Social Studies/History

Middle schoolers as scholars: Critical participatory action research

Jon Moscow Mental health, Podcast Episode, SEL (Social and Emotional Learning), Social Studies/History, Student voice, Youth 00:23:13 Comments Off on Middle schoolers as scholars: Critical participatory action research

We speak with Dr. Sam Finesurrey, assistant professor of history at Guttman Community College, and three 2024 graduates of School in the Square (S2), a charter middle school in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Dr. Finesurrey worked with 14 students on a research project studying S2 students’ social emotional learning, including reactions to the pandemic and faculty turnover. Dr. Sam and the students talk about the process, what they found, and how the school modified policies in response to the study’s findings.

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Inquiry and interpretation: Learning US history from primary sources

Amy Halpern-Laff Ed Ethics, Inquiry-based learning, K-12 Instructional coaching, Podcast Episode, Reading, Social Studies/History 00:29:15 Comments Off on Inquiry and interpretation: Learning US history from primary sources

We speak with Lee Schere, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Office of K-16 Initiatives of CUNY about the Debating U.S. History Program, an inquiry-based curriculum and teacher learning program. Students learn that history is not one set of agreed-upon events and interpretations. Though designed for NYC schools, the curriculum is available free to teachers everywhere.

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Why Geoffrey Canada is wrong: Defending schools as democratic spaces

Amy Halpern-Laff BLACK LIVES, Black teachers, Cultural Competency, Podcast Episode, School leadership, Social Studies/History 00:55:01 Comments Off on Why Geoffrey Canada is wrong: Defending schools as democratic spaces

We speak with Dr. Brian Jones, director of the New York Public Library’s Center for Educators and Schools, which provides all sorts of free resources to teachers and school administrators. Public schools, for all their flaws, are centers of power and potential for teachers and parents. As a historian, Dr. Jones draws parallels between Booker T. Washington and Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children’s Zone. In the aftermath of civil rights struggles, both accommodated the powerful and opposed collective efforts for systemic change.

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Supporting student civic activism: Social studies on steroids (Encore)

Jon Moscow PBL (Project-based learning), Podcast Episode, Service Learning, Social Studies/History 01:18:00 Comments Off on Supporting student civic activism: Social studies on steroids (Encore)

Dr. Alan Singer, Dr. Pablo Muriel, and Gates Millennium Scholar Dennis Belen-Morales, three generations of teachers, describe how they center student activism in their project-based social studies and history classes while giving students the tools to pass the NYS Regents exams. Dr. Singer was Dr. Muriel’s professor in college, and Dr. Muriel was Mr. Belen-Morales’ high school teacher and college professor in turn. Now all three are at Hofstra University.

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Indigenous erasure: The battle for inclusive state standards in South Dakota

Amy Halpern-Laff Indigenous educators, INTEGRATION, Podcast Episode, School Culture, Social Studies/History, Uncategorized 00:41:00 Comments Off on Indigenous erasure: The battle for inclusive state standards in South Dakota

Sherry Johnson, tribal education director for the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, an Oceti Sakowin treaty tribe, talks about the efforts to have South Dakota’s students learn about Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota history and culture. South Dakota’s right wing governor and her appointees have rejected state standards that include critical thinking and accurate state history, sparking strong resistance.

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