Symposium Questions for the Northern Regional Conference

• What trends in History-SS education and History-SS professional development have you seen over the last 5-10 years?   

The biggest trend is that Common Core State Standards have powered professional development in the last 5-10 years.  We have seen the development of the C3 Framework Document by National Council for the Social Studies.  This document aligns to the Common Core Standards, which is a grass-roots movement, not one created by the government.  In California, we see more and more history content instructional consultants moved out of district and county those positions.  Instead counties hire consultants who focus on broader fields such as Project Based Learning or how History-Social Studies ties into the Common Core Standards, and can function across the curriculum.  

Another development is the suspension of the assessments for a year.  Social Studies teachers don't know what to expect.  The current history-social science standards were written in 1997.  The breadth of the standards don't mix well with the depth teachers need to teach to mix language arts and social science.  

Over one hundred participants packed into The Power of Democracy session at the CCSS conference because teachers want to have a say in new standards.  The Justice Department and State Superintendent of Schools introduced draft resolutions to include more civic education in K-12 education.  They hope this will increase teaching time for all core areas of social studies:  history, geography, economics and civic education with the goal of producing informed citizens who know how to think critically and ask important questions.

• What issues and barriers face educators in providing high-quality History-SS instruction in California schools?

Educators face many barriers.  Teachers complain about the lack of time to teach everything. Common Core adds a new dimension. Teachers who use curriculums like Center for Civic Education's We the People Program or Project Citizen, Constitutional Rights Foundation's Civic Action, Bill of Rights in Action, or Mock Trial Programs already know how to integrate language arts skills and teach in-depth social studies as well.  National History Day teacher/coaches assist student participants in learning how to research, revise and present with historical accuracy. This kind of teaching takes time, and teaches depth.  Students will not necessarily do well on multiple choice tests of broad topics.  So the obstacle facing everyone now is not knowing exactly how students will be assessed.  

Another issue is the mistaken idea that if a student reads a primary source or two in reading class, they have studied history.  Primary sources do not give students the context into which to place an event.  They can analyze a political cartoon, but if they don't understand what happened in that time period, they can only make a superficial analysis based on their knowledge of today's world.  Even teachers, untrained in history-social studies, don't know how to ask the questions that will draw out the analytic thinking from students.  As good as they are, English teachers are not prepared to teach history to students.

• How can History-Social Science maintain integrity as a core academic subject and still work within the Common Core State Standards? 

Many social studies teachers are already doing this very well. Teachers are going to have to dig deep, teach students to read closely.  The California History Project has worked with teachers and professors to produce some amazing curriculum units available free of charge that integrates reading skills with concentrated history.  We had a Teaching American History Grant written by them in our county.  The thought that goes into creating these units is outstanding.  Most teachers will not have the time to develop these on their own.  There are some companies that specialize in this sort of teaching.  Document Based Questions and History Alive are two curriculums that have developed many units that include the kind of teaching strategies that are essential in teaching the Common Core.  Project Based Instruction is another company which provides staff development to help teachers develop their own units.  There are also non-profit organizations, such as the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Gilder Lehrman Foundation that train teachers during the summer in content, and strategies.  So many resources and professional development opportunities are already created for teachers that they shouldn't panic about having to recreate the wheel.  California Council for the Social Studies and National Council for the Social Studies highlighted many of these programs and companies at the Annual Conference.  Teachers also get much help online through Twitter chatrooms.  We have a blog on our CCSS.org website that talks about technology in history-social studies classrooms.

• What can educators do to support and maintain high quality History-SS education in California now and into the future?  

I may sound prejudiced because I am the current president of California Council for the Social Studies, but I think all teachers need to take the responsibility to join a professional organization or two.  There is a cost involved.  Our fee is $60 per year, but that provides subscriptions to a journal and newsletter, and pays the salary of a legislative analyst who works daily for us in Sacramento.  National Council for the Social Studies has similar benefits at the national level.  The cost is $66, but first time members can join for $6 through the CCSS (California Council) website through a program called "Brokering."  Teachers need to unite their voices when it comes to supporting history education.  Teachers can unite on Twitter and FB and other social media, and California Council has a social media presence.  I believe this is a great first step, but there is more work to be done.  Who is going to post on social media and reach out to a large audience if not the committed CCSS or NCSS members?    Who will reach out and establish a relationship with legislators if not those inspired by a group of like-minded individuals?  

Let me know if you have other ideas I should be sure to mention.