Beacon Author and “Badass” Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann Dies at 75

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the death of the acclaimed Disability Rights activist and author, Judith Heumann. Ms. Heumann died Saturday, March 4th in Washington DC after a brief hospitalization. She was 75 years old. Long before she became an international leader of the Disability Rights movement, with many of her US

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Books that Can Help Students Learn About Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is being used as a tool in colleges and universities for automating tasks, from teaching assistance to Chatbots to detecting plagiarism, and beyond. As educational institutions become more reliant on AI, we are looking to the future and providing resources on this topic for educators who want to inform their students on the

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Watch Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide share insights from their revised and updated book The Dyslexic Advantage

What if we viewed dyslexia as a learning and processing style rather than as a learning disorder? Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide use their impressive backgrounds in neurology and education to debunk the standard deficit-based approach to dyslexia. People typically define “dyslexia” as a reading and spelling disorder. But through published research studies, clinical observations, and interviews with

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Celebrating Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, Penguin Random House Education is highlighting stories about women’s history, from the history of women in the United States to women in world history. We are sharing books about the history of Black women, Afghan women, and disabled women, with topics ranging from the history of reproductive

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Matt Damon on the Conversation That Made Him a Social Entrepreneur

By: Matt Damon When one of the world’s great social entrepreneurs, Gary White, first told me his solution for ending the global water crisis, I honestly thought it sounded absurd. Our conversation took place back in 2008, at the Clinton Global Initiative. Gary and I were at CGI because we were both, at the time,

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Adam Benforado on Youth Rights and the Path to a Better Future

Contributed by Adam Benforado, author of A Minor Revolution: How Prioritizing Kids Benefits Us All. Drawing on the latest research on the value of early intervention, investment, and empowerment, A Minor Revolution makes the urgent case for putting children first—in our budgets and policies, in how we develop products and enact laws, and in our families and communities.

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FROM THE PAGE: An Excerpt from John Hendrickson’s Life on Delay

In Life on Delay, Hendrickson offers new insight into a disorder that has for decades been mocked, mischaracterized, and misunderstood. Through a layered and unguarded narrative, he takes the reader inside the intricate family dynamics surrounding his stutter, and he explores the history of stuttering treatment, the current search for a “cure,” and the nature of self-acceptance.

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Do You Teach Sociology?

You can search for books across this discipline through our course lists, which cover a wide range of sociological subjects from criminal justice, family, race, class, and gender to social change, social institutions, and sociological theory.   Criminal Justice Family   Race / Class / Gender   Social Change   Social Institutions    Sociological Theory

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FROM THE PAGE: An Excerpt from Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry

There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with readers, considering

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Excerpt from Let Your Light Shine: How Mindfulness Can Empower Children and Rebuild Communities

In this inspiring book, founders of The Holistic Life Foundation Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andres Gonzalez describe how they have spent the past twenty years teaching yoga, meditation, and breathwork to thousands of at-risk kids in Baltimore schools helping them to develop deep reserves of patience, empathy, resolve, and—when needed—the righteous anger that fuels

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Celebrating Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month, Penguin Random House Education is highlighting stories about the history of Black America from the Colonial Era to the Civil Rights Movement to the Present, with topics ranging from women’s history and cultural history to music, art, and film and community. The list includes essential stories, non-fiction, and history.

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Educator’s Guide for Daniel Sherrell’s Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World

Daniel Sherrell’s Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World is very much a book about weight. It invites the reader to confront and reflect on the profound emotional weight associated with living one’s life in the vast shadow of climate change. Is it possible for young people to acknowledge the immensity of

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