Teaching Tough Topics

Teaching Tough Topics: NPT Reports

What should school children be taught about Islam, the Confederacy and other topics that are sensitive to some in our society? NPT Reports looks at how curriculum standards are set in Tennessee and why state officials are implementing new procedures to address public concerns as part of the Southern Education Desk's series, "Teaching Tough Topics."

Teaching Tough Topics: Teaching Beyond The Test

Civil Rights, Voter ID laws, Felon Rights. These topics aren’t foreign for teachers and students in Southern classrooms. But what happens when pressure to teach to the test prevents challenging conversations?

Teaching Tough Topics: Teaching Civil War History In Mississippi As Symbols Fall

In Mississippi, the Civil War still stirs emotions. It’s not so much that teachers disagree on how it should be taught, but that ongoing attempts by the University of Mississippi and several cities across the South to shed Confederate symbols have called up old ghosts. Sandra Knispel reports for the Southern Education Desk.

Teaching Tough Topics: Textbook Fight Riles Tennessee

What should school children be taught about Islam? In Florida and North Carolina, parents claim students are being "indoctrinated" with a sanitized version of the Muslim faith. One of the fiercest fights so far is happening right now in Tennessee. As Chas Sisk of WPLN reports for the Southern Education Desk, it could reveal the playbook for future battles.

Teaching Tough Topics: The South’s Real History

Teaching subjects that trigger strong emotions and political divides is challenging. In the South, many of those fault-lines — racial, religious and otherwise — are intimately tied to its history. This week the Southern Education Desk is exploring how teachers tackle tough topics. WBHM’s Dan Carsen starts with an overview of some the major challenges, and […]