications, the program is continuing in 1973. By early 1971, 21 interns of minority background had completed the…

In this California state curriculum model for grade 8, "United States History and Geography: A More Perfect Union," students study the life, work, and philosophy of Cesar E. Chavez. They learn about historical events and developments in the United States that Chavez encountered. They examine how Chavez worked to bring the promises…

This study explored how multi-generational, middle-class, fifth-graders from Latino families responded to classroom discussions of social issues--particularly discrimination--and draws upon sociocultural views of culture, educational theory, and sociological perspectives of immigration to provide insight into the learning experiences of one group…