One year. Just one. And yet, a year feels like a pivot point. So much sacrificed, rearranged. Discussing the turning point battles of the second world war with my students had me analyzing the impact of specific dates. I informed my classes: '"My grandparents want you to know the importance of December 7, 1941. Your [...]
Imagine a snowy Wednesday morning in February--a scheduled remote teaching day and a day following an actual, old-school type of snow day. Picture many of those same teachers scrambling for child care because the district in which they live closed school, but the community they teach in tells them they either report to [...]
I have incorporated every presidential inauguration (regardless of who is elected) into my social studies classroom: seven ceremonies and five distinct leaders throughout my tenure. The transfer of power witnessed by adolescents is truly civics education in action. Every inauguration includes the usual pomp and circumstance, celebrity appearance, and political promises. Although we discussed Lady [...]
January 6, 2021 Americans woke up on the morning of January 6, 2021, learning that Georgia elected its first African-American Senator--a historic event only to be overshadowed by thousands of Americans storming the Capitol building in the afternoon. On my commute home, my mother-in-law, a retired social studies teacher, texts me: "Protestors have invaded the [...]
That holiday break we recently finished was not a vacation. It was only a breath, a moment of pause in a pandemic. Sure, many of us rested but how many educators feel refreshed and ready to return? This piece is not about toxic positivity. No one has the patience for phrases like, "You got this!" or "We [...]