James F. O’Connor, the president of the Ohio Council for the Social Studies, explains in a piece at the Cincinnati Inquirer: A famous tale about Benjamin Franklin goes as follows: Franklin was walking out of Independence Hall after the Constitutional...
history in schools
Advanced Placement African American Studies: a progress report
Back in August we brought your attention to Advanced Placement African American Studies. Sixty high schools around the country are piloting this new course during the 2022-2023 academic year. Over at CNN, Brandon Tensley reports on how things are going...
Advanced Placement African American Studies is here!
This academic year students at 60 high schools around the country are taking AP African American Studies. Here is Olivia Waxman at Time: The course will be the College Board’s 40th Advanced Placement course, and the first new AP course...
“Capture the schools”
University of Pennsylvania education historian Jonathan Zimmerman reflects on the wars over history in schools. A taste: Last year, former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon likewise called on right-wing Americans to capture the schools. “The path to save the nation is...
“Slavery” or “involuntary relocation?”
Here is Brian Lopez at The Texas Tribune: A group of Texas educators have proposed to the Texas State Board of Education that slavery should be taught as “involuntary relocation” during second grade social studies instruction, but board members have...
If you think the debate over American history is bad now, wait until 2026
What will debate over history in schools look like in 2026, the year we celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Over at Time, John Garrison Marks of the American Association for State and Local History has some thoughts . Here is a...
What Florida history students may not learn if Gov. Ron DeSantis gets his way
Here is Gillian Brockell at The Washington Post: The Florida state legislature kicked off Black History Month by advancing bills that would allow parents to sue a school if any instruction caused students “discomfort, guilt or anguish.” The bills have...
Meme of the day
Learn more about Ruby Bridges here....
Are the culture wars in schools worse than ever before?
Historian of education Jonathan Zimmerman thinks so. Here is a taste of the University of Pennsylvania professor’s recent piece at Politico: Steve Bannon is right: The road to saving the nation runs through our schools. The real question is which...
Can we tell a more complete story of American history without making people feel guilty or being made to feel guilty?
Over at National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, historian Julian Hayter talks with host Scott Simon about why some school districts are opposed to critical race theory. Here is a taste: SIMON: Do you think a lot of Americans view history...
Biden dumped Trump’s 1776 Commission, but its members are still meeting
If you are not familiar with the 1776 Commission, get up to speed here and here and here. Here is The Washington Examiner: The education advisory commission set up by former President Donald Trump will resume operations despite being disbanded by President Joe...
Texas is trying to whitewash its history
One of these days I will try to put together a list of state education boards trying to change their history curriculums so that students do not come face to face with the many sins of America’s past. Texas will...
The San Francisco Board of Education and the “Just-the-Facts-Fallacy”
Last week we called your attention to a decision by the San Francisco Board of Education’s decision to rename forty-four schools. I titled that post “When a school board ignores history.” Now Jonathan Zimmerman of the University of Pennsylvania has...
Trump establishes his “1776 Commission” on the day before the election
When Trump announced the 1776 Commission we all knew it was a campaign stunt. We should thus not be surprised that he issued an executive order today that established the aforesaid commission. Of course if Trump loses tonight, the 1776...
The American Historical Association responds to Trump’s White House American History event
Here it is: On September 17, the White House announced, “In commemoration of Constitution Day, President Trump will travel to the National Archives to participate in a discussion on the liberal indoctrination of America’s youth through the 1619 Project, Critical...
How textbooks taught white supremacy
Historian Donald Yacovone of Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research is writing a book titled “Teaching White Supremacy: The Textbook Battle Over Race in American History.” Here is a taste of Liz Mineo’s interview with Yacovone at...
White Supremacy in the History of American History Textbooks
Harvard’s Donald Yacovone has an interesting piece at The Chronicle of Higher Education on the history of American textbooks and their representation of race. Here is a taste of “Textbook Racism: How scholars sustained white supremacy“: There it sat on a...
How to Improve History Education: 1997 and Today
In his 1997 book History on Trial, UCLA historian Gary Nash reflected on his role in the crafting of the failed National History Standards. After his experience fighting this battle in the culture wars, Nash encouraged teachers, educators, professors, legislatures, and...
Donald Trump’s American History Textbooks
What did Donald Trump learn about American history during his childhood in New York? Matt Ford, a writer at The Atlantic, decided to go back and take a look at the American history textbooks assigned in Trump’s history classes. Here is...
It’s Not The “Teaching American History” Grants, But It Is Something
Here are the details from The National Coalition for History: Federal Funding Opportunity for K-12 History and Civics Grants Announced Federal Competitive Grant funding is now available for K-12 History and Civics Education professional development! The US Department of Education has...