One of my friends approached me last week while at church. Now an administrator, he was a teacher who taught at Dover High School at the height of the ‘intelligent design’ debate, where a school board wanted it taught instead of the theory of evolution. He taught biology, nonetheless. In initiating the conversation, he said, “I […]
Social Studies
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Distrust of Facts Highlights Need to Return to Primary Sources
“Get your facts first,” quips satirist Mark Twain. “Then you can distort them as much as you please.” These words were first put to print in an 1899 Rudyard Kipling interview of the timeless sage, but they could have just as easily been written yesterday. In an era where the news makers are jabbing back […]
Posted inSocial Studies
Why This Social Studies Teacher Attends All Inaugurations
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States… So help me God.” The first time these words were spoken was during George Washington’s First Inaugural whereby […]
Posted inSocial Studies
Conference Review: National Council for Social Studies
The National Council for Social Studies had its 96th annual conference this past week in Washington, DC. Like the NEA’s Representative Assembly, the assembly is held in the nation’s capital during election years. It marked my first in attendance. Being from central Pennsylvania, I’m fortunate enough to be able to drive to the District of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
I Think I Failed You – A Civics Teacher’s Letter to her Former Students
Dear Former Students, I have started this letter a thousand times in my head in the last week. It’s hard to get past the first line: I fear I may have failed you as your Civics teacher. You have probably known me for many years as the one person in your life with unfailing trust […]
Posted inFeatured, Social Studies, The Traveling Teacher
The Traveling Teacher: Normandy, France
June 6, 1944, D-Day, would be one that forever changed the world. For months, Americans, British, Australian, Canadian, French, and other Allied Powers trained for months when they would invade the Western Front and help turn that Nazi Germans back. The risks, sacrifices, and dividends were beyond measure. So is trying to put to words what it’s like […]
Posted inFeatured
10 Tips: Running a Political Debate
Last week I shared “10 Reasons Why Teachers Should Host Political Debates.” It was a reflection piece on a State Senate debate I helped plan, coordinate, and orchestrate. Since then I’ve received several letters of thanks and strangers in the community approaching me in appreciation. Most importantly, students (and their parents) have expressed the most […]
Posted inFormative Assessments, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Social Studies, Technology
Breaking out of the Norm with Breakout Edu
It has been a long time since I started my high school class with this opening, “Today I’m going to tell you a story… and only you have the power to save the world…” My gaming team of devoted educators advised me to take a plunge into an all-out game experience with Breakout EDU. While […]