Reflecting & Storytelling About Teaching
Why do we want to make our students into historians? Not because even a fraction of a percent of them might become writers or professors – but because “doing history” teaches life skills hard to learn… Continue reading
When I’ve attended concerts in the past — all artists decidedly from a previous generation — I’ve carried motifs as well as melodies back into my life. With Billy Joel, storytelling laced with a tinge of regret; with the Indigo Girls, social change and righteous indignation; with Bruce Springsteen, evocative yearning for just about everything. Yet until recently, I’ve never… Continue reading
Those of us who have used the Stanford History Education Group’s wealth of materials, from assessments to primary sources, will not be surprised to learn that founder Sam Wineburg’s new book… Continue reading
For two days last spring, my 8th grade U.S. history class had been studying the challenges of refugees, in history and in the present. In class discussions, I had been trying to balance the difficulties governments encounter… Continue reading
It’s tempting to describe the “shiny” lesson: the debate, the simulation, the Socratic seminar. When students connect with each other so loudly the air crackles. Of course I love those lessons. Who doesn’t? … Continue reading
While I was reading it, Matthew R. Kay’s Not Light, But Fire inspired me to change in real time the way I framed conversations about current events and history – which very often involve race, ethnicity, religion, politics… Continue reading
When I browse the new books shelf at the library, usually I’ll look for titles on history, cooking or biography – such as the brief yet profound… Continue reading
As a history teacher who covers current events daily with eighth graders, I’m all too accustomed to the hard classroom conversations that follow an unfathomable act of violence. Bomb threats, attacks at concerts, white supremacist rallies – my students and I have discussed them all… Continue reading
I was way late to the podcast party. For a long time I had what I thought were good reasons: I don’t commute far. I like to listen to music, not words, while I exercise. I had a wonky old phone without enough memory… Continue reading
Linda Christensen and Dyan Watson’s Rhythm and Resistance: Teaching Poetry for Social Justice had me at its title, which promises the perfect blend of art and activism. After I read the introduction to the first chapter, I realized this book might promise even more than that… Continue reading
Sarah Cooper 