Christianity’s overwhelming social power shapes America today, even when religious discrimination is mistaken for racism or obscured in debates over immigration or national identity. The United States’ most powerful myth is that it was created as a haven of religious freedom for all, and that the First Amendment makes people of all faiths, and of no faith, equal before the law. It is time for us to understand that Christian privilege is embedded in U.S. policy, politics, and society’s rules and assumptions about who belongs. At the same time, Christianity has also had a role in the…

As many as 30,000 fugitive slaves reached freedom in Canada from the Southern United States within the years before the Civil War. Fugitives were aided by sympathetic people along the Underground Railroad, and 300 were led by American abolitionist Harriet Tubman who made St. Catharines, Ontario her home base to build a network of supporters, and for her 19 trips from Maryland to Ontario. However, the history taught about the Underground Railroad often stops at the border because so many educators lack information about the lives of newly settled Black Canadians. What happened to them? Some…

As NCSS celebrates its 100th anniversary, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone at NCSS for always being a leader for the leaders in social studies education. It would be easy to talk about the phenomenal conference that takes place every year, but I believe it would be a disservice to not highlight all of the other ways that NCSS provides support to social studies educators across the country and around the world. As a board member of the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies for many years, I was always aware of the national conference and was even able to attend a couple…

1. Tell us about yourself. What’s your background? I grew up in northwestern New Jersey – as I like to refer to it – “rural suburbia” near Lake Hopatcong – the largest lake in the state. The grandson of German immigrants, and the son of a social studies teacher – I developed a passion for history at an early age. After attending college for three years – I decided that Colorado was calling me. Never having been west of Chicago, Colorado Springs in 1980 was a revelation. I completed my undergraduate degree in education from the University of Colorado -- Colorado Springs, I…

July 1 marks the official start of our National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) new year, and brings with it new faces, new voices, and new initiatives! We welcome Anton Schulzki (CO) as our new 2021-2022 NCSS President, and we also welcome our newest NCSS Board of Directors members: Meridith Breen (VA), Kimberly Huffman (OH), Joe Schmidt (ME), and Carla Powell (LA). I’m very excited to work with our very talented and dedicated Board this year! Summer also gives us a period of relaxation, rejuvenation … and professional learning at NCSS! Treat yourself to uninterrupted learning at our…

National Council for the Social Studies is pleased to announce that Anton Schulzki, social studies teacher at General William J. Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, begins a one-year term as President of the NCSS Board of Directors on July 1, 2021. Shannon Pugh, the Director of Community and Schools Programming for Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Annapolis, Maryland, begins a one-year term as President-Elect. Wesley Hedgepeth, a Politics and History Teacher at Collegiate School in Henrico County, Virginia, begins a one-…

This session will explore the current state of education for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) teachers and students locally and across the nation. Activities and discussions will center on current research and the impact of the marginalization of LGBTQ content in day-to-day instruction. Attendees will walk away with resources that can be used to facilitate LGBTQ content and help better support their LGBTQ students.   All Times Eastern

For nearly 50 years, the National Council for the Social Studies has presented the Carter G. Woodson Book Award to texts that accurately and sensitively depict the experience of one or more historically marginalized racial/ethnic groups in the United States. The award originated in 1974, named to honor distinguished scholar Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, the Harvard-trained historian whose scholarship and dedication to making Black History known and visible led to the eventual creation of Black History Month. Texts must be non-fiction, published and set in the United States, written for…

Analyzing the lyrics and historical context of a classic Oklahoma! song can deepen student thinking about the multiracial nature of our society and the ways this diversity is often erased.

The groundbreaking documentary Crip Camp offers an engaging way for students to examine disability history in the social studies classroom.