It was fascinating to me how much of tonight’s class lined up with my takeaways from the Teaching Hard History conference — and really encouraging that several of the things I took away are considered best practices! (See my Reflection in Box: https://richmond.app.box.com/file/428881338757 Also in that folder are the PDFs of several of the resources from Teaching Tolerance. I showed these to the classmates at my table and they asked that I share them, which I will happily do.) Also, I heard a Teaching Hard History podcast (Kwame Alexander) that connected to the emotional response worksheet we went over. The podcast did a great job of discussing the emotional responses that many students experience (and why), as well as some ways to deal with them. I need to re-listen to that. Do either of you have any other recommended podcasts along these lines?
For me, finding good collections of source materials is such an important part of feeling confident about approaching these topics in the classroom. I don’t feel like I have enough experience yet to know when I’ve found a balanced or complete or even appropriate set of materials. I am grateful that I have had the chance to explore the TT resources, which I feel like I can trust, and I hope to find some additional reliable sources to add to my list. I suppose I will never really be finished with that part of the job…
You discussed the importance of bringing parents (with the approval of the principal) into the loop if I plan to address difficult/controversial subjects. But what if these topics are not contained to a unit, and are more of a thread running through history, all the way into current events? I’m thinking about racism/slavery, specifically, but the question could apply to other themes too.