Articles & Media

Navigating Non-Dominant Cultural Behaviors in the Classroom

Back in September, I had an amazing opportunity to sit down with Dr. Sheldon Eakins, founder of the Leading Equity Center and the podcast Leading Equity. In this episode, I share how to identify non-dominant cultural behaviors students in our schools engage in that are often misinterpreted by teachers as problem behaviors. We discuss strategies…

November 30, 2023

My Published Work

Favorite Holiday Poster Projects Aren’t Inclusion

Favorite Holiday Poster Projects Aren’t Inclusion By Rachael Mahmoodtolerance.org — “Mom, why doesn’t Santa come to our house?”I was in the middle of teaching my own remote class when my kindergartner interrupted my instruction with this question. While I understand that these questions are inevitable for our Muslim family, I was surprised to hear it so early…

December 28, 2020December 29, 2020

My Published Work

You Can’t Be Culturally Responsive Without Being Responsive

You Can’t Be Culturally Responsive Without Being Responsive By: Dr. Rachael Mahmood When I first learned about multicultural education in college, I was very excited to start including my students’ backgrounds in the lessons I taught. I, too, come from cultures that aren’t often included in curricular stories or histories. I eagerly searched for books that…

October 14, 2020October 14, 2020

My Published Work

This Is a Perfect Time to Talk With Our Students About Social Injustice

This Is a Perfect Time to Talk With Our Students About Social Injustice The COVID-19 pandemic offers teachers a unique opportunity to capitalize on student empathy. Before the pandemic hit, millions of U.S. students were already in our classrooms experiencing challenges like food insecurity and the inability to afford medical care. But the pandemic brought these…

August 1, 2020December 29, 2020