Category: Uncategorized

Interrogating and Re-Imagining Artistic, Literacy, and Historical Representations

Ethnic Studies Coordinator Mark Gomez introducing an activity

Mid Year Update Since launching our Interrogating and Reimagining Representations project for Ethnic Studies, we have been thrilled with the level of excitement and engagement from educators and community members. Taking inspiration from across various disciplines, local educators have been developing Ethnic Studies lessons that prompt students to reimagine dominant narratives that show up in…Continue Reading Interrogating and Re-Imagining Artistic, Literacy, and Historical Representations

Teacher Inquiry Groups: Focusing Collaboration

Historical events and individuals, cross-cutting themes and concepts, essential skills and dispositions, connections to multiple communities and the present—a history/social science teacher’s course and scope and sequence is far-ranging and crowded to say the least. To teach their students well, teachers know all kinds of things and are both generalists and specialists. But there is…Continue Reading Teacher Inquiry Groups: Focusing Collaboration

Can thinking historically about race and whiteness serve as an antiracist pedagogy? 

Flyer for Workshop: Thinking Historically about Race and Whiteness: Possibilities for Antiracist Pedagogies

This past summer (2021), over 90 teachers and several renowned scholars came together to explore the history of racial categories for a three-day workshop supported by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program. We  looked at different historical case studies to explore how race has been constructed, how it’s changed over time,  and…Continue Reading Can thinking historically about race and whiteness serve as an antiracist pedagogy? 

Bell Removal Ceremony

When the Mission Bells Rang cover

  The last of three commemorative mission bells in Santa Cruz was removed August 28, 2021 from where it has stood since 1906. This act of healing signals concerted efforts by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to remove these symbols celebrating the colonial past and the brutal missionization of California. The Critical Missions Project aims…Continue Reading Bell Removal Ceremony

The Civic Seal is Here!

California adopted the State Seal of Civic Engagement in the Fall of 2020. It is designed to honor and award students who demonstrate extended and deep civic engagement through meeting five criteria. We are excited about this initiative, not only because it explicitly recognizes the importance of civic learning and education for California’s youth, but…Continue Reading The Civic Seal is Here!

What Makes a Democracy?

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In the Summer of 2020, we produced What Makes a Democracy, a Teaching with Primary Sources workshop sponsored by the Library of Congress . In the midst of a global pandemic and an unprecedented racial reckoning, with all the uncertainty and unsettledness that that meant, we still had more than 50 educators show up to…Continue Reading What Makes a Democracy?

Telling the truth about the California Missions During Native American Heritage Month

If you were raised in California, perhaps you remember choosing a mission to learn about and subsequently constructing a model out of popsicle sticks or clay during your fourth-grade year. Today, learning about the California mission system continues to occupy a central place in fourth grade curriculum despite new understandings of the cruelty wrought against…Continue Reading Telling the truth about the California Missions During Native American Heritage Month

The Struggle Over Suffrage—Then and Now

Three weeks from an election that many argue will determine the future of our democracy, teachers are grappling with how to adequately guide their students through the constant stream of news about efforts to imperil voting for specific groups. From felons’ voting rights being restored and subsequently limited due to penalty fines, to the closing…Continue Reading The Struggle Over Suffrage—Then and Now

Black Lives Matter

One hundred and fifty (!) educators came to talk and think together June 24 in the Northern California Call to Action for History Educators. We talked about honoring Black Lives Matter and working towards a more just future. Teachers shared resources and had small group conversations and our CHSSP network compiled a list of resources….Continue Reading Black Lives Matter

Understanding and Teaching the Bracero Program

What was the Bracero Program, and why is it important to recognize its importance beyond the World War II era?  How did the program change over time? The Bracero Program began during WWII but it spanned 22 years (1942-1964). What are the lasting legacies of the Bracero Program for Mexican Americans, and all immigrants, in…Continue Reading Understanding and Teaching the Bracero Program