Controversial Books in the Middle School: Can They Make a Difference?
The Stonewall riots, a series of violent conflicts between homosexuals and New York City police in 1969, marked the advent of the gay rights movement and led to a dramatic increase in gay and lesbian visibility. Efforts to acknowledge this movement were made by a number of groups including the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Round Table (American Library Association, 2006). This group, since 1971, has given an annual Stonewall Book Award honoring both fiction and nonfiction literature for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered experience. Academia has formed departments or programs dedicated to lesbian and gay studies, and the general public has achieved a better understanding of sexual differences. Public schools, however, have continued to resist such acknowledgement, leaving homosexual students in middle and secondary schools unrecognized and often the targets of discrimination. Galley (1999) reported the results of a national survey that found 91% of homosexual students had encountered anti
Teaching Social Justice through Young Adult Literature
ow might we nurture the prizing of differences in race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, and language? We must create for students democratic and critical spaces that foster meaningful and transformative learning. If we expect students to take social responsibility, they must explore ideas, topics, and viewpoints that not only reinforce but challenge their own. In an increasingly abrasive and polarized American society, social justice education has the potential to prepare citizens who are sophisticated in their understanding of diversity and group interaction, able to critically evaluate social institutions, and committed to working democratically with diverse others. Young adult literature provides a context for students to become conscious of their operating world view and to examine critically alternative ways of understanding the world and social relations. As
First Insights into the Draft Genome Sequence of the Endophyte Paenibacillus amylolyticus Strain GM1FR, Isolated from Festuca rubra L.
ABSTRACT Paenibacillus amylolyticus strain GM1FR is an endophyte isolated from aerial plant tissues of Festuca rubra L. Here, we report the draft genome sequence (7.3 Mb) of GM1FR containing 6,241 protein-coding genes, some of which are potentially involved in plant growth promotion and biocontrol.