by Elyssa Tardif, Director of Education

Thanks to the support of the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation, this summer the Center for the Teaching of History offered four workshops for teachers that used four essential themes to explore the intersection between history, memory and legacy: equality in education, immigration, post-Civil War Reconstruction, and LGBTQ+ rights.  Each of these topics allowed Center staff and participants to ground contemporary debates in their historical foundations and provided teachers with suggestions for fostering civic dialogue among their students.  As well, the workshops offered tools to teacher participants for supporting the new 2018 Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework (adopted and required by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2018), particularly with an increased focus on civic education across all grade levels.

We were very pleased to have the opportunity to work with several of our partner institutions across Boston, including the Museum of African American History, the Boston Public Schools History and Social Sciences Department, History UnErased, Northeastern University’s Special Collections, GLAD, Facing History and Ourselves, and the International Institute of New England, as well as numerous scholars and experts.

After each of our programs, educators provided constructive feedback on the structure and content of our programs, while also expressing a need for more professional development resources tailored for history and social science educators. In fact, according to a 2018 survey, 75% of Massachusetts teachers report that they do not have professional development resources available to them. Teachers appreciate being treated like knowledgeable professionals, and many noted on their evaluation forms that they felt valued at the MHS, not just as educators but as history professionals. Teachers expressed an appreciation for teaching resources that help them approach challenging class topics that relate to current events and present issues. They also specifically referenced the helpfulness of class materials and workshops that focused on minority voices, diverse histories, and that connected to civics and democracy—all priorities in the new 2018 MA History and Social Science Curriculum Framework.  A number of teachers from these workshops reported that they are using workshop resources to develop new fall curriculum that better incorporates these elements into their teaching.