History in the classroom is not just sitting down and taking in information; it isn’t just dead guys and dates. In my classroom, we “do” history. We dance, we sing, we create, we discuss and debate, but we are never static. Students learn that history is about our ever-changing world and the interconnectedness of everyone that lives in it. History is about who we were as human beings and who we can become.
Over the years my philosophy has transformed to also be sure that while students are “doing” the history I love so dearly, that they are seeing themselves in the people and events we study. The American and world history curriculums I teach can be described as mostly white and mostly male. Disrupting the traditional curriculum by adding a variety of voices and perspectives to America’s story is long overdue and can create positive change in our classrooms by transforming how our students see, feel, and understand the experience of history classes. As an American history teacher I feel that in a course where the objective is to teach students what it is to be American by sharing America’s story, it can be difficult for our increasingly diverse student citizenry to relate to what they are learning, and perhaps more important to note, almost impossible for them to understand where their place is in our country because they can’t see themselves in their own history. American history shouldn’t just be a window to the past but a mirror in which every student can catch a glimpse of someone like them as a part of the American tapestry. Additionally, in teaching world history it is important to recognize the viewpoint from which world history is being taught. The world is more than European conquest. It includes Africa, Asia, South America, and Middle-Eastern studies. Everyone has a history, and it is vital that students see themselves as a part of their communities, their country, and their world.
In my classes, I try to integrate the lives of many different groups into the already existing American history and world history curriculums. I work deliberately to reflect the makeup of my classroom in addition to connecting students to experiences outside of their norms. By using a variety of primary resources, children’s literature, student and teacher reflection, and relevant news sources I do my best to create mirrors for students to find themselves reflected in the history courses that I teach. Continuing my education and applying new strategies gives me the opportunity to construct a transformative experience by viewing American history not only through the windows of others’ experiences but also allowing students to feel that they are a part of their history by seeing themselves rather than by observing it from afar.
Each year I ask students to identify groups of people that are “left out” of traditional American history classes including women, people of color, the LGBTQA community, and Native Americans and then identify reasons why each group should be included. Some concrete ways in which I then include those who are most often left out are:
- I share a variety of primary sources about British colonization of North America by Native Americans, women, and enslaved African Americans.
- I developed a gender fluidity lesson using Colonial American children’s clothing which can be taught in conjunction with our colonial research paper and a yearly trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello.
- Discuss issues with the representation of enslaved African Americans using children’s book A Birthday Cake for George Washington. (This book is no longer published by Scholastic.)
- View the Declaration of Independence and “all men are created equal” through student reflections.
- Relate the Preamble to the US Constitution compared to current news.
- Listen to clips of Hamilton and identify deliberate word choices in the lyrics to convey the virtues of diversity as well as disrupt the story of America’s destiny to be free from British rule.