A campaign of several years to remove monuments to people associated with the Confederacy or to rename places and facilities honoring them gained momentum in the weeks and months after the unrest of the summer of 2020. But the effort is not to just remove statues or rename military bases. Supporters of the effort also say it’s long past time to recognize people who have contributed positively but who do not have a prominent presence among monuments and other places of honor. The national reckoning around race also prompted two professional sports teams to change their names.

Key questions: Who does your school and community honor, and who is overlooked?

• Does your school, neighborhood or community recognize contributions of people from a variety of backgrounds?
• How do the landmarks, schools, libraries, streets, parks, statues and other named items align with the demographics of the people who live there? What do the people who live there think of this?
• Do any of the place and landmark names in your community use terminology that is offensive or outdated? Are these places and landmarks in honor of people who have pasts that are seen differently today?
• Who should be honored in your community? How do you or your peers suggest they be honored?
• Do any school mascots in your community or athletic conference use offensive identities, terminology or imagery? What is their history, and how are these mascots being re-evaluated today?

Monuments 

• The House Votes To Remove Confederate Statues In The U.S. Capitol (NPR, June 29)
• All But 5% Of U.S. Capitol Sculptures Are Of Men. Some Senators Want To Change That (NPR, July 29)
• Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday (Associated Press, June 17)
• The Pentagon has 3 years to strip Confederate names from bases. Here’s what comes next (Politico, Jan. 5)
• In Virginia, statues were removed in Richmond (The Washington Post, July 7) and Charlottesville (Associated Press, July 11).
• Ida B. Wells ‘Light of Truth’ Monument Unveiled In Bronzeville: ‘This Happened Because We Were Determined To Make It Happen’ (Block Club Chicago, June 30) — “The monument’s completion comes as cities throughout the country are grappling with who and how they honor historic figures, particularly those who oppressed Black, Indigenous and other nonwhite people. Hannah-Jones, who spearheaded ‘The 1619 Project,’ urged people to ‘fill the empty spaces left behind with true Americans who actually fought for the ideas of liberty and freedom.’”

Mascots 

• Anatomy of a Mascot (The New York Times Magazine, June 30) — “But many students, with the backing of the majority of the school board, believe the moniker and the mascot are noninclusive at best, and racist at worst. The National Congress of American Indians, the American Psychological Association and the National Museum of the American Indian concur.”
• Hundreds Of Schools Are Still Using Native Americans As Team Mascots (FiveThirtyEight, Oct. 12, 2020)
• Cleveland changing name from Indians to Guardians after 2021 season (ESPN, July 23)
• A timeline of the Washington Football Team’s name change saga (NBC Sports, July 3) — “The team will enter 2021 as The Washington Football Team and what comes after that is not known.”

The list reflects what I have read, heard and seen in my own media diet, so it comes from my perspective. Chicago is also over-represented because that’s where I live and work. The list is not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive of other ideas. Many of the stories were covered by multiple outlets, but links here lean toward sites available without a subscription, particularly nonprofit news sites like NPR and The 19th.

Several new marketplaces have emerged or matured in 2021, bringing technologies and new opportunities to make money along with ethical concerns. 

Key question: Are the risks associated with emerging cryptocurrencies and other digital investments worth the reward?

• What do students and adults in your school know about cryptocurrencies and NFTs? What can you do to help them understand these emerging marketplaces?
• How has information about these emerging technologies been incorporated into your school’s curriculum or extra-curricular clubs?
• Have any of your students participated as investors or creators?
• How do members of your school community feel about the energy consumed in developing and supporting cryptocurrencies?
• At a summer camp, juice boxes and bitcoin mining (NBC News, July 2) — “Over five days, the [Crypto Kids Camp] combines activities that would be common at any summer camp with a crash course in how to think about, buy and even mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”
• What Are NFTs, Anyway? One Just Sold for $69 Million. (The New York Times, May 12) — “‘Nonfungible tokens’ and blockchain technology are taking the mainstream art world by storm, fetching huge prices. We explain, or try to.” 
• Cryptocurrency’s Newest Frontier (The New York Times “The Daily” podcast, April 13)
• The climate controversy swirling around NFTs (The Verge, March 15) — “Individual pieces of crypto art, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), are at least partially responsible for the millions of tons of planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions generated by the cryptocurrencies used to buy and sell them. Some artists — including those who have already benefited from the craze — think it’s a problem that can be easily solved. Others think the proposed solutions are a pipe dream.”

The list reflects what I have read, heard and seen in my own media diet, so it comes from my perspective. Chicago is also over-represented because that’s where I live and work. The list is not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive of other ideas. Many of the stories were covered by multiple outlets, but links here lean toward sites available without a subscription, particularly nonprofit news sites like NPR and The 19th.

A 2019 survey showed more kids in America and the U.K. wanted to grow up to be a YouTube star than an astronaut. The past year and a half of being at home for learning, working and even socializing has made the impact of social media marketing even stronger. Influencer marketing is expected to grow to be worth $13.8 billion in 2021, and lots of people want a piece of that. Most brands are using Instagram, but TikTok is on the rise. One significant indication that influencers and creators are now an established industry? The New York Times has moved most of the stories on this topic from the Style section to Business.

Key question: What is the impact of influencers at your school?

• How are students and adults in your school community being influenced? What are the ways in which they are making decisions based on what they see and hear from influencers on social media? Are they more likely to be swayed by advocacy/issue please or products/sales?
• Who are the most influential influencers among students at your school? Why? What do they promote?
• Who is influencing? Are any people at your school influencers? What platform(s) do they use, and how big is their following? 
• Do any people at school want to be influencers? What are they doing to make it a reality?
• What are the stats for your student body and social media — what platforms, how much time spent, what do they do?
• Use the opportunity to review platforms and posts — from YouTube to Instagram and TikTok. 
• What is the popular content among people in your school community (even non-influencer content)?
• What are some of the ethical issues related to time spent, disclosure of payment for a post, credit and more? What does your audience think?
• To Fight Vaccine Lies, Authorities Recruit an ‘Influencer Army’ (The New York Times, Aug. 1) — “These days, young people are more likely to trust the advice of their favorite content creator than a mainstream celebrity, according to a 2018 study by the marketing agency MuseFind.”
• What Won’t the Nelk Boys Do? (The New York Times, June 29) — “Known for their pranks, parties and crude humor, the YouTubers are used to getting in trouble. But for them, the backlash is the brand.”
• Black TikTok Creators Are On Strike To Protest A Lack Of Credit For Their Work (NPR, July 1)
• Young Creators Are Burning Out and Breaking Down (The New York Times, June 8) — “Gen Z creators are struggling with the challenges that come with building, managing and monetizing a following online.”
• Can Streaming Pay? Musicians Are Pinning Fresh Hopes on Twitch. (The New York Times, June 16) — “According to Spotify’s own figures, 97 percent of artists there generated less than $1,000 in payments last year. (Spotify points to the growing number of musicians earning large sums as a sign of its value.) Twitch, by contrast, is an alternate universe where even niche artists can make thousands of dollars a month by cultivating fan tribes whose loyalty is expressed through patronage.”
• The Superstars of Tourette’s TikTok (The Atlantic, July 19) — “How disability influencers are using TikTok to fight stigma.”
• Inside TikTok’s highly secretive algorithm (The Wall Street Journal, July 21) — “A Wall Street Journal investigation found that TikTok only needs one important piece of information to figure out what you want: the amount of time you linger over a piece of content. Every second you hesitate or rewatch, the app is tracking you.”
• Next IPhones Cater Deftly to Creators and Influencers (Bloomberg, Aug. 17)

The list reflects what I have read, heard and seen in my own media diet, so it comes from my perspective. Chicago is also over-represented because that’s where I live and work. The list is not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive of other ideas. Many of the stories were covered by multiple outlets, but links here lean toward sites available without a subscription, particularly nonprofit news sites like NPR and The 19th.

The Constitution requires that the government count the population every 10 years for the purpose of determining how to allocate congressional representation, but the demographic data collected now is used for a lot more than just that, including steering $1.5 trillion of federal spending. Results from the 2020 census, which was complicated by accusations of politicization and challenges of the count during a pandemic (which delayed the results), show some significant changes. Compared to a decade ago, the nation is more diverse with sizable growth among the Hispanic and Asian populations. The percentage of white residents is smaller, offset by a growth in people identifying as belonging to two or more races. More people live in cities and suburbs than rural areas. Some areas in Florida and Texas have seen double-digit growth since 2010, and the top 10 cities each have at least 1 million residents for the first time.

Key question: How has your community changed since the 2010 census?

• What are the notable changes in your community from the 2020 census? 
• Which demographics have increased, and which have decreased? How do these align with or differ from the major national trends?
• What is the impact of these changes — different legislative boundaries, focus on different groups?
• Based on these early census data, do students in your school think programs or funding should be changed?
• 2020 Census Statistics Highlight Local Population Changes and Nation’s Racial and Ethnic Diversity (U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 12)
• U.S. Census quick facts 
• EXPLAINER: 5 takeaways from the release of 2020 census data (Associated Press, Aug. 12)
• AP Census Hub collects all stories from the Associated Press on the topic, which is an excellent source of story ideas.
• Census Reporter has lots of explanation on the data as well as some story ideas. 
• Census shows US is diversifying, white population shrinking (Associated Press, Aug. 12) — “Some demographers cautioned that the white population was not shrinking as much as shifting to multiracial identities. The number of people who identified as belonging to two or more races more than tripled from 9 million people in 2010 to 33.8 million in 2020. They now account for 10% of the U.S. population.”
• Multiracial boom reflects US racial, ethnic complexity (Associated Press, Aug. 13) — Changes in how the census asked questions and how responses were processed account for some of the change. There’s also less stigma to being multiracial and more discussion about it. “In an age of easily accessible DNA testing kits, the growth reflects a deepening of the way Americans think about themselves when it comes to racial identity, experts say.”
• Where the Racial Makeup of the U.S. Shifted in the Last Decade (The New York Times, Aug. 12) — “Nearly every county in the United States became more diverse in the last decade as the nation recorded its first drop in the white population in 2020, according to detailed data on race and ethnicity released by the Census Bureau on [Aug. 12]. More than a third of the nation now lives in counties where people of color are a majority.”
• The New York Times also has a running page of census data stories and how they affect everything from understanding demographic shifts to how that impacts things like political reapportionment and redistricting.

The list reflects what I have read, heard and seen in my own media diet, so it comes from my perspective. Chicago is also over-represented because that’s where I live and work. The list is not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive of other ideas. Many of the stories were covered by multiple outlets, but links here lean toward sites available without a subscription, particularly nonprofit news sites like NPR and The 19th.

More than 18 months into the coronavirus pandemic, it remains the story most driving the news, particularly with schools. It’s a factor in everything from safety to budgets to curriculum. Vaccines and rates of vaccination continue to drive school news, too, especially as regions of the nation experience a midsummer surge in infections from the delta variant of the virus. 

Updated July 28. In late July, several state and local governments declared that government employees would have to get vaccinated or comply with additional mitigation and testing requirements. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance that in areas where the virus is spreading all people should wear masks indoors at public venues, regardless of vaccination status, and that at schools, everyone of all ages and vaccination statuses should wear a mask. The guidelines followed news that vaccinated people could become infected (though they were unlikely to die or be hospitalized) and they could spread the virus, particularly the more-infectious delta variant. 

Updated Aug. 14. Governors in Illinois, California, Washington and other states mandated masks for schools statewide. Some states or local school districts have also required school employees to be vaccinated, and the nation’s largest teachers union supports it. Despite the new information and CDC guidelines, governors in Florida, Texas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma and South Carolina prohibited school districts from requiring masks, while the Arkansas prohibition is on hold by a judge. Several school districts in Florida and Texas have said they would require masks in defiance of the state prohibition. Mask requirements are changing rapidly, but The Washington Post tracks the changes here.

Updated Aug. 18. Tens of thousands of students and teachers are already quarantining due to exposure to someone with COVID-19 in a school that has already started the year. A school district in Texas added mask-wearing to its dress code as a way to circumvent the governor’s order against mandating masks. The Biden administration announced that boosters of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines would be available for people eight months after receiving them (beginning in late September).

Key question: How have local conditions and the political environment affected your school’s plan to hold classes in person?

• How do students feel about getting vaccinated themselves? Does this differ among age groups or other demographics?
• Did students make a different choice than their parents/guardians? Why?
• For vaccinated students, what led them to the decision to get the shot — medical advice, family risk/protection, requirement at work/sports, something else? 
• What are your school’s policies on vaccines, masks, social distancing and other mitigation protocols?
• Are certain school activities (e.g. sports, music classes, lunch seating) different for students who are vaccinated compared to those who are eligible but unvaccinated?
• How do your school’s policies compare to other schools nearby or in your county or athletic conference?
• How are vaccine policies affecting how students weigh decisions for work, sports participation (school or club), socializing, volunteering, college search/visits?
• How are alumni from your school returning to colleges with varied vaccination requirements? Did any choose to not attend? How do they feel about a “more normal” year of college?
• Do professional athletes’ vaccination choice influence students’ opinions?
• Do You Need To Wear A Mask Indoors Where You Live? Check This Map (NPR, July 28)
• A Texas School Made Masks Part Of Its Dress Code To Get Around Gov. Abbott’s Ban (NPR, Aug. 18)
• As Schools Reopen, Vaccination Rates Among Teenagers Range From One Extreme To The Other (WBEZ Chicago, Aug. 18) — “Across the Chicago area, there are thousands of young people like Destiny who haven’t gotten vaccinated, many of whom are also conflicted about whether to get the shot. And, in interviews, many of these young people say they are following the lead of their parents in opting not to get vaccinated. … In interviews with WBEZ, many teens say they are influenced by social media posts that make them question the long-term consequences of taking the vaccine. At the same time, many also said they were conflicted about getting the vaccine because they want to be safe and yearn for a normal school year.”
• CDC wants more vaccinated people and schoolchildren to mask up — but Texas keeps it voluntary (Texas Tribune, July 28) — “Texas Republican state leaders held their ground against allowing local schools and governments to require masks. The CDC guidelines are not mandates and have no weight of law.”
• When Parents Forbid the COVID Vaccine (New Yorker, June 28)
• As Parents Forbid Covid Shots, Defiant Teenagers Seek Ways to Get Them (The New York Times, June 26) — “Most medical consent laws require parental permission for minors to get a vaccine. Now some places are easing restrictions for Covid shots while others are proposing new ones.”
• Vaccine hesitancy continues for some younger Americans. Here’s one reason why (CNN, July 3) — “Generally, vaccine coverage among young adults has been lower and increasing more slowly over time, compared to other age groups, according to a report published recently by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their intent to get vaccinated is also lower. If the weekly pace of vaccinations continues at the rate from the week of May 22, only 57.5% of people under the age of 30 will have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine by the end of August.”
• Everyone Should Wear A Mask In Schools, Vaccinated Or Not, U.S. Pediatricians Say (NPR, July 20) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised guidelines calling for masks only for unvaccinated students age 2 and up as well as staff. “Despite these recommendations, many schools won’t be able to require masks for the coming school year. South Carolina, for example, has prohibited districts from mandating masks for students or staff. In Texas, districts can’t require anyone, including parents and other visitors, to wear masks. Meanwhile, other states are requiring the opposite: In Washington, schools must mandate masks or face coverings indoors regardless of vaccination status.”
• Conservative media offers mixed messages on COVID-19 vaccine (Associated Press, July 21) — Skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccination is a common theme in media appealing to conservatives, despite assurances from doctors and scientists that the vaccine is safe and effective. Some medical experts worry that conflicting takes and outright distrust of the vaccine shown by influential media personalities contribute to a failure to meet inoculation goals aimed at arresting the pandemic.”
• Federal judge upholds Indiana University’s vaccine mandate (Axios, July 19)
• The NFL Warns Teams Will Forfeit Games And Players Won’t Be Paid In COVID Outbreaks (NPR, July 22) — Players react (via ESPN)
• NFL to fine unvaccinated players $14K for violating COVID-19 protocols (Axios, July 24)

The list reflects what I have read, heard and seen in my own media diet, so it comes from my perspective. Chicago is also over-represented because that’s where I live and work. The list is not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive of other ideas. Many of the stories were covered by multiple outlets, but links here lean toward sites available without a subscription, particularly nonprofit news sites like NPR and The 19th.

The world is getting hotter, and humans are causing it. There’s now no disputing these facts. The climate change crisis has become even more pronounced as extreme weather events have become more extreme and more common. This summer saw the heat dome in the Pacific Northwest, wildfires in Oregon, California, British Columbia and Greece, exceptional flooding in Germany and China, rising shorelines and more. Recent surveys show attitudes among younger people favor strong actions, such as favoring alternative energy sources, even at the expense of economic growth. However, significant differences exist not just between generations but also political beliefs, race and ethnicity.

Key question: What are your students doing about climate change?

• How is climate change affecting your community?
• Conduct your own survey using questions similar to the Pew Research Center to determine the opinions of people in your school community.
• What are the actions your school is taking to teach about climate change and to take action to mitigate the effects of climate change?
• Interview local elected officials about their stance on proposals to curb climate change.
• Who are the people at your school most engaged on issues of climate change? What are they doing about it?
• What are ways students can take action — small to large?

• A Major Report Warns Climate Change Is Accelerating And Humans Must Cut Emissions Now (NPR, Aug. 9) — “There is still time to avoid catastrophic warming this century, but only if countries around the world stop burning fossil fuels as quickly as possible, the authors warn. The message to world leaders is more dire, and more unequivocal, than ever before.” Read the report from the IPCC.
• Key findings: How Americans’ attitudes about climate change differ by generation, party and other factors (Pew Research Center, May 26) — “It finds that members of Generation Z [born after 1996], as well as Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996), are more open than older Americans to some of the farther-reaching policy proposals related to climate change.”
• On climate change, Republicans are open to some policy approaches, even as they assign the issue low priority (Pew Research Center, July 23) — And there are differences in views within the GOP, with moderates and younger adults generally offering higher levels of support for action to address climate change than conservatives and older adults.”
• What is the EU’s plan to tackle global heating – and will it work? (The Guardian, July 14) — “On Wednesday, the European Commission published a dozen legislative proposals to ensure its climate and energy laws fit the ambition of a 55% cut in emissions by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. From phasing out the internal combustion engine to forest protection, no sector of the EU economy will go untouched.”
• A Battle Between a Great City and a Great Lake (The New York Times, July 7) — “Climate change has started pushing Lake Michigan’s water levels toward uncharted territory as patterns of rain, snowfall and evaporation are transformed by the warming world. The lake’s high-water cycles are threatening to get higher; the lows lower. Already, the swings between the two show signs of happening faster than any time in recorded history.”
• Heat Wave Killed An Estimated 1 Billion Sea Creatures, And Scientists Fear Even Worse (NPR, July 9) 
• Pacific Northwest heat wave was ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change, scientists find (The Washington Post, July 7)
• How Bad Is the Bootleg Fire? It’s Generating Its Own Weather. (The New York Times, July 19) — “Unpredictable winds, fire clouds that spawn lightning, and flames that leap over firebreaks are confounding efforts to fight the blaze, which is sweeping through southern Oregon.”

The list reflects what I have read, heard and seen in my own media diet, so it comes from my perspective. Chicago is also over-represented because that’s where I live and work. The list is not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive of other ideas. Many of the stories were covered by multiple outlets, but links here lean toward sites available without a subscription, particularly nonprofit news sites like NPR and The 19th.

Critical race theory is the study of how racism shapes laws, policies and society. Over the last several months, officials nationwide have raced to enact new laws and introduce new policies meant to shape how students discuss the nation’s past — and its present. Track legislation and policy proposals here. (via Chalkbeat)

Key question: How has your school responded to the recent national debate on how to teach about race and racism in the United States?

• How did your school react to the movement to prohibit the use of critical race theory? Was there a push to make changes at the state or local level? Was there a response?
• Do members of your school community understand the existing curriculum and how teachers teach about race and racism? What are the misconceptions?
• What do teachers and administrators think should be in school curriculum, and how do they think it should be taught? Aside from the curriculum, are there other ways to teach about race and racism?
• How does your school’s curriculum compare to other schools nearby or in neighboring states?

• What is critical race theory, and why do Republicans want to ban it in schools? (The Washington Post, May 29) — “Critical race theory is an academic framework centered on the idea that racism is systemic, and not just demonstrated by individual people with prejudices. The theory holds that racial inequality is woven into legal systems and negatively affects people of color in their schools, doctors’ offices, the criminal justice system and countless other parts of life.”
• WATCH: What is critical race theory? (PBS NewsHour, June 29)
• How Nikole Hannah-Jones’ 1619 Project ignited the critical race theory backlash (Chalkbeat, July 19)
• The Brewing Political Battle Over Critical Race Theory (NPR, June 29) — “Many Republican lawmakers, who are fighting what they label as the teaching of critical race theory in schools, contend it divides Americans. Democrats and their allies maintain progress is unlikely without examining the root causes of disparity in the country, although they push back on the idea that critical race theory itself — a scholarly undertaking — is being taught on the K-12 level. The issue is shaping up to be a major cultural battle ahead of next year’s midterm elections.”
• An exodus of educators: Resignations hit schools amid furor over critical race theory (Yahoo! News, July 12) — “Against the backdrop of hostility to discussions of race in schools — and as five states have passed laws limiting how teachers can address “divisive concepts” with students — administrators and teachers across the country say they have been pushed out of their districts. Some have opted to leave public schools entirely, while others are fighting to save their career. The result in these districts is what educators and experts describe as a brain drain of those who are most committed to fighting racism in schools.”
• As states place new limits on class discussions of race, research suggests they benefit students (Chalkbeat, July 8) — “ A handful of recent studies have found that students are more engaged in school after taking classes that frankly discuss racism and bigotry — just as some educators like [Mackee] Mason fear such discussions could be threatened by a wave of broad state laws designed to limit the teaching of what some are calling “critical race theory.”
• Parents group launches campaign for ‘true diversity of thought’ in New England private schools (Boston Globe, July 11)

Other curricular developments

• Illinois Has Become The First State To Require The Teaching Of Asian American History (NPR, July 13) 
• Connecticut will become the first state to require high schools to offer Black and Latino studies in fall 2022 (CNN, Dec. 9, 2020)
• After years of debate, California finally adopts ethnic studies model curriculum (CNN, March 22)
• Texas Senate Votes to Remove Required Lessons on Civil Rights (Bloomberg Law, July 16)

The list reflects what I have read, heard and seen in my own media diet, so it comes from my perspective. Chicago is also over-represented because that’s where I live and work. The list is not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive of other ideas. Many of the stories were covered by multiple outlets, but links here lean toward sites available without a subscription, particularly nonprofit news sites like NPR and The 19th.