When I Was a Social Studies Teacher

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When I taught middle social studies from 2001-2009 I would start and finish the school year with a quote “no human is more human than another.” It was adapted from quotes that Maya Angelou and Romeo Dallaire made many years ago. The quote would come up time and again as we studied such things as the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, the Civil War and current events. I implored my students to learn from the past so that history does not repeat itself. And above all else treat others the way you would want to be treated even if you don’t see eye to eye with tgat other person on everything that comes up in life.

No doubt that if I was teaching in the year 2020 the current events that are playing out right in front of us would be tackled head on in class. Perspectives and insights shared, but above all else how can we learn from this and what can be done to make sure this sort of thing does not happen again?

Thank you to all the teachers out there who are having tough conversations with students. It’s good for students, makes students more well rounded citizens, and better equipped for when they enter adulthood.