By taking a gender conscious approach, educators develop and display an awareness of how gender bias, roles, and expectations play into their teaching practice, and ultimately move towards more equitable teaching. 

It’s the question math teachers know will come up at some point, “when am I going to use this in real life?” The best answer: “how about right now?” Standards reforms and curriculum trends emphasizing critical thinking skills are trying to help students engage in mathematics relevant to real life.

One in four American adults — and one in five children — experiences mental health problems. Black Americans are diagnosed at lower levels, but research suggests the numbers don’t tell the full story. Black families are more likely to have issues accessing care, or finding the type of mental healthcare that meets their needs.

Throughout the year, Thomas tweets recommended books via the Twitter account @healingfictions. Here are her 2016 favorites that deal with issues like gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, and socioeconomic class in ways that are real and empathetic.