History

Education news, analysis, and opinion about how history is taught

Explainer

Image of books on history.
Who Decides What History We Teach? An Explainer
Education Week breaks down how politics has long been embedded in this decision, and how new laws may affect the process.
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The "statue" of Michelle Obama, played by Kaylee Gray, talks to students during Black History Month's wax museum at Chestnut Grove Elementary School in Decatur, Ala., on Feb. 27, 2020. Instead of the usual assembly, Chestnut Grove students played the roles of famous black and white people who contributed to the civil rights movement and black people who have made significant contributions to history.
The "statue" of Michelle Obama, played by Kaylee Gray, talks to students during Black History Month's wax museum at Chestnut Grove Elementary School in Decatur, Ala., on Feb. 27, 2020.
Jeronimo Nisa/The Decatur Daily via AP
Curriculum Many States Are Limiting How Schools Can Teach About Race. Most Voters Disagree
A majority of polled voters want students to learn about the history of racism and slavery in the United States and its legacy today.
Ileana Najarro, October 30, 2023
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4 min read
JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV
Social Studies 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Covers Painful History. Can Oklahoma Teachers Teach It?
The crime epic illuminates hard history in Oklahoma. State restrictions could complicate teachers' efforts to draw on it in class.
Madeline Will, October 26, 2023
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6 min read
Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the Celebrate Freedom Foundation Hangar in West Columbia, S.C. July 18, 2023. For DeSantis, Tuesday was supposed to mark a major moment to help reset his stagnant Republican presidential campaign. But yet again, the moment was overshadowed by Donald Trump. The former president was the overwhelming focus for much of the day as DeSantis spoke out at a press conference and sat for a highly anticipated interview designed to reassure anxious donors and primary voters that he's still well-positioned to defeat Trump.
Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference in West Columbia, S.C., on July 18, 2023. Florida officials approved new African American history standards that drew national backlash, and which DeSantis defended.
Sean Rayford/AP
Standards Florida's New African American History Standards: What's Behind the Backlash
The state's new standards drew national criticism and leave teachers with questions.
Ileana Najarro, July 25, 2023
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9 min read
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., on July 21, 2023. Harris spoke out against the new standards adopted by the Florida State Board of Education in the teaching of Black history.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., on July 21, 2023. Harris spoke out against the new standards adopted by the Florida state board of education in the teaching of Black history.
Fran Ruchalski/The Florida Times-Union via AP
Standards Here’s What’s in Florida’s New African American History Standards
Standards were expanded in the younger grades, but critics question the framing of many of the new standards.
Ileana Najarro, July 25, 2023
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1 min read
Edward Biedermann, executive director of AP Outreach for the College Board, welcomes educators to the first AP annual conference since 2019 in Seattle, Wash., on July 19, 2023.
Edward Biedermann, executive director of AP Outreach for the College Board, welcomes educators to the first AP annual conference since 2019 in Seattle, Wash., on July 19, 2023.
Ileana Najarro/Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness College Board Revisits Contentious Decisions, Edits to AP African American Studies Course
Decisions around AP African American Studies and the future of AP program overall were among discussion points.
Ileana Najarro, July 24, 2023
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7 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Standards Opinion How One State Found Common Ground to Produce New History Standards
A veteran board member discusses how the state school board pushed past partisanship to offer a richer, more inclusive history for students.
Rick Hess, July 20, 2023
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10 min read
In this May 1943 photo, Aiko Sumoge, an assistant teacher, leads a kindergarten class to sing an English folk song at the internment relocation center for Japanese Americans in Tule Lake, Ca., in during World War II. Roughly 120,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans were sent to desolate camps that dotted the West because the government claimed they might plot against the U.S. Thousands were elderly, disabled, children or infants too young to know the meaning of treason. Two-thirds were citizens.
In this May 1943 photo, Aiko Sumoge, an assistant teacher, leads a kindergarten class to sing an English folk song in Tule Lake, Calif., home to the largest of the camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. A new PD program in Idaho immersed teachers in the history of Japanese American incarceration.
AP
Professional Development An Immersive PD Program Changed These Teachers. Here's How It Will Change Their Practice
Three teachers share what they are taking from an in-depth workshop on the history of Japanese Americans.
Ileana Najarro, July 17, 2023
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5 min read
Park Ranger Kurt Ikeda leads the teachers through a tour at the Minidoka National Historic Site's Visitor Center on July 6, 2023.
National Park Ranger Kurt Ikeda leads teachers through a tour July 6, 2023, at the Minidoka National Historic Site in southern Idaho, where more than 13,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II.
Courtesy of Japanese American Museum of Oregon
Social Studies Q&A To Teach a Fuller American Story, Teachers Grapple With Japanese American History
A pilot workshop gave teachers an immersive take on Japanese American incarceration during World War II.
Ileana Najarro, July 14, 2023
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7 min read
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Reading & Literacy Video This After-School Program Is Improving Students’ Reading, One Black History Book at a Time
An after-school program seeks to teach its students about Black history and improve their reading scores at the same time.
Kaylee Domzalski & Lauren Santucci, July 14, 2023
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Courtesy of the Ohio Education Association
Social Studies Q&A 'I Must Teach Truth to Power': A Top History Teacher Discusses 'Divisive Concepts' Laws
Veteran history teacher Kurt Russell assesses the challenges ahead for social studies teachers.
Sarah Schwartz, July 6, 2023
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5 min read
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Georgia teacher Maronda Hastie shows off a snowy grouper captured aboard the ship Oregon II during the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency's Teacher at Sea program.
NOAA
Professional Development These Teachers Wanted More Than PD on Zoom. Here's How They Spent Their Summer
Seeking to broaden their horizons and those of their students, some teachers embark on experiential learning programs during their summer break.
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 6, 2023
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6 min read
Blue comic book strip with the word WOW! in red in the center.
iStock/Getty
Teaching 4 Ways to Use Comics and Graphic Novels to Engage Students
A social studies teacher uses comics to make history feel relevant to his high school students.
Alyson Klein, July 5, 2023
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4 min read
Teachers walk out onto a field of speech bubble shaped holes.
Collage by Vanessa Solis/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty Images)
Social Studies Social Studies Groups Are Training Teachers to Navigate 'Divisive Concepts' Laws
They're teaching how to defend the discipline against charges of indoctrination and maintain quality despite curricular restrictions.
Sarah Schwartz, June 8, 2023
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8 min read
Students, activists and educators gather to listen to Shavon Arline-Bradley, the president and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women speak during the Freedom to Learn rally. Demonstrators gathered in front of the College Board Headquarters in Washington D.C. to protest the College Board’s decision to alter their African American Studies curriculum, as well as to protest book bans and other divisive actions being taken in regard to education, during the Freedom to Learn rally on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
Students, activists and educators gather to listen to Shavon Arline-Bradley, the president and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women speak during the Freedom to Learn rally. Demonstrators gathered in front of the College Board Headquarters in Washington D.C. to protest the College Board’s decision to alter their African American Studies curriculum, as well as to protest book bans and other divisive actions being taken in regard to education, during the Freedom to Learn rally on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Social Studies Q&A Amid Public School Restrictions, 'Freedom Schools' in Florida Will Teach Black History
In St. Petersburg, Fla., a summer program focuses on the diverse histories of Africans and African Americans.
Ileana Najarro, June 5, 2023
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5 min read
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