Teaching American History

JANUARY 28, 2025

Ellen Tucker, long time blog contributor for Teaching American History [1] But not as proactive as some. But two years after the decision, more than 350 school districts in nine of the 17 states had desegregated their public schools. Schools in the nations capital were also opened to all (Reprint of New South [Vol.

Education 54

Education American History Junior High History 54

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 21, 2023

We have to place facts, history and science at the heart of our education systems. My high school, like so many public schools today, offered very few AP classes. This was controversial for some, but gay people are a part of American history and life, and California is where Harvey Milk did his activism.

Psychology 98

Psychology History Teaching American History 98

ED Surge

MAY 24, 2023

In the wake of the Atlanta Spa shootings and a surge in violence against Asian Americans throughout the pandemic, Illinois made history by becoming the first state to mandate that Asian American history be taught in public K-12 schools beginning in the 2022-23 school year.

Inclusive Curriculum 106

Inclusive Curriculum American History Primary Sources Professional Development 106

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 27, 2020

Ankita Ajith is one of four college-age friends who are petitioning the Texas State Board of Education to create an antiracist American history curriculum. They are advocating for core curriculum changes in social studies — specifically American history — classes.

Teaching 145

Teaching Elementary School Social Justice American History 145

Teaching American History

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

The three-week program took teachers from across the country on a study tour of Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Washington, DC, discussing with leading scholars three eras in history—the Founding, the Civil War, and the mid-twentieth century Civil Rights movement—all of which tested Americans’ commitment to their principles of liberty and equality.

American History 98

American History History Civics Political Science 98

The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 12, 2023

Originally designed as an academic conference to share research, the event brought together Florida K-12 and college teachers and students, national journalists and professionals from libraries and museums whose work focuses on history and civics. One of Robinson’s fellow panelists at the conference, Hayley McCulloch, a U.S. Florida Gov.

Civics 145

Civics K-12 Museum American History 145

The Hechinger Report

MAY 13, 2024

Linda Brown was a third grader in Topeka, Kansas, when her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her in the white public school four blocks from her home. Meanwhile, from 2000 to 2022, the percentage of white students attending a school that is 90 percent or more white fell from 44 percent to 14 percent. One legacy of Brown v.

K-12 127

K-12 High School American History Public School 127

Teaching American History

JULY 30, 2024

West, “The Supreme Court as School Board Revisited.” Little wonder that Dunn’s course in this year’s summer residential Master of Arts in American History and Government (MAHG ) program, “From Courthouse to Schoolhouse,” drew teachers from urban and rural areas across the country.

Education 97

Education Library American History Education Policy 97

The Hechinger Report

MAY 20, 2016

Board of Education, the landmark case that put in motion the Civil Rights Movement and remains a poignant moment in American history. The 1954 United States Supreme Court decision declared “separate but equal” unconstitutional and required the integration of those schools that were segregating students. The post From Brown v.

History 75

History K-12 American History Economics 75

The Hechinger Report

JULY 24, 2020

It was startling, Nia thought, how studying history could leave her feeling the same heaviness she’d felt scrolling social media after police had killed Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Laquan McDonald, young Black people of her own generation. Tatiana Bennett was studying the history of hip-hop. Credit: Courtesy of Helen Gym.

Archiving 138

Archiving Museum History Primary Sources 138

The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 31, 2018

history class this year, she described the American revolution and then expanded on the lesson, making connections to historical events in Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere in the Caribbean. history, she said, generally go like this: “White man did this, then died.”. Subscribe today! Lessons in U.S.

Cultures 110

Cultures American History Tradition Lesson Plan 110

The Hechinger Report

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

In the 1970s and 80s, groups of primarily white, Christian fundamentalists drove a surge in the number of home-schooling families around the country. As they pulled their children out of public schools, they also worked to dismantle state and local regulatory hurdles that kept kids in brick-and-mortar institutions.

Lesson Plan 141

Lesson Plan Private School Cultures Public School 141

The Hechinger Report

JUNE 3, 2018

But even back when every school taught civics and American history, very few students attained adult literacy. Others blame schools and teachers for “failing” our kids, but the data suggest otherwise. He is a former New York City public school teacher and a founding director of Teach For America.

Civics 103

Civics American History Elementary School Critical Thinking 103

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 18, 2017

What happened to Emmett Till was brutal, but the tragedy has been sanitized in Mississippi textbooks and in discussions of this state’s violent, racist history. 200,000 — The square footage of the new Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

Museum 78

Museum Artifacts History Public School 78

Political Science Now

OCTOBER 1, 2024

This summer, the American Political Science Association partnered with Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) District’s Summer Rise Program to offer three high school students the opportunity to gain experience in political science knowledge production and higher education non-profits.

High School 47

High School Civic Engagement Civics Social Justice 47

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 12, 2018

But the personal travelogue he recounts, tracing his origins in Chicago through his tenure as the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools and then U.S. Duncan recounts his efforts to win over an “old-school” principal who didn’t think the program would work. Secretary of Education, and into the present day, doesn’t add up to much.

K-12 78

K-12 Elementary School Sociology High School 78

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Maikko, 2, in pink, Terrance, 1, in red, and Nylah, behind Terrance, dance as their child care provider, Lorna Parks, foreground, claps during a visit by staffers from Detroit’s African-American History Museum. After graduating high school, she began working at a child care center for teen mothers.

K-12 82

K-12 Primary Sources Museum History 82

4QM Teaching

MAY 7, 2023

Most of us who work in schools are motivated at least in part by a desire to make the world better, and it’s nice to know that our work actually makes a difference in what young people know and can do. And many elementary schools have basically not been teaching history for some time now. But that’s a different blog post.

Social Studies 40

Social Studies Middle School Elementary School History 40

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Sharahn Santana , African American history and English teacher at Parkway Northwest High School. William Hite , superintendent of Philadelphia’s public schools. Young people are glad to be back in school. Steven Weber, associate superintendent for teaching and learning for the Fayetteville Public Schools.

Oral History 144

Oral History History High School Public School 144

The Hechinger Report

JUNE 15, 2022

Here are some voices from our third round of interviews, in which we asked people involved with their local public schools for their reflections on how the past year had shaped them, and their predictions for the next school year, among other topics. school district is investing heavily in early literacy.

Oral History 112

Oral History History High School Public School 112

ED Surge

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

Today, most of those schools have dissolved into history, and only around 500 still exist, in varying states of upkeep. Andrew Feiler, a Georgia-born photographer, visited and photographed 105 of the extant schools and spoke with those connected to the schools and their legacy to publish “A Better Life for Their Children.”

Civics 98

Civics Education American History History 98

ED Surge

JUNE 2, 2023

People from those cultures have nuanced histories, perspectives, and experiences in the U.S. and in its schools. ii] Kim and Hsieh describe the following “polarizing binaries of Asian American representation”: yellow peril perpetual foreigner model minority Erika Lee, Ph.D., The Making of Asian America: A History."

Heritage 102

Heritage Education K-12 American History 102

Zinn Education Project

JANUARY 8, 2024

While right-wing legislatures restrict the teaching of Black history, we are pleased to support teachers who work to teach truthfully about U.S. Half American chronicles the lives of African Americans who fought in World War II and in the war against racism in the United States.

History Education 52

History Education History Education Social Studies 52

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 31, 2021

And they lived through perhaps the most divisive presidential battle in American history, culminating in rioters storming the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Related: Opening the doors to elite public schools. This chaotic year is now the foundation for these young people’s transition to adulthood.

Charter School 120

Charter School High School Social Justice Tradition 120

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 7, 2023

In Norfolk, Virginia, the juniors and seniors enrolled in an African American history class taught by Ed Allison were working on their capstone projects, using nearby Fort Monroe, the site where the first enslaved Africans landed in 1619, as a jumping off point to explore their family history.

History 98

History American History Teaching K-12 98

The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 20, 2021

You cannot attend public schools, visit the public library, eat in restaurants, enjoy public parks, go to churches or attend movie theaters. We must insist that the American History we teach in our schools includes discussions of the systemic racism that has defined and divided our country.

American History 99

American History K-12 Civics History 99

The Hechinger Report

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

I grew up and attended schools in the South in an area known as the Black Belt , a name given to the region because of its large Black population and black soil. I never took a course in African American history during that time, the late 1980s and early 90s, despite being enveloped in Blackness in my neighborhoods, churches and schools.

Heritage 98

Heritage Cultures K-12 American History 98

The Hechinger Report

JULY 18, 2016

Research shows that students who attend diverse schools have higher academic outcomes, and they are more likely to work, learn and live in integrated settings. But public schools don’t look like the public. And neither private nor public schools are creating the requisite diversity to influence communities for the better.

Charter School 75

Charter School Private School American History Government 75

The Hechinger Report

MAY 28, 2021

A group of more than 300 historians and education experts published their answer — a “ Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy.” This is particularly true for learning our history. The Educating for American Democracy project offers no clear guidance on which path is the right one. Is American history education the problem?

American History 100

American History History Teaching Civics 100

The Hechinger Report

APRIL 12, 2023

When the debate over teaching race-related concepts in public schools reached Kimberly Tilsen-Brave Heart’s home state of South Dakota, she decided she couldn’t in good conscience send her youngest daughter to kindergarten at a local public school. And so they just don’t, so there is no Native history being taught.”

American History 145

American History History K-12 Cultures 145

The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 23, 2020

President Donald Trump recently announced his intention to create a 1776 Commission, charged with restoring patriotic, “pro-America” education to public schools. We can admit our mistakes while also celebrating the heroes of our history — which must include Black history.

Museum 139

Museum Education American History History 139

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 1, 2022

Our reporters are spending the year listening to people from across the country who are involved in their local public schools in one way or another. Sharahn Santana , African American history and English teacher at Parkway Northwest High School. William Hite , superintendent of Philadelphia’s public schools.

Oral History 111

Oral History History High School Public School 111

The Hechinger Report

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

And in one IB history class, she said a teacher had students pick cotton seeds off cotton plants to demonstrate the efficiency of the cotton gin, in an attempt to include multiple perspectives in his class. Samuels/The Hechinger Report Virginia’s rewrite of its history curriculum started off with heat and discord. Credit: Christina A.

History 99

History American History Ancestry Pedagogy 99

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 28, 2022

“I learned way more than I ever wanted to learn about textbooks, and way more than I ever wanted to learn about Alabama politics,” said Robert Norrell, a former University of Alabama history professor and textbook publisher. Robert Norrell, a former University of Alabama history professor and textbook publisher.

History 101

History K-12 Library Social Studies 101

Zinn Education Project

FEBRUARY 1, 2025

The tsunami of laws and Executive Orders attacking public school curricula mobilize a range of doublespeak, from divisive concepts to race scapegoating to psychological stress; many include the admonition that teachers may not teach students that the United States is fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist.

Social Justice 98

Social Justice Primary Sources History Civics 98

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 20, 2023

Florida is doing its best to tilt the scales and shut down important, much-needed discussions of race, slavery, stolen lands, and undeniable history that have led us to where we are as a society today.” He added a dire warning: “What just happened in Florida … is coming your way. There’s nothing objectional. Here we go again?

K-12 125

K-12 History American History Psychology 125

The Hechinger Report

MAY 4, 2017

To their surprise, Faris’ school in their adopted hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky, was filled entirely with students who had similar stories of violence, displacement and survival. Students at GEO International High School, who are all recent immigrants or refugees, present their history projects to the class.

High School 85

High School K-12 History Heritage 85