Equity & Diversity Blog

The Intersection: Culture and Race in Schools

Christina Torres is an 8th Grade English Teacher at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. She has worked with Teach For America, Hope Street Group, the Center for Teacher Quality, and Teaching Tolerance. Find her online: Teach. Run. Write. This blog is no longer being updated.

Education Opinion The End of This Story
This is the end of this story, but our students are already writing new ones. I can't wait to read what's next.
Christina Torres, August 29, 2019
•
4 min read
Education Opinion On Shame and 'Daring Classrooms': We Need to Fix Systems, Not Kids
A new set of lesson plans from the popular researcher Brené Brown has caused some online debate, with many educators now thinking about the shame and trauma students carry with them.
Christina Torres, August 4, 2019
•
5 min read
Two young kids (one girl and one boy) dressed up as old people, holding hands, and standing in front of an empty light blue wall.
E+
School Climate & Safety Opinion Toward Love: Honoring Indigenous Land in Our Classrooms
We must actively combat the stereotype of the "aloha spirit" and not ignore the very real issues these communities face.
Christina Torres, July 28, 2019
•
4 min read
School Climate & Safety Opinion Silence Will Not Save Us: Why We Cannot Ignore Students' Experiences
No space is truly safe if it does not reckon with the complete and total experience and existence our kids face each day.
Christina Torres, July 14, 2019
•
5 min read
Education Opinion The World in Words: Summer Reading Recommendations
By allowing ourselves to dive into someone else's story and voice, we're able to not just gain perspective on our work but also on our own identities.
Christina Torres, June 30, 2019
•
3 min read
Education Opinion The Voices We Need
All countries must be included in the conversation about "global education" because all countries bring different things to the table.
Christina Torres, June 26, 2019
•
6 min read
Student Well-Being Opinion No One Sings the Blues Like Charlie Patton's Sister
We must give students the power to explore and share their stories and broadcast them, record them, so we don't unfairly distort the truth of who they or we are.
Christina Torres, May 28, 2019
•
6 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion The Hate We Create; The Hate We Ignore
It's on educators to consciously choose to work on our implicit and explicit biases to start undoing the systemic oppression that has led us here. In doing so, we can help our students hopefully create a world much more loving, inclusive, and safe than the one we've created for them now.
Christina Torres, May 20, 2019
•
2 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion Why You Really, Absolutely Shouldn't Change the English Curriculum
We study literature in order to help our students, the future generations, develop their values and morals and better understand the world.
Christina Torres, May 17, 2019
•
5 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion The Power of Words: On "Classics" and "Canon"
This work must be led by those who have been historically oppressed, and if I want to support them, that means I must work to explore their writing and show my students just how powerful those voices are.
Christina Torres, April 16, 2019
•
14 min read
Education Opinion The Edupreneur: An Interview With Dr. Will
The field of education is missing a critical voice in how we can go about creating substantial and lasting change within public education and beyond.
Christina Torres, April 15, 2019
•
4 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion 3 Small(er) Changes for a More Socially Conscious Classroom
Teaching with a socially conscious lens is not easy, nor does it happen overnight. There are some small steps you can take, though, to move you in the right direction.
Christina Torres, March 28, 2019
•
4 min read
Student Well-Being Opinion Student Perspective: The True Meaning of Aloha
"Aloha" isn't just a greeting; in a way it is their way of life, and when you distort that sacred word, you distort their way of life.
Christina Torres, March 4, 2019
•
4 min read
School Climate & Safety Opinion Social-Emotional Learning Won't Happen Without a Culturally Relevant Start
Educators engaging in emotion-talk with students can encounter obvious barriers when not taking the individual's cultural background into account.
Christina Torres, February 25, 2019
•
3 min read
Load More ▼

Reprints, Photocopies and Licensing of Content

All content on Education Week's websites is protected by copyright. No part of this publication shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Readers may make up to 5 print copies of this publication at no cost for personal, non-commercial use, provided that each includes a full citation of the source. For additional print copies, or for permission for other uses of the content, visit www.edweek.org/help/reprints-photocopies-and-licensing-of-content or email reprints@educationweek.org and include information on how you would like to use the content. Want to seamlessly share more EdWeek content with your colleagues? Contact us today at pages.edweek.org/ew-for-districts-learn-more.html to learn about how group online subscriptions can complement professional learning in your district or organization.

Copyright © 2025 by Editorial Projects in Education, Inc. All rights reserved.