At Tenure, She Wrote, a grad student explains her decision no longer to write narratives of inspiration and gumption: “A little smarts and hard work and luck can’t make my chronically ill body ‘productive.’”

Indigenous grad school student Erica Violet Lee meditates on wealth and abundance: “I want wealth by our definitions, because their definitions will always label us needy, at-risk, poor. I want abundance, in all the ways we define it for ourselves.”

“Our world focuses on the looks of girls and the accomplishments of boys.” At OTV Magazine, Angela Noel reflects on the gendered compliments adults give children, and how they make it hard for girls to separate their self-worth from their appearance.

As the school year is kicking into gear in many countries, Cari White, a librarian in Texas, gives parents and educators 10 reasons to encourage young readers to tackle entire works.

“Can we all agree that there is no such thing as a girl or a boy book?” Teacher and parent Pernille Ripp writes on the toxic effects of defining books by the gender of their supposed audience.

Medievalist Lucy Allen writes on the recent move among women in academia to add the title “Dr” to their Twitter name, which she views as “an act of faith, a promise to myself to keep my work from being erased.”

“Why do ratings in general, and Greatschool.org’s ratings in particular, perpetuate segregation and resource hoarding?” Ali McKay at Integrated Schools take a closer look at the school ratings website, GreatSchools.

This is what privilege looks like: “Because of that small step up, everything else was given to us. The guarantee of rest, of proper food, of an exuberance of attention that continues at the hotel we are staying at. We were given more because we had more to begin with.”

Scott Woods at Scott Woods Makes Lists compiles a sequel to his popular 2016 list of black picture books that aren’t about boycotts, buses, and basketball.

Happy Groundhog Day! The University of Manchester Museum explores the origin of this annual winter tradition, which has its roots in European folklore.

“Real life very rarely supplies us with strong, convincing narratives so we create our own in order to give ourselves a sense of purpose and meaning.” Ben Newmark contemplates the teaching of history and creating our own narratives on a personal and larger scale.

In Miriam Sicherman’s class, the students interview immigrants about their experiences in coming to America. These oral histories explore complex emotions about new beginnings.

Photographer Sophia Hsin uses her camera to speak out against child labor: “Now that I know about these things, it seems quite foolish to stay silent.”

“Can anyone have this moment? Or is poetry only for some people — the smartest, the richest, the something-est?” At Nerdy Book Club, K-8 librarian Sarah FitzHenry recounts a school event with poet Kwame Alexander in which students discover the power of poetry.