Teacher of Citizens. Allentown SD. Educating for American Democracy Teacher Leadership Task Force. iCivics EdNet. Sphere 100 Fellow. NY Historical WAMS Ambassador Reach University Professor. Mayflower descendant, Daughters of the American Revolution.
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Mr. Bob Dodge, high school, Modern European History and AP MEH. Introduced me to the Scarlet Pimpernel and Barbara Tuchman…first time I encountered history outside of terrible textbooks. He’s one of two teachers who whisper in my ear as I teach today: “Keep the story in history!”
In addition to so many good ideas…I teach high school. My instructional plans are always in the same place in our LMS and my students are well versed in how to figure out what’s expected on any given day. Whether they are absent or I am, they know how to get the learning they are owed.
Looking for help teaching media literacy? Help is here!
Native history is often treated like a tragic, distant chapter of the American story & the legal terrain it created like a siloed, backwater of American law. But it is foundational. Not knowing this history is like not knowing you have cancer. One day it will take over. Read more: buff.ly/nQuKg7p
Grades should reflect what a student knows and can do at the moment in time when the grade is published. We don’t make Olympic athletes average their training runs into their final race times.
A little on the nose…
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” What will you pledge?
@lucykirchh.bsky.social Hi! I’m so excited- I’m registering for your digital citizenship class (ISTE)! I’m tasked with writing a new digital citizenship elective for my HS over the summer.
Trump bombing Iran was illegal and unjustified. I ran for Congress to make sure our leaders consider the true costs of war. And I will be in the Senate, standing on my titanium legs, demanding answers from Trump. My statement:
If you think it can’t happen here, remember that it already did. In 1942 soldiers came with rifles to our home and ordered us out. They put us in internment camps. Most of us were citizens.
It becomes frustrating to see elementary and middle schools refusing to implement the consistent evidence that the pathway to literacy travels through authentic reading and writing in content…social studies and science.
Who’s in?
It was my honor to escort students to Harrisburg to accept our school’s 7th straight Governor’s Civic Engagement Award. I am humbled by the Commonwealth’s surprise recognition of my work. pacast.com/m?p=27529
FACTS!
NASA has never built a rocket. They’re all built by private contractors- the military-industrial complex. Boeing. McDonnell Douglas. Lockheed Martin. Every era of US Space exploration has had its SpaceXs.
A lot of rockets blew up. Astronauts died during tests. We just didn’t get to watch it live while it happened. There has been a time in the history of everything that works when they didn’t work. There’s a reason we don’t routinely fly to other planets…yet.
The administration has- or had- institutions it could direct to conduct research according to its agenda . It dismantled them.
youtu.be/kRwDybetwXc
The Constitution doesn’t give rights to Presidents. It gives rights to the people. The very fact that she started there shows the dangerously unconstitutional mindset we’re seeing in action now. With regard to Lincoln, his suspension (not use) of habeus corpus was quite controversial.
Content will be available on YouTube later!
Today on FB, @committeeof70.bsky.social is hosting an Election Day Edition of Studio C70. Join me at 3:30 as we discuss civic education and how the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap can help us deliver quality civic preparation for all students.
I believe in making students show me what they’ve learned, even if it’s late. But I’m firm with them from the get go. In exchange for a very accommodating policy about due dates, you will accept my grading timeframe. When you put work In my hands I’ll give you an estimate, and you’ll accept it.
I’m thinking “tonight’s my mom’s birthday and I planned not to work tonight.”
It’s one of those things that people don’t see about teaching. Because we don’t have enough time during the work day to grade everything, we sometimes plan our work/our life around when big student task will be turned in. Turn something in a week late? You may think “it’s only 1 thing to rate,”
@herberthistory.bsky.social so I guess #HATM can’t do Air Force One ‘cause it’s a rental/purchase on Prime. Sigh. It’s totally a history movie.
I was obsessed with this movie for a time as a kid. I am often opposed to nostalgic remakes, but I think someone could do something brilliant with this. #HATM
Don’t bypass 2026. We could take back Congress and seriously limit what is coming from the Executive branch…or even change the Executive.
I do not understand how anyone could be less than outraged about this.
I Let them see me make mistakes and recover from them. I say “I don’t know, let’s find out,” a lot. #engsschat
🚀🚀
I can’t see him without thinking of Beauty and the Beast (TV Series).
How exactly is driving backwards in your driveway worse for his car than driving forwards in your driveway?
These EOs keep giving “Bill of Attainder” vibes.
Or keep carrying around that marriage certificate…whether you ever want to see it again or not.
The first time I tried- and failed- to get Real ID, there was a woman in front of me who’d just celebrated her 60th wedding anniversary. She has to hunt down proof of her name change from that long ago.
Try being forced to get a new copy of a 30+ year old marriage certificate for a marriage that hasn’t existed for over a decade but you kept the name for your kids…😡
Not everywhere. There are still places that will only process duplicate records requests in person. Or if they will do it by mail it is an incredibly cumbersome process, with requirements like certified checks or money orders, proof of identity verified by third parties…it’s not simple.
What/who are you looking for?
Journalist Rebecca Nagle, Citizen of Cherokee Nation and descendant of Major and John Ridge, pronounces it eh-CHOE-tah. That’s the only way I’ve ever heard it said. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is deeply disappointed in the recent decision to eliminate funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for the National History Day (NHD) program. ➡️ Full statement here: hubs.li/Q03g6D4r0
The community of Allentown hid the Liberty Bell from a hostile invasion from 1777 to 1668. The new EO targets Independence NHP by name. Just sayin’…we could lift up those floorboards again…
Some of the finest history educators I know serve at the Smithsonian and the National Park Service. These institutions are and must be dedicated to telling the history of US- all of us. Stand with them!
If not already done, make sure your school is sharing with the entire community contact info for ACLU, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center Red Cards: www.ilrc.org/red-cards-ta...
The list above isn’t exhaustive. Again- we can use more! But we could also bring more visibility to the sites that already do exist and help drive visitors their way so that people see the value in investing more in women’s history.
Other sites associated with First Ladies are preserved by private historical trusts- as are Presidential sites from before the Presidential Records Act. Some of these include Abigail Adams, Emily Donelson (niece of Andrew Jackson), Mary Todd Lincoln, Lucy Hayes, Edith Wilson, and Maime Eisenhower.
Dolley Todd House (Dolley Madison) is maintained by NPS in Philadelphia, as is Julia Dent Grant’s childhood home in St. Louis and Bess Truman’s home in Independence.
Certainly not enough attention is paid to women’s history, including First Ladies, but this post is misleading. There are many historic sites preserving the stories of other First Ladies. These include the Saxton McKinley House, home of Ida Saxton-McKinley and First Ladies National Historic Site.
“Just because you do not take an interest in politics does not mean that politics will not bother with you.” (Pericles)
It’s so disappointing because…sharks are cool. They don’t need embellishment.
I was furious when I realized how often “Shark Week” contained these fake infotainment shows. My daughter (now a college marine biology student) was obsessed, and stupid me thought Discovery Channel was a reliable source.
Who ya gonna call?
A2: I like smart people who know things I don’t know and think in ways I don’t think. We’ll never find solutions to the challenges that stump us if we only speak with those who think the exact same way we already do. @lindarmonkjd.bsky.social @mrswreggs.bsky.social @mrshanegower.bsky.social ?
I hope to see you all this afternoon- especially my PA Educator Colleagues!
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, and those who can remember the past are like, what the hell, man?
It’s insane.
doubleplusungood
I am proud to be joining PA Civics for this #CivicLearningWeek virtual event. We’re heading into America’s 250th with new energy around Civic Education in the Commonwealth. I hope you’ll join us! www.pacivics.org/stateofcivic...
Repost with the first album you bought with your own money.
I’m sure you’re right. Like everything, it just seems more outrageous now. I’m worried about record and artifact destruction.
Retaining presidential records while assuring public access has been a benefit of bringing the modern presidential libraries under NARA. But now we are censoring the legacies of our past leaders.
How is his Tesla-owning co-conspirator ok with this?
Way to assign homework to the class😜
Added today: Schools nationwide received quite the Valentine from the DOE. Read the “Dear Colleague” letter that threatens schools for ensuring that all students have access and opportunity to learn and succeed: www.ed.gov/media/docume...
Better to resign under your own conditions than be fired?
Listen to teachers!!
Refusing to comply with illegal and/or unethical orders is not just a powerful strategy, but also something we have condemned people for not doing. Fighting from within is also an option, but it doesn’t come with the visibility of these resignations, which is why we know about what is happening.
Teacher voice is so important, and so the second resource contained in this collection that I'd like to highlight is the rapid and unequivocal response shared by @markjwestpfahl.bsky.social and the Minnesota Council for the Social Studies: mcss.wildapricot.org
People who demand the removal of books from public spaces are never the good guys.
“The rich” runs into problems because many people aspire to be rich. They resist efforts to curtail riches because they hope to one day own them. We need to differentiate between “rich” and “RICH!”
from “Parable of the Talents” by Octavia Butler
As we show our support for the public employees whose work is being destroyed right now, lets remember that some similarly dedicated talents offered their work to us by joining commercial enterprises, and they are also feeling it right now. Our legit words and boycotts will hurt them, too.
This is even more true at SpaceX. Not only has innovation by that company included making space accessible to university and high school science in an unprecedented way, but those workers cannot take their talents and do what they do elsewhere. There is no alternative in the rocket industry.
Tesla employees forced America's automobile industry to take alternative fuels seriously. They don't dictate their boss's politics.
In our just outrage at the oligarchs (one in particular) currently threatening our democracy, let's be mindful to separate employees from their bosses. The innovative engineers and technicians at companies like Tesla and SpaceX combine knowledge, skills, and a sense of mission in their careers.
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The first resource in this collection comes from @socialstudies.org, the strongest national teacher-serving and teacher-led organization. Thank you @jenmorganwi.bsky.social and @oldmanhistory59.bsky.social for your swift and clear response www.socialstudies.org/current-even...
While I 100% agree that we should welcome any workers who can earn a living, that wasn’t what you said. “Most” is very different from < 1/4. And there are wealthy interests that would love you to think America can’t produce talented engineers…so they can bring in workers who will work for less.
Foreign-born persons are less than 25% of STEM workers in the US. Ask yourself why people are working to get you to distrust American educational outcomes. Signed, a US teacher whose son is a literal rocket scientist. www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/for...
Let’s not start rumors that the people fired were foreigners. You have to be a US Citizen to work on any American rocket or armament program. It’s called ITAR.
Because it would mean I made it to Venice.
If they’re trying to make it harder for you to vote, ask why. I see no suggestion that any of the alleged problems with registration drives were actually happening. Voter suppression always looks like a solution in search of a problem.
Some of the finest educators I’ve ever met have been NPS interpreters.
@mapquest.com has social media game! 10/10 recommend following.
Times like this call for the Constitution Lady herself. Thank goodness for @lindarmonkjd.bsky.social !
@jbf1755.bsky.social a thread for you. Hope it cheers you up as you are convalescing 💜
Lin-Manuel Miranda needs to put this letter to music.
We missed you…but @mapm8ker.bsky.social hosted a brilliant conversation.
I’ll be returning to this thread over the coming days to amplify many of the individual resources. If you have an additional resource that you believe needs to be included, please respond here and share it. I look forward to the conversations to come!
Those that follow me also know I am guilty of wanting to use ALL the words The resource collection also includes a lengthier note from me that contains my more elaborate thoughts on this matter. I hope those thoughts will stimulate conversation.
In this collection I’ve included responses from diverse ideological, geographic, and educational contexts. I hope you will find within this collection the tools and language you need to strengthen your own conversations and more confidently share your thoughts in any forum.
In the hope that teachers will engage in conversations about our classrooms in our families, our communities, I have curated a library of responses to the EO “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” You will find those resources in this Wakelet: wakelet.com/wake/dTNbZD0...
Everything about this EO is rooted in the deliberate and systematic disruption of the relationship that teachers have historically had with the communities that they serve, and everything about this will be better if teachers and communities get back into conversation with one another.
My mantra is “no talking about education without educators.” Teachers are too often absent from the places where teaching is discussed. This has been evident in the public responses to Pres. Trump’s 1/29 EO: “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.”
“Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it.” Judge Learned Hand
I’m still working on getting my Real ID. The state I got married in doesn’t allow ordering marriage certificates online. Btw I haven’t been married for over 10 years, and my social security card, driver’s license, expired passport, utility bills, and employment ID all confirm my current name.
Abolishing the Department of Education will further decimate rural schools... And, for what? The Dept of Ed does not write curriculum -- that is done at the local and state level. The funding from the department mostly supports economically disadvantaged school systems. The poorest schools...