This fall I will be teaching a graduate methods class in the social studies teacher education program at Hofstra University and an undergraduate history class on the Great Irish Famine. With this post I am informing all students in my classes that we will be discussing controversial topics, that I will be asking them difficult questions, that I have a point of view on many issues, and that as part of class discussion I will at times share my views with the class. I signed the Zinn Education Project pledge to “Teach the Truth.” No one is required to agree with me in order to do well in class, but students are expected to address the questions and points that I raise and support their interpretations with evidence.
In the Great Irish Famine history class, we will start and finish the course with three contemporary issues posed as questions: (1) Why does hunger remain a persistent problem in the world today? Have we learned anything from the Great Irish Famine? Is famine inevitable? Is the world doomed to watch millions more people die or be displaced? (2) Why did the British government allow a natural disaster, the potato blight, to mushroom into a demographic catastrophe? Will capitalism and imperialism prevent the world from addressing severe climate change today? (3) Why did the history of Ireland and Haiti, two troubled nations in the 19th century, take such divergent trajectories in the late 20th century? To what extent are race and racism a factor?
The social studies methods class opens with a group activity where students identify key current events issues impacting on the United States today from newspaper headlines and then explain to the full class why they selected those headlines. Other students pipe in on sources of the problems, possible solutions, and why problems like the January 6th assault on the Capitol Building, Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen,” demographic change, immigration, gun control and gun violence, racial inequality, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, political partisanship, infrastructure decay, and climate change catastrophes seem so intractable. In other lessons we will look for places in the curriculum where these problems can be addressed. We will also try to understand the visceral opposition in some quarters to Critical Race Theory, Black Lives Matter, and the 1619 Project and how social studies teachers can respond in a professionally responsible way.
Legislators in at least 28 states have introduced bills that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and oppression in United States’ past and present. The National Council for the Social Studies recently released a statement challenging the legislative restrictions that “impede students’ understanding of real-world issues that can be safely and effectively modeled in classrooms with trained professional educators hired by local school boards in each community . . . Attempts by politicians to discredit the professionalism of social studies educators and insert influence in classrooms are not in the best interests of our students and professionals in the classroom.”
I am a senior tenured professor in a New York State university so it is more difficult for political opponents to attack me and threaten my job. One of my goals is to empower new teachers so they do not fear to Teach the Truth in their classrooms because if they are afraid their students will never be prepared to become active citizens in a democratic society, a society, a country, a world, where they will inherit problems previous generations were unable to successfully resolve.
Follow Alan Singer on twitter at https://twitter.com/AlanJSinger1
Pledge to Teach the Truth – Day of Action
From Friday August 27 through Sunday August 29, the Zinn Education Project is sponsoring Pledge to Teach the Truth – Day of Action in dozens of cities across the country.
This is a partial list of planned events.
Montgomery, Alabama. Legacy Museum. Hosted by Dothan City School – Teaching for Black Lives Study Group. Saturday, Aug. 28, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm CST.
Anchorage, Alaska. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Hosted by the Alaska Coalition of BIPOC Educators – ACBE. Saturday, Aug. 28, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm AKST. Learn more and RSVP.
Ketchikan, Alaska. “The Rock” statue. Saturday, Aug. 28, 11:00 am AKDT.
Mesa, Arizona. Alston House in the Washington Escobedo Neighborhood. Saturday, Aug. 28, 9:00 am MST. Learn more.
Springdale, Arkansas. 300 E Huntsville Rd. Hosted by the Educators Equity Coalition. Saturday, Aug. 28, 10:00 am CDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Bay Area, California. Online #TeachTruth in History Education project. Hosted by the UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project. Aug 27 – 29, 2021.
Claremont, California. San Gabriel Museum. Friday, Aug. 27, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm PST
Compton, California. Color Compton. Saturday, Aug. 28. 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm PST. Learn more.
Los Angeles, California. Biddy Mason Memorial Park. Hosted by the Ida B. Wells Education Project. Saturday, Aug. 28, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm PDT. Learn more at website. Facebook page.
Washington, D.C. Malcolm X Park. Friday, Aug. 27, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Athens, Georgia. Formerly Linnentown (now Brumby Hall). Friday, Aug 27 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm EDT. Learn more and RSVP
Decatur, Georgia. A teach-in at a cannon (placed in 1906 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy) on the city square. Hosted by the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Humans Rights. Sunday, Aug. 22, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST. Learn more.
Chicago, Illinois. 1919 Eugene Williams Memorial Marker (also known as Chicago “Race Riot” Marker). Hosted by the Chicago Teachers Union. Saturday, Aug. 28, 11:00 am CDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Portland and Yarmouth, Maine. 615 Forest Avenue (Portland) on Friday Aug. 27, 5:30 pm EST and former Freeman Barber Shop (Yarmouth) on Saturday, Aug 28, 9:00 am EDT. Learn more.
Annapolis and Severna Park, Maryland. The EJI Historical Marker on Calvert Street in People’s Park Saturday, Aug. 28, 12:oo PM EDT and the EJI Marker at the Severna Park Library, 45 West McKinsey Rd. Sunday, Aug. 29, at 1:00 PM. Hosted by Connecting the Dots: Anne Arundel County. Learn more and RSVP.
Baltimore, Maryland. Towson Manor Park in Historic East Towson. Hosted by the Loyola School of Education and the Baltimore Teach Truth Coalition. Sunday, Aug. 29, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Duluth, Minnesota. Clayton Jackson Mcghie Memorial. Friday, Aug. 22, 12:00 pm CST
Kansas City, Missouri. Marching to the Black Archives of Mid-America. Hosted by BLOC , SURJ-KC, JUST Systems, Racial Equity EdConnect, and more. Saturday, Aug. 28, 10:00 am CDT. Learn more and RSVP.
St. Louis, Missouri. Old Courthouse. Friday, Aug. 27, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm CST
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Prescott Park Marcy Street. Hosted by CAFA (Community Advocates For All). Saturday, Aug. 28, 12:00 pm EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Princeton, New Jersey. John Witherspoon Statue at Princeton University. Sunday, Aug. 29, 10:00 am EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Trenton, New Jersey. Hedgepeth-Williams Middle School Middle School of the Arts. Hosted by NJ21United. Friday, Aug 27, 11:00 am EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Las Cruces, New Mexico. “Baylor” Canyon. Hosted by Southern NM Equity Forum, with Borderlands & Ethnic Studies Program/Learning Action Buffet/ NEA-Las Cruces/NEA-NM. Sunday, Aug. 29, 8:00 am MST.
Albany, New York. The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence. Hosted by the Lower Hudson Valley Teachers’ Field Study Group. Thursday, Aug. 26, 1:00 -3:00 PM EDT.
Newburgh, New York. Newburgh Colored Burial Ground (commonly known as Newburgh City Court). Hosted by Citizen Action, Melanin Unchained, and Next Step Hudson Valley. Saturday, Aug. 28, 12:00 noon EST. Learn more and RSVP.
Sag Harbor, New York. Heritage House. Hosted by the Eastville Community Historical Society of Sag Harbor. 2:00 – 4:00 PM EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Saratoga Springs, New York. Solomon Northrup Commemorative Plaque. Hosted by Saratoga Educational Equity Network (SEEN). Saturday, Aug 28. 10:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Greensboro North Carolina. Greensboro History Museum. Hosted by Keep History Real. Saturday, Aug. 28, 12:00 pm EDT.
Cincinnati, Ohio. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Hosted by Cincinnati Teachers for Truth. Friday, Aug. 27, 5:00 pm EDT.
Westerville, Ohio. Alum Creek Park Amphitheater. Hosted by WeRISE for Greater Westerville. Sunday, Aug. 29, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Youngstown, Ohio. Robinson-Shuba statue in Youngstown. Saturday, Aug. 28, 12:30 pm EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Black Times along with the help of other community organizations and leaders is hosting a march to the Oklahoma State Capitol from the historic Eastside of Oklahoma City. Saturday, Aug. 28, 1:00 pm EDT. Learn more and RSVP.
North Wales, Pennsylvania. Lansdale Library. Saturday, Sept. 4 10:00 am – 2:00 pm EST. Learn more and RSVP.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A teach-in at The President’s House – Protest Park. Friday, Aug. 27 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EST. Learn more and RSVP.
North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Wickford Town Dock. Hosted by the Teach Truth RI Coalition. Sunday, Aug. 29 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT. Learn more and RSVP. Teacher and student testimony.
Columbia, South Carolina. U.S. National Register of Historic Places sites. Virtual event. Friday, Aug. 27 All day twitter event.
Knoxville, Tennessee. Virtual event. Hosted by Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in partnership with the Children’s Diversity and Justice Library and the Tennessee Association of School Librarians. Collecting book recommendations to share during all three days of action.
Houston, Texas. Buffalo Soldier National Museum. Saturday, Aug. 28, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm CST.
Richmond, Virginia. Event to be held online. Day/time TBD. Learn more and RSVP.
Bainbridge, Washington. Bainbridge Island Historical Museum. Hosted by the Multicultural Advisory Council BISD. Sunday, Aug. 29, 10:00 am – 11:30 am PST.
Seattle, Washington. Yesler Terrace public housing complex, which was the first integrated public housing project in the nation in 1939. Hosted by Social Equity Educators of the Seattle Education Association. Sunday, Aug. 29, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm PST. Learn more and RSVP.
West Richland, Washington. On the Kennewick side of the Cable Bridge across the Columbia River. Hosted by the Tri-City Democrats. Sunday, Aug 29. 3:00 PM PDT Learn more and RSVP
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Cathedral Square Park, near the intersection of Jackson Street & Kilbourn Avenue. Sunday, Aug. 29, 2:00 pm CDT. Learn more and RSVP.