Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! December 26 marks the 160th anniversary of the largest mass execution in U.S. history. In 1862, at the height of the Civil War, 38 Dakota men were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota, on the day after Christmas. The events leading up to the war, […]
US History
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
THREE LIFE LESSONS On John Adams’s 283rd Birthday
Until quite recently, John Adams has been the most underappreciated Founding Father. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of historians such as David McCullough, Joseph Ellis, and Richard Brookhiser, not to mention HBO, this sad relegation is slowly vanishing from the nation’s psyche. It has been replaced, instead, by a sturdy and scholarly appreciation for the […]
Posted inOpinion
THREE LESSONS On John Marshall’s 263rd Birthday For Living a Better Life . . .
Happy 263rd Birthday Chief Justice John Marshall! On this day little fanfare and even less discussion will center on this national milestone. This is unfortunate, perhaps even a little bit tragic. For when Marshall passed away in 1835 the Liberty Bell was tolled for the last time—in commemorating the sad news the bell was forever […]
Posted inAdult Learning
The Politics and Pedagogy of Immigration Policy
The national debate over the Trump Administration policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border has reached a fever pitch. Images and audio of crying children, traumatized by the removal of their parents to detention facilities while the children are detained in what amounts to cages, have preoccupied the national media and gripped […]
Posted inAdult Learning
2018: Reflections on a School Year
It’s the Saturday after the last day of school for teachers. I am turning 58 today. I just completed my 34th year as a social studies teacher. Tomorrow is Father’s Day. Looking back over the past year and over the arch of my career, I want to write about the struggles and successes of my […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Civics Teacher Conundrum: Teaching Trump
By George Cassutto Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States in 2016 and inaugurated on January 20, 2017. He holds the highest office in the land, and for most scholars, he is the “leader of the free world” as long as the United States holds the status of the last remaining superpower. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Challenges of Social Studies Education Today
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! One educator’s perspective Next school year, I will “celebrate” my thirty-fifth year in secondary social studies education. I have taught at both middle and high school levels, predominantly in US History and US Government. My current assignment involves 7th grade US […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion, Social Studies
"Exceptionalism" as the new American Idiocy: an Outlaw AP US History Teacher Responds
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] If you are an educator, and especially an AP Teacher, or a current or former recipient of an AP education, you could not have missed the news this week that the […]