History

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

Explainer

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.
Social Studies Opinion How I Fell in Love With Black History
To understand current events you must understand what’s happened with Black people throughout American history, says educator Jania Hoover in a video.
LaGarrett J. King , February 24, 2021
1 min read
Social Studies Opinion 'Black History Isn't Treated as American History'
In a video, a high school student-activist shares what it feels like to sit through a history class that only lets you see yourself as “the oppressed.”
LaGarrett J. King , February 24, 2021
1 min read
Joyful figures raise their hands and sparkle inside the profile of a smiling woman
Edson Ikê for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion Don't Teach Black History Without Joy
The Black experience is not one-dimensional. Why do we teach it that way?
Jania Hoover , February 19, 2021
4 min read
Opinion 021021 23Tulino Black History Education 1249854966
Vanessa Solis/Education Week & RyanJLane/iStock/Getty<br/>
Social Studies Opinion How Can White Teachers Teach Black History? Six Things You Need to Know
For white teachers to engage students in learning Black history, we must question everything about the way we teach and learn in schools.
Daniel P. Tulino, Greg Simmons & Brianne R. Pitts, February 16, 2021
5 min read
Image of Carter G. Woodson
AP Photo and Getty
Equity & Diversity Opinion How to Get Black History Right: A Series
What does it mean to be an educator of Black history? Educators, students, and historians explore.
January 29, 2021
Portraits of Frederick Douglass, Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, and Nikki Giovanni
AP Photos and Getty
Social Studies Opinion Black History Is About More Than Oppression
Why can't we get Black history education right? Education professor LaGarrett J. King shares six principles.
LaGarrett J. King , January 29, 2021
5 min read
Image of Carter G. Woodson
AP Photo and Getty
Social Studies Opinion The Important Political History of Black History Month
African American teachers have a long history of placing their students’ needs above the strictures of white school leadership.
Jarvis R. Givens, January 29, 2021
4 min read
Portrait of Abraham Lincoln looking at Abraham Lincoln
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and iStock/Getty
Social Studies Opinion When History Class Feels Like Propaganda: A Student's Perspective
Black history is treated as a separate concept from American and world history, but it shouldn’t be, writes high schooler Lauryn Donovan.
Lauryn Donovan, January 29, 2021
3 min read
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Social Studies Trump Commission Says Identity Politics and 'Bitterness' Have Warped History Classes
The 1776 Commission's report emphasizes "patriotic education," but might play a negligible role in classrooms.
Andrew Ujifusa, January 18, 2021
3 min read
Social Studies History Educators Respond to Trump: It Matters How We Tell the National Story
Social studies and history education organizations, and many teachers, lambasted President Trump's efforts to "promote patriotic education."
Sarah Schwartz, September 18, 2020
6 min read
Federal Trump Blasts 'Left-Wing Indoctrination' in History Classes as 'Child Abuse'
As the 2020 presidential election draws closer, the president has repeatedly attacked what he's called the "propaganda" that students are taught in history class and vowed steps to combat it.
Andrew Ujifusa & Evie Blad, September 17, 2020
4 min read
President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks during a roundtable discussion on the Federal Commission on School Safety Report at the White House in December 2018.
President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks during a roundtable discussion on the Federal Commission on School Safety Report at the White House in December 2018.
Evan Vucci/AP
Social Studies Trump Targets History Class as Well as School Choice in Bid for Second Term
As the president accepts his party’s nomination, his messaging reflects a bundle of priorities, from getting schools back open and pushing school choice to the hot-button issue of how American history is taught.
Andrew Ujifusa, August 26, 2020
11 min read
Education Opinion Moving Beyond Black History Month
During this time of what we hope will be a great white awakening, we need to expose our children to positive role models who look like them. And it needs to happen more than just one month a year.
Thomas Owira, July 19, 2020
5 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Nadezhda Deineka/iStock
Curriculum Opinion How Should Teachers Handle the Movement to 'Rewrite' High School History? Embrace It
The history curriculum is a good place for educators to take the initiative on racial justice, urge history educators Jack Doyle and Chris Doyle.
Jack Doyle & Christopher L. Doyle, July 14, 2020
5 min read