Tinker v. Des Moines

Timely Connections: Constitutional Rights of Students

Every year the United States celebrates Constitution Day on September 17. How much do you know about U.S. constitutional rights? Did you know that those rights are different in the context of public schools? School officials have significant leeway when instituting and enforcing rules to maintain a safe environment conducive to learning but, over the…

Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & the Emancipation Memorial

Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & the Emancipation Memorial

Amid calls for removal of the Emancipation Memorial, also called the Freedmen’s Monument, in Washington D.C. and a replica of it in Boston, Washington Post reporter DaNeen L. Brown considers the statue and takes a look back at a speech made by Frederick Douglass at the D.C. unveiling ceremony on April 14, 1876. In the speech, Douglass…

President Coolidge delivering his first message to Congress

Timely Connections: State of the Union as Civic Learning Opportunity

The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) has put together a list of resources for educators to help students understand, analyze, and respond to the upcoming State of the Union. The resources are divided into sections that include the following: Youth Perspectives, the Speech and Its Media Coverage, and Background…

Timely Connections: Teaching About Presidential Impeachment

Timely Connections: Teaching About Presidential Impeachment

In the article, Teaching Impeachment in Politically Risky Times, Education Week discusses the issues teachers face in the current context and the importance of seizing this teachable moment. “For the nation’s government and civics teachers, it all comes down to this: The wheels of a rarely used, constitutionally prescribed process—impeachment—have been set in motion. And…

Timely Connections: Border Spaces Across Time

Timely Connections: Border Spaces Across Time

In a blog post titled, “Comparing Primary Sources Depicting Border Spaces” Library of Congress 2019 Hispanic Division Junior Fellow Jaime Conlan provides insight into using historical and contemporary photographs to serve as an important entryway to discuss difficult issues relevant to the curriculum and, ultimately, to better understand Mexico/U.S. border space. Read the full blog…

female-poets-history

Timely Connections: Fresh Perspectives from Female Poets

In an article for Edutopia, middle school educator Kasey Short provides suggestions and tips for “Studying Female Poets to Understand History“. After reading this thoughtful article, help your students get some fresh female perspectives of both history and contemporary life with these poetry-related resources. Curator’s Picks: American Women Poets Library of Congress Blog March 26,…

The Claims of the Negro

Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & Scientific Racism

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Eric Herschthal, a fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, suggests that we remember Frederick Douglass “as someone whose insights about scientific theories of race are every bit as relevant in our era as they were when he wrote…

Vices of the Political System of the U. States

Timely Connections: James Madison & Slavery

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Noah Feldman, a Harvard law professor and the author of the book The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President, discusses the dichotomies between Madison’s moral views of slavery and his actions. Delving into the past, he contends, can provide us with lessons in racism for…

Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush

Timely Connections: Foundational Lessons in Democracy & Civil Discourse

“Conspiracy theories run amok. Fear of spies and meddling in American politics at the highest levels by foreign powers. A bipartisan divide so bitter that the federal government moves to muzzle what many politicians believe to be a biased, out-of-control news media.” Current events? Actually, the excerpt paints a picture of the political climate during…

1915-fake-news

Timely Connections: Fake News & Civic Reasoning

Practicing primary source analysis helps students develop historical thinking skills that also happen to be very important civic literacy skills. In an article from the Fall 2017 issue of American Educator, Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) provides assessments of online civic reasoning and tips for going beyond identifying news as “fake” or “real” to understanding where…