Here is Eileen O’Connor of the Concord Monitor: Just one year after New Hampshire legislators first introduced a bill that banned the teaching or discussion of “divisive concepts” like systemic racism, another bill will be debated this legislative session that...
K-12 history teaching
David Blight: “Trust the teachers!”
The Yale historian and Pulitzer Prize-winner spun his recent tweets into a piece at The Atlantic. Here is a taste: The curriculum, however, is another matter. Trained teachers, curriculum directors, and school principals are responsible for organizing the content and...
North Dakota bans critical race theory in K-12 schools. How should the state’s history teachers respond?
North Dakota governor Doug Burgum just signed a bill that bans the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools. Here are a few of the pertinent sections: Each school district and public school shall ensure instruction of its curriculum...
Teaching “opposing” views of the Holocaust in a history class is not that far-fetched of an idea. Let me explain.
A Superintendent of a Texas school has apologized for telling his faculty that they had to teach “opposing” views on the Holocaust. Get up to speed here. Here is Mary Papenfuss at Yahoo News: A north Texas school superintendent has apologized for...
Does Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” make students hate America?
As longtime readers of this blog know, I have my issues with Howard Zinn‘s A People’s History of the United States. I stand by what I have written about this book over the last decade or so. We’ve covered him...
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...
Nataliya Braginsky is the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History National History Teacher of the Year!
Here is the press release: The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is delighted to announce that Nataliya Braginsky, a social studies teacher at Metropolitan Business Academy in New Haven, Connecticut, has been named the 2021 National History Teacher of the Year. Braginsky...
What happens when an Illinois middle-school history teacher wears a pro-vaccine mask to a “meet and greet” with parents?
I have been working with and training K-12 teachers for nearly two decades and Matt Lakemacher is one of the best middle school history teachers I know. His passion for the study of the past is contagious and his creativity...
History teachers: The “skills-versus-content” debate rests on a false dichotomy
Over the last few decades, history educators and the scholars who shape the field of history education have stressed the teaching of historical thinking skills as essential to good pedagogy. This emphasis, I would argue, emerged as a response to...
Chris Rufo of the Manhattan Institute and Ralph Richard Banks of Stanford debate critical race theory
Some of you may remember Chris Rufo as the guy who triggered Donald Trump’s opposition to critical race theory. Ralph Richard Banks is a Stanford University law professor. Joan Coaston, the host ofThe New York Times‘s podcast “The Argument,” moderated...
The anti-Critical Race Theory bills keep coming
Last week we took a close look at Josh Hawley’s “Love America Act.” Now we have the Protect Equality and Civics Education (PEACE) Act. The Senate sponsors are Republicans Marco Rubio, (FL), Kevin Cramer (ND), and Mike Braun (IN). Here...
Tennessee governor calls on schools to teach “unapologetic American exceptionalism”
Here is Yue Stella Yu at the Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wants schools to teach “unapologetic American exceptionalism” — an idea that American values are intrinsically different from those of other countries. Touting Tennessee’s education standards, Lee made the comment...
History Essentials: “Rethinking Colonial America”
Back in 2019, I spent a week traveling up and down the eastern seaboard with with a film crew from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History as part of the Institute’s “History Essentials” series, online lectures for the professional...
Josh Hawley, “let’s be clear”: This is a nation of oppressors and liberators.
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley wrote an op-ed in The New York Post last weekend condemning critical race theory and promoting his personal view of what young Americans should learn in history class. Let’s take a look: Hawley writes: Parents know...
Episode 88: History Education on the Great Plains
In this episode we talk with Nathan McAlister, Humanities Program Manager at the Kansas State Department of Education in Topeka. When it comes to history education, Kansas is doing it the right way. Join us for a wide-ranging discussion on...
A North Carolina anti-critical race theory bill that makes some sense
North Carolina House Bill 324 forbids K-12 teachers from teaching: One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex. An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive,...
Florida history teacher: “I do not teach critical race theory”
Jessica Morey teaches African-American history, Advanced Placement U.S. history, A.P. U.S. government, and economics at St. Francis Catholic High School in Gainesville, Florida. She says she does not teach critical race theory. In a recent piece at The Gainesville Sun,...
Scholars respond to legislative efforts to restrict education about racism in American history.
I currently serve as Vice President of the Conference and Faith and History. (I become president in the Fall). I am proud to say that the Conference is one of the scholarly organizations who are condemning laws limiting teaching on...
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...