VCU School of Education’s Post

I spent 9 hours a day for the past 7 days deep inside the Kansas City Convention center, reading and grading AP US History exams. Hundreds of them. I’m on the development committee that helps the College Board build the exam, so surely only fair that I see how students respond. Some notes: *The vast majority of the 1000 or so in-person readers are themselves APUSH teachers. They’re great. I myself benefitted from excellent high school history teachers, so it’s great to see that our kids remain in good hands. *The ratio of history joke t-shirts to humans inside that convention center was…extremely high. *Lots of standout exams from outstanding students. Way more sophisticated than I was at 17…or 22…or 30, in some cases. *There are a lot of safeguards against bad or inconsistent or otherwise unfair grading. It’s impressive. If you’re a historian, consider becoming an AP reader. It’s an endurance test for sure, but a great way to chip in for the good of the discipline.

Interested in helping school-age learners tell their community's history? Check out the post below. I could wax poetic about how a historical marker application through the William G. Pomeroy Foundation offers students the chance to locate and analyze primary sources, connect with local stakeholders, work with a team of professional historians, take their research and refine it for a specific medium, learn about grant writing (which is a transferable skill to say, writing college or job applications,) think about public history and it's impact, and... Well, there I go. Whether you're a teacher looking to have your students research and learn about an unrecognized story in your community, or a GLAM organization trying to increase educational outreach initiatives by partnering with a student-led group for a learning experience with a visible impact, a historical marker application could serve as a meaningful capstone project, and we're happy to help. Along with checking out the post, if this is something that interests you, feel free to reach out to me directly and I'm happy to answer any questions. I'm biased of course, but I really believe these projects offer students a chance to meaningfully engage with local history, leave a positive lasting impact on their community, and walk away with some great experience.

1/2 The entrance area that greets visitors to a typical American high school contains two things: evidence (in the form of trophies) that its students triumphed over students from other schools + plaques listing which of its students are better than others. 2/2 Suggested assignment (for administrators, teachers, and kids): Design a school lobby that reflects a commitment to collaboration and community rather than to sorting and triumphing. https://lnkd.in/g_z-Pq_A

So great to see James McIlroy featured on the University Sales Center Alliance LinkedIn page. The work James does for the UNH Professional Sales Group and the UNH Sales Center is critical to one of the many amazing experiential learning opportunities students have access to at UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics! Watch the full feature to learn more. #PaulPride

Spent a wonderful weekend at the FACCC (Faculty Association of California Community Colleges) annual Board of Governors retreat after being re-elected for my third term as Governor for Retired Faculty. FACCC remains the only organization that advocates solely for the faculty of the California Community Colleges. It is not a union and it is not an academic senate, but works closely with both. Two major, ongoing issues from the last year are: 1) how to reverse the appalling betrayal of the community college vision whereby colleges are now prohibited from offering the very fundamental courses in math and English that under-served students need most in order to graduate or transfer, and 2) how to advance the "one tier" faculty concept to finally ensure that all students have access to full-service faculty in all classes (see the FACCC website for the Board's position and a paper by Past President Debbie Klein).

A brilliant and inspiring address about the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence.

Posting this in solidarity with a former colleague, Asna Tabassum. Taking a courageous moral stance against the genocide of Palestinians is no small task in a moment where there’s a clear power differential between oppressor and oppressed. It is quite hypocritical, yet unsurprising, when universities, corporations, and organizations that champion Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts are the same ones stumbling over themselves to police and censor expressions of solidarity with Palestinians. Institutions already try to feign their complicity and inaction towards an ongoing genocide as ‘neutrality’. The reality is that the university wields power and has a responsibility to support the Palestinian people and oppose settler colonialism and genocide. Yet, the continued marginalization of their students show that the only palatable form of diversity is a hollow one that’s purely based on appearance. Diversity is only meant to fit on brochures and has no place in institutions, organizations, and the workplace. Please take a second to read, sign-on, and share! https://lnkd.in/gfTqTFBs

Curious about what and how students are actually being taught in history class these days? Check out this new report from the AHA. "This report distills insights gathered during a two-year exploration of secondary US history education to illuminate the three levels where decisions are made about what students learn: the state, the district, and the teacher. Combining a 50-state appraisal of standards and legislation with a nine-state deep-dive into local contexts, we commissioned a NORC at the University of Chicago survey of over 3,000 middle and high school US history educators, conducted long-form interviews with over 200 teachers and administrators, and collected thousands of pages of instructional materials from small towns to sprawling suburbs to big cities (Fig. 1). The US education system—diverse, devolved, and divided—could never be captured by the blunt slogans that have dominated partisan media and drawn attention from even more careful observers." https://lnkd.in/g7prMeBb

Yale faculty, students, staff, and alumni discuss the importance of studying Yale’s historical ties to slavery. Learn more and see the full video in Yale News (bit.ly/3I1GCy1) or by visiting the Yale and Slavery Research Project website (yaleandslavery.yale.edu).