Social Justice in the Classroom

Retro Report: History Isn’t Over with Dave Olson – The Teaching History Her Way Podcast

Send us Fan MailHistory teachers are constantly asking students to make connections between the past and the present, but how do we help them see those connections in meaningful ways?In this episode of Teaching History Her Way, I’m joined by Dave Olson, Director of Education at Retro Report and a former classroom teacher. Retro Report creates journalism and classroom resources that connect today’s issues to the history behind them, giving students an opportunity to look beyond the headlines and ask how we got here. Dave and I talk about what makes Retro Report different from simply showing students a documentary or assigning a news article, and how teachers can use its videos and resources as part of an inquiry, a lesson, a source analysis, or a way to connect historical background to issues students are encountering today.We also talk about something that matters more than ever in the classroom: teaching students to think critically when they are surrounded by information, misinformation, and competing narratives.Middle and high school social studies teachers: listening to this episode will help you help students understand that history isn’t just something that happened, instead it’s something that can help explain the world they live in.Explore Retro Report by clicking here.Let's be friends and continue the conversation!Instagram: @teachinghistoryherwayX: http://www.twitter.com/historyherwayOn the Web/Blog: https://www.teachinghistoryherway.comFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/teachinghistoryherwayBlueSky: @historyherway.bsky.socialSupport the production of the Teaching History Her Way Podcast by purchasing some really great history tees.  Click here to shop now or go to www.teachinghistoryherway.com and click on "Merch."
  1. Retro Report: History Isn’t Over with Dave Olson
  2. Portrait of a Citizen: Rethinking Civic Education with Darcy Daniels & Denise Furlong
  3. Presidential Conspiracies 101 with Stephen Knott
  4. From Research to Exhibit: Letting Students Tell the Story of History
  5. Moving Beyond Memorization: Using Hexagonal Thinking to Deepen Student Thinking

Lindsay defines social justice in the classroom as a foundational and cultural mindset of partnership between teacher and student in which students are talking and grappling with meaningful work that has eyes beyond the teacher and changes the community for the better in some way. Additionally, they are able to see mirrors of their own experiences and backgrounds of their identities as well as step into someone else’s experience through this work. To do the work, and fit it into our classes, she tells us to take a topic that students are talking about and then use our historical knowledge and pedagogical background to bring those issues into the class by designing our lessons from the present to the past. She recommends the Social Justice Framework from Learning for Justice as a way to guide you through making work developmentally appropriate.

Lindsay also makes the excellent point that you need to make your classroom a place where students are prepared and ready to talk about the issues at hand as well as be able to work through disagreements. She’s so generously given us a template for Circle Planning, which is a really great discussion method, for our students. Get your free Circle Planning Template here!

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