Hi everyone!
Today’s class session has definitely got me thinking more about how to go about teaching hard history in my own future classroom. Honestly, teaching history has been the topic I am most worried about teaching my future students, as I do not feel that my own history lessons were adequate growing up. I am feeling much more prepared to tackle these topics, especially in K-2 classrooms. The quiz we took at the beginning of class was a wake up call to how much I did NOT learn in school when I was younger.
I found another excellent resource that has more focus on lessons discussing slavery for younger students: https://www.learningforjustice.org/frameworks/teaching-hard-history/american-slavery/k-5-framework
However, the question I am still stuck on is how to teach hard history if you are working in a state or school district that either wants you to not tell the whole truth, such as only focusing on the ‘good’ parts, or does not incorporate it in the younger grade curriculum at all? What if your personal beliefs on what you should be teaching about hard history topics do not align with the curriculum of the school you work in?
My second question is, what other hard history topics are there that we should be teaching about? I would like to hear from fellow classmates as to what topics you believe will be challenging to teach.
Our class session yesterday was extremely informative, but I still feel like I have a long way to go to further educate myself on the topic of slavery, especially in Virginia. As future teachers, how should we go about getting this further education, specifically focusing on delving deeper into topics? What should we be expected to do to learn more about a topic? I feel like there is so much to know and understand about history and I want to make sure that I can teach my future students the truth and avoid the seven key problems that we spoke about in class when it comes to teaching slavery in America.
Thank you for reading! I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s responses. I hope everyone learned something new today like I did! I also hope that we can continue these hard and difficult conversations throughout the remainder of our class, because they are extremely valuable and needed.
Best,
Halle
Hi Halle!
Thank you for your thoughtful post and insightful questions. I appreciate the time you put into your post in order to ensure the class is thinking about these questions.
This weeks class was definitely a wake up call for me also; I performed poorly on the slavery quiz and realized how much more I have to learn about history in order to teach my students. I have a feeling that most school districts will want teachers to refrain from sharing the full truth about our history to students, and I disagree with this and I hope it changes in the near future. I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for teachers to go against the school districts’ curriculum, but I do think it’s important for teachers to speak up about these issues. I won’t be afraid to share my personal beliefs about teaching hard history to the principle or administration if I disagree with something, and I hope my words make a difference.
There are a wide array of hard history topics that are going to be extremely difficult to teach our students about, and I personally am very nervous to do so. When I think about hard history topics, I think about some topics we’ve already discussed in class: racism, segregation, gender, the Holocaust, etc. I am determined to make my classroom a comfortable and welcoming environment where each student feels safe sharing their opinions.
As of right now, I feel as though I have so much more to learn. I want to continue to put in the hard work to further my knowledge regarding our country’s history. Teachers should engage with reputable resources and websites that provide nothing but the truth.
Greetings, Halle. Thanks for raising these questions & for directing us to the resources provided by learningforjustice.org.
I too did poorly on the quiz we took at the beginning of class, as I had expected. That on its own does not worry me much, because frankly, I don’t think the quiz was very well crafted (for which I hope our professors can forgive me!). Most of the questions focused on numbers, statistics and trivia, i.e. how many enslaved people were imported to the United States, what state had the largest number of enslaved people living in it at a given time, etc. and I don’t think those sorts of factoids are a good measurement of somebody’s knowledge. To make an analogy to a different discipline, I may be able to say how many different species of spider there are or name many of those species, but if I do not know what those species look like, where they live, what they eat, etc. then I do not really know anything about spiders; I just have memorized some symbols (words, numbers) that scientists use to represent spiders. By the same token, I think somebody who can accurately describe a typical day in the life of an enslaved person & recount the social and economic shifts that led to the invention, ascendance, and abolishment of American slavery has great knowledge of the history of slavery, even if they cannot name any statistics; whereas somebody who can rattle off a long list of accurate population estimates and dates, but cannot describe what life was actually like for enslaved people, does not really know anything about slavery. Of course it is best to have both types of knowledge.
THAT SAID, I still don’t think I know as much about slavery as I should like or as much as I will need to know in order to teach about it confidently; and the same is true about basically every other subject I will have to teach as an elementary school teacher. I recall essentially nothing of my social studies lessons when I was an elementary school student, which may indicate that there is something wrong with the way we teach students such that they retain hardly any of the information they are given (but then again it may not, as the point of grade school is not necessarily to give students specific knowledge so much as generalized intellectual tools). But that is a topic for another time. In any case, there can be no better way to increase one’s knowledge of a subject than by reading books! I hope that as I begin and continue my career as a teacher I will read many nonfiction books on history, nature, and so on in order to increase and maintain my knowledge of these subjects.
I don’t know what I would do (other than obey) if the administrators at my school insisted that I teach nothing outside the standards on a particular topic. It seems reasonable to assume that I will often be in a situation in which state-mandated standards of learning include less than I would wish to teach my students about a given topic, but my understanding is that teachers typically teach more than the standards require and that administrators are unlikely to push back much so long as the standards are included (admittedly I have almost no experience on which to base that understanding). It might be possible to appease tyrannical administrators by explicitly tying each lesson to a standard, but including more content in the lesson than is necessary for that standard alone; for instance, a lesson on the standard VS.7c “American Indians, whites, enslaved African Americans, and free African Americans experienced the Civil War in different ways” could include an adapted excerpt from a slave narrative as a primary source for students to analyze, which would teach them about the lives of enslaved people and prompt them to think on that topic, even if there is not a standard specifically about that. I have read that administrators typically do not read the whole of lesson plans submitted to them, so any plan that meets basic expectations on the surface seems likely to pass inspection. The website to which you linked has many sources that can be used in lessons of this kind (learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/texts/hard-history/slavery), including short biographies, historical fiction stories, photographs, illustrations, political cartoons and so on.
Hi Halle!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful questions and post!
I too felt the quiz we took at the beginning of class was a wake-up call. Although I was able to answer a few questions correctly, I was not very confident as I clicked my answer choices. Furthermore, the other half of the questions I got completely wrong due to my lack of knowledge!
This activity was eye-opening in the sense of showing how little I truly knew about the history of the institution of slavery. Prior to teaching this subject to students, or any other hard history topic including events such as the Holocaust, I will have to complete additional research to make sure I have all of the facts in line. I will also have to work to create a comfortable atmosphere for my students when discussing traumatic historical events such as these.
I am also having some nervous feelings about teaching hard history. I hope to do ample research before signing on to work in a district. I will be looking at their standards and rules to make sure they aren’t encouraging educators to only teach the “good” parts of history. However, if that doesn’t work out I am unsure what I would do. It would be difficult to go against the rules without getting into trouble with administrators, but I think there will also be instances that I can throw in snippets of information to hopefully provide my students with the whole truth. Showing primary sources is a way this could ultimately be done.
Good afternoon Halle!
Thank you for your insightful post. I had a lot of the same questions you did after our class meeting so I am glad you brought them up in your discussion post.
I think there are a variety of hard history topics we should teach about. Like almost everyone, I did very poorly on the slavery quiz and was shocked to see that every single question was on the board when we answered the ones we missed. I agree with William when he said that he thought the quiz wasn’t particularly well-crafted, but I also see how much knowledge I am lacking from my time in high school. What was shocking to me is that I came from a private high school so we did not have the same regulations that public NC schools have when teaching hard history, yet we still learned that the civil war was mainly a fight for states’ rights. I think that just goes to show how ingrained the Lost Cause Myth is in Southern curriculums.
For your second question, I think hard history topics such as slavery, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and structural injustice should be taught in schools. The structural injustice topic would probably be best suited for more of a middle to high-school age, but I think it is important to teach in order to have a complete worldview.
Thank you for your post!
Carstyn K
Hi Halle!
Thank you so much for your honesty about what you are feeling concerned about when planning for how we teach social studies. I relate a lot to you in the way that history is my biggest worry for teaching. History has always been my hardest subject to learn about, so it is making me nervous to think about how I am going to teach about history in general. On top of that, teaching about these very difficult topics adds a whole new layer of concern to the mixture. I am also worried about the proper way to teach in K-2 classrooms! I recently have been thinking a lot about how to handle situations in which students may have questions about topics that are not age appropriate for K-2 classes, and how to go about that situation. I never want my class to feel as if I am hiding information from them or lying about any part of history, which makes this type of situation very difficult.
I additionally wonder about how we are going to be able to teach history in a school district that might not align with our own views, or the district does not allow us to teach challenging topics in order to avoid difficult situations and cover up the truth. I believe the topic of slavery is one of the more difficult topics to teach about. In addition to this, I believe students should be taught about major historical figures in a more truthful way. I remember being shocked when I learned about the true characteristics of Christopher Columbus. I think it will also be difficult to talk about natural disasters that have happened in the past, and have impacted the present today. These topics are very emotional to think about, and will be challenging to talk about with younger students.
In order to know as much as possible about these topics to prepare us for our teaching, I think it is important for us to assess the topics we know well, compared to the topics we know less about. After doing this, we can create a plan to study valuable online resources on the topics we are not familiar with. I feel as if I have SO much left to learn, and plan on reviewing content intensely as the start of our teaching journey approaches.
Hi Halle, you are so right everything we have been discussing in class is so valuable and helpful as we move forward in our journey to becoming teachers. At the start of this class, I would never have imagined as a native Virginian, I would learn more about Virginia and US history in two months than I did in 12 years of elementary and secondary school. In thinking about the questions regarding teaching hard history in the elementary setting especially if the school system is resistant or your personal beliefs are being challenged, I wonder why is it hard? History means it has already happened and it won’t change, whether we teach it or not. I am hopeful that we as Americans can come to an understanding that learning about history, even when it is hard, is so important to our future. When we read Richmond’s Unhealed History there were a lot of hurtful, painful things in there but I am glad to learn more because it really makes me appreciate where I am today. It made me also want to continue making the world a better place for the generations after me. I think we should approach teaching hard history in an age appropriate way, always giving facts not opinions, and ensuring everyone knows they and their voice matters. Hopefully our school systems will realize that history, even hard history, has to be taught. Also in regards to your question regarding other history that may be hard to teach, my thoughts went to the Holocaust because even though it didn’t happen in this country, many families came to the United States to escape this horror and we may have students who are descendants of these families. I’ve included a couple of links regarding how to teach on this subject with younger students.
A Guide to Teaching Elementary Students About the Holocaust | Study.com
https://study.com/blog/a-guide-to-teaching-elementary-students-about-the-holocaust.html
10 Tips for Teaching About the Holocaust | PBS Education
https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/10-tips-for-teaching-about-the-holocaust-with-confidence
Hi Halle,
Thank you for your insights and questions this week! I too have been reflecting a lot about our class and how best to teach hard history.
I wasn’t actually surprised that I did poorly on the quiz, but I was surprised at how many of us felt like we did poorly overall! It is clear that the techniques that our own teachers relied on to teach history did not help most of us recall important events and people beyond taking the test.
I’ve been skimming through the SOLs to make notes about what topics I may find challenging to teach. In addition to slavery, I have a hard time envisioning the words I would use to define and describe lynching to a child. I think it’s really important for us to practice the kinds of language we will use when explaining things like this. And, personally, it will be important for me to practice these lesson plans ahead of time to be able to deliver the truth about hard history without getting emotional.
Regarding your question about what to do when our own beliefs are misaligned with our state’s standards — my understanding of the SOLs from our class is that they’re the floor, not the ceiling. We should have the professional latitude to determine what kinds of learning activities help deepen our students’ understanding of the topics at hand beyond what we’re required to cover from the curriculum framework. I really liked what Dr. Ayers said about teaching slavery and it’s what I took away as the big idea about teaching this part of hard history . . . we should focus on anything that helps to humanize the concept of slavery, as slavery was meant to dehumanize.
As teachers, we’ll all need to be committed to being lifelong learners. When we prepare our lesson plans, it may be that we’ll need to spend longer doing lateral reading and researching relevant background information on historical topics in the beginning of our teaching careers. I feel like these are the types of questions I’ll want to ask during student teaching to find out what strategies have worked for others who are more seasoned. I feel like we’re being intentionally exposed to a variety of resources that we can choose from to keep to up to date or reminded about important topics/ideas/teaching strategies (for some of us that may mean reading particular journals, or listening to podcasts on the way to work, or earmarking time in our calendars to peruse the Teaching History website, etc.). I’m not sure yet which approach will work best for me but I’m open to trying a variety of ways to stay informed.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend and thank you again for your questions!
Sue Anne
Hi Halle!
This is a great post, I can tell that you had some deep reflection and great takeaways from this class session to bring to your post!
I had a hard time thinking about how to answer your first question until I saw Sue Anne’s post (thank you, Sue Anne!) and her comment on the standards being the floor and not the ceiling. I think this is a great reminder that while some standards can be bare, we can teach more than what is required. In fact, we should be teaching more anyway with the hard history topics because our goal is to give students a bigger picture of the event or the era and let them form their opinions and truths from what we are able to provide them. As for standards that maybe go against personal beliefs (which I believe there may be some standards out there), this may be harder to teach, but I think this is a moment where we have to use our professional skills to teach as best as we can and then talk to administration about our ideas (of course, hoping that administration is open to these tough conversations). As a teacher, I think our goal is to teach students how to find their own truths and form their own opinions, so even if we have to teach something that goes against our personal beliefs we are able to give students the tools and strategies to conduct further research to dive deeper and find the truth.
Similar to other students, I think teaching the Holocaust would be difficult, as the inhumaneness that occured is just unfathomable. However, I honestly would have a challenging time teaching the Civil War because of the either extreme viewpoints or the lacking the truth viewpoints that make it really difficult to talk about the truth of the war.
Hi Halle
I wasn’t able to make it to class for this lesson due to being out sick but it sounds like a very informative meeting!
I think teaching difficult topics is very important at any grade level. I understand that some things are not age appropriate for certain students which are very understandable, but some things can be made age appropriate. When taught in developmentally appropriate ways, students can learn about hard-hitting history in informative but not crushing ways. Students should be given a chance to learn about difficult topics in sensitive ways to allow them chances to be inquisitive and learn about their history and the history of others.
It is important to teach the whole truth even if the whole truth isn’t just a curriculum set of standards. This could be done in ways of providing documents for students to dive into that provide glimpses of others’ perspectives on a historical event or documents that make them say “well, maybe our textbook left some things out.” For example, when we did the investigation into Rosa Parks, we saw that the information provided by primary sources did not directly line up with the information in the textbook. I think it would be important to also share why this information might not always add up and the importance of using primary or reliable sources.
Hello Hale,
I understand your concerns about teaching history once your career starts, because I also feel my education in elementary and secondary school was not the best and surely not a great foundation to teach students. I can say we are in an awesome place to gain the needed knowledge and confidence to prepare us for a successful future. Your feelings about how much you did not learn in school is a feeling I hope my future students will not look back on and make that statement.
Teaching “hard history” is a concern for me right now, because I am not sure where the new SOLs are heading and what we will be required to teach our students. As we go through this program, there are enormous amounts of knowledge that we can give to our students if time and requirements allow. My goal and hopes are that one day we can teach the “hard history” truly and without limitations, to provide the information and then allow students to form their own understanding.
Other topics that will be a challenge to teach, to me, will be history that is taking place around us daily. How will the standards require teachers to tell/teach what we are living day-to-day. I do believe we are all lifelong learners and through our dedication to the profession, we will learn what is needed to be successful teachers.
Thank you Hale for your post.
Hi Halle!
Thank you for your insightful post!
I have thought a lot about what I would do if I was faced with the challenge of wanting to teach certain history topics while being forced to teach the opposite. It has become more and more of a concern of mine as we enter a time when various states have already placed restrictions on what teachers can teach. I think it honestly depends on how strict the laws or expectations are. If it is possible that teachers could be jailed or lose their license if they don’t adhere to the rules, then I would have no choice but to teach what they expected of me. Thankfully (fingers crossed) I don’t believe we will get to that point and I think that I will be able to manage incorporating my teachings and those of the state.
Regarding your second point, I think there are so many hard history topics that students should have the opportunity to learn more about. We focus so much on European history that we leave out a lot of the experiences of more diverse communities. When we do get the opportunity to teach or learn about marginalized communities, it is very narrow and often focused on their plight, especially when it’s relevant to U.S./European history. Take for example the treatment of those Indigenous to the Americas when Europeans came to the U.S. For the most part, we tend to talk about the suffering that Native Americans faced (which is still important to talk about) and a few (if any) cultural practices without any of the rich, beautiful history that predates colonialism. Students learn very little about other religious/ethic groups outside of Christianity, such as Judaism or Islam. I think it would be wonderful if students got to learn about LGBTQ+ history, especially because of the work of countless queer activists who helped shape America as it is today, not to mention the intersectional identities of many of queer activists (i.e. Marsha P. Johnson). Students should be given the chance to learn about a multitude of communities and have access to the full picture of their experiences. Of course, it is important to learn about the suffering of all marginalized communities, but we should also teach about the beauty of these cultures because it humanizes them while allowing students to understand why imperialism and hatred were so destructive.
Hi Halle.
Thanks for this question. I am going to take 2 things Dr. Ayers said to heart. One is to focus on the facts. Where possible, I’m going to present real sources (primary sources) and anything that shares the truth of this history. That might mean looking at laws, or newspaper articles, letters, and more. The other thing I want to focus on is the people and their stories. I want students to understand that enslaved people were much more than human property. Where possible, I will share the stories of real people, whether that be audio recordings like that of Fountain Hughes, or information share by places like Mount Vernon and Monticello.
As to learning more, I have been listening to Dr. Ayers on the BackStory podcast. I am also watching video lectures. Even I have a lot to learn, but I feels it’s my duty as a teacher and citizen to do this.
Hello Halle,
Thank you for your post.
I felt the exact same way with my history education. I felt as though it was missing a lot of information growing up, especially in hard history. Little attention was paid to the subject, and some aspects of Social Studies felt as though they were skipped over completely.
I feel that there can be aspects of hard history that can be incorporated in literature and other educational resources that can introduce ideas without direct instruction. There are some truths that you cannot avoid as you teach Social Studies. I feel as though any POC history (Latinx, Black, Native American, APIDA, etc.) should be taught along with LGBTQ+ history and colonialism. Incorporating diverse history reflects a diverse classroom and the life that your students will live. When it comes to learning more about these topics, I wish to take more classes, go to conferences, read, and research more to learn as much as I can throughout my teaching career. I need to make sure my knowledge is where it should be when teaching my students.
Thank you for sharing,
Ashley