Resources.

Insightoutbooks provides an inclusive and welcoming book-lover's community for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) readers and their friends and families. The catalog offers categories like biography/memoir, lgbt classics, humor, and LGBT Studies. To see the options, go to www.joininsightoutbooks.com.

Action for Better Schools, the newsletter of the National Coalition of Education Activists (Summer 2002) has a special section on "EdSpeak: Understanding Words Educators Use," a dictionary of explanations for some terms used by educators and/or social change activists. Although not complete, the list is a useful starting point for developing a common language to work for better and more equitable schools. For a copy, contact NCEA, 1420 Walnut St., Suite 720, Philadelphia, PA 19102.

Rethinking Schools continues its excellent and exciting work as one of the best K-12 urban education journals. The Summer 2003 issue has a number of lead articles on the Bush Education Legacy, as well as an article on Toni Smith, the college basketball player who refused to salute the flag, the struggles and successes of young mothers in high school, a number of articles on teaching in a time of war, and an article about generating student activism through teaching about landmines. Write Rethinking Schools, 1001 E. Keefe Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53212; call 414-964-9646; or visit www.rethinkingschools.org.

Stephen R. Shalom's Which Side Are You On? An Introduction to Politics is now available from Longman (2003). If you're tired of those same old dry, conservative Introduction to Political Science texts, and looking for something that puts the politics back into Political Science, that gets students to deal with ideas and to think for themselves, that takes up current issues that engage students, such as affirmative action, abortion, and capital punishment, and that gives prominent attention to issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation, as well as political economy, then this may be the text you're looking for. Which Side Are You On? emphasizes issues and debates in the context of the major ideologies, demonstrating the connection between politics and the issues that matter in our lives.

Because politics--the political issues of the day--is what draws most people to the study of political science, this book is likely to capture student interest. There is no heavy-handed "correct" line here, but the text treats socialism as one of the three major ideologies that provide the framework for the topics covered in the book, from civil liberties to welfare policy to globalization.

Stephen R. Shalom is the author of Imperial Alibis (South End, 1993), editor of Socialist Visions (South End, 1984), and books on East Timor and the Philippines. He writes frequently for Z Magazine, ZNet, and New Politics, and is a long-time subscriber to Radical Teacher.