For Educators

Big Ideas for Little Kids

This PDS documentary follows a diverse group of second graders at an urban charter school in Springfield, Massachusetts. Watch as these students learn to love books and reading as they argue about some of life’s headiest issues using picture books as a starting point for their discussions.

Children's Books and Teaching Modules

• Teaching Children Philosophy
• SUNY Cortland TMC: Diversity in Children's Literature
• Picture Books About Incarceration

Mandated Workshops for Teacher Education

• Cortland Mandated Workshops LibGuide
• Mandated Reporting: Before you call DCFS (PDF) | Shriver Center on Poverty Law
  • If you must make the call
    • Talk about the family’s strengths
    • Be very clear about your concerns
    • Ask the operator to repeat back to you what you have stated
    • Don’t be casual about concerns that lack a basis
    • If you think the child should remain home, say so!
    • Call as a last resort, remember your call is just the beginning!
    • If CPS investigator follows up with you, this is an opportunity to clarify any mistakes made in the report and reiterate family strengths