Teaching About the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Fifty years ago this week, Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act (he is pictured above shaking hands with Martin Luther King at the July 2, 1964 signing). One of the most important laws in U.S. history, the Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Although often portrayed as part of an overarching story of perpetual progress, this act was not inevitable (from 1945 until 1957, Congress considered and failed to pass a civil rights bill). It was a result of decades of tireless civil rights work and lobbying by groups like the NAACP and the SCLC. For many students, this event is usually presented briefly wedged between the 1963 March on Washington and the 1964's Mississippi Freedom Summer. However, there is an important political history leading up to the signing of the bill, including a complex and developing relationship between MLK and LBJ, that needs a deeper examination.

Teachers should consider using the below resources with students, helping them answer the inquiry question: What was the largest influence on Congress passing, and LBJ's eventual signing, of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Secondary Sources:

PBS: Civil Rights Act of 1866

Eisenhower Presidential Library: Civil Rights Act of 1957

Smithsonian: A Deeper Look at the Politicians Who Passed the Civil Rights Act

Book: Judgement Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Laws That Changed America

National Archives: LBJ on Civil Rights

CNN: 1964 Civil Rights Act Fast Facts

The Atlantic Monthly: How LBJ Saved the Civil Rights Act
 NPR: Reagan, the South and Civil Rights

TIME: Seven Things to Know About the Civil Rights Act


Primary Sources:

Dirksen Congressional Center: Civil Rights Act Timeline

JFK Library: Kennedy's Speech Proposing a New Civil Rights Act

LBJ Presidential Library: 1963 Conversation Transcript Between Johnson and King

The King Center: 1964 Letter from King to Johnson

LBJ Presidential Library: June 1964 Phone Conversations

C-SPAN: June 1964 Phone Conversations Between Johnson and FBI Director Hoover

You Tube: Newsreel: Johnson Signing the Civil Rights Act

The American Presidency Project: 1964 Election Results

Teaching About Tiananmen Square

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the end of the Tiananmen Square Protests, commonly referred to as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. In April 1989, the student-led pro-democracy protests began after liberal reformer Hu Yaobang's death (Hu had been deposed after losing a power struggle with hardliners in the Communist Party). Over two months, more than a million protesters flocked to the square. A statue of the "Goddess of Democracy" was erected by the protesters. The protests were relatively peaceful, but that changed on the evening of June 3rd, when Chinese government leaders sent the military (some estimates put the number at 300,000 soldiers) into Tiananmen Square. One of the most profound images of the massacre include the infamous picture titled the "Tank Man," which was taken on June 5th and became an international symbol for the rebellion. There is no accurate estimate of how many protesters died that day (one widely used estimate is 186 deaths, while others argue it could be in the thousands). There is no mention of the event in Chinese textbooks, but one museum in Hong Kong is trying to preserve the historical record of the event for the Chinese people.

The Chinese government's overwhelming military response to the protests and widescale censorship of the event matched with large scale economic reforms have suppressed any subsequent social protest movements. Today, protest and dissent continue to be repressed in China. This anniversary puts an international spotlight on a nation that has over 1,000 political prisoners (including the routine censorship and sometimes imprisonment of artist Ai Weiwei), tight security this week in Tiananmen Square to prevent any commemorations of the 1989 protest, as well as censorship of websites about the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

The Tiananmen Square Protests should be a central part of any unit on modern Asian in world history courses. Using the below list of primary and secondary sources, teachers should consider having students answer the following inquiry questions: "Should the Tiananmen Square Protests be remembered as a justified social movement for democratic reform or the military defending the nation against violent counter-revolutionary elements?"


Primary Sources:

The National Security Archive: Documents from Tiananmen Square Protests

Chinese Government Position: It is Necessary to Take a Clear-Cut Stand Against Disturbances

Tiananmen Square Protesters Position: Tiananmen Square Declaration of Human Rights

Interview with Student Leader and Protester Chai Ling

The Atlantic Monthly: Images of Tiananmen Square Protests

New York Times: Archival News Records of Tiananmen Square Protests

TIME Magazine: News Archives of Tiananmen Square

Modern History Sourcebook: China Since World War II

Primary Sources: Tiananmen Square Protests


Secondary Sources:

PBS Frontline: Tank Man

The Gate of Heavenly Peace Film

Moving the Mountain Film

BBC: The Lost Voices of Tiananmen

History Channel: Tiananmen Square Declassified


Lesson Plans on Tiananmen Square:

Indiana University East Asian Studies Center

National Consortium for Teaching About Asia

The China Project

CNN International

PBS Frontline

Civic Voices

Teaching About Brown v. Board of Education: 60 Years Later

(Top) Linda Brown attends an integrated school after the 1954 decision. (Bottom) A map showing the probability by county that a Black student has White classmates.

This week marks the 60th anniversary of the Oliver Brown et. al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. There were commemorations of the Supreme Court decision around the country, including one featuring Attorney General Eric Holder. As most people know, this landmark Supreme Court case ruled that school segregation based on race was unconstitutional. However, as a historical event, it is important that social studies teachers help students critically examine the case.

Although Brown was an incredibly important legal step forward, numerous scholars have argued that its underlying purpose has never been fully achieved. Despite the initial increase of school integration, there is clear evidence that racial segregation continues to persist. In fact, the segregation of Latino children is now a hidden epidemic in the United States and in many states a high percentage of Black and White students attend racially segregated schools. Moreover, the Brown decision has led to a distorted belief among Americans that racial discrimination is no longer a systematic problem and was solved by the courts some time ago. This has recently manifested itself in several different ways, including the abandonment of school desegregation plans (for example, by the Court in Seattle and by the school board in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake County), a growing popular nostalgia for a pre-Brown society, and some politicians (including here in Boston) showing a lack of support for school integration.

When teaching about Brown, it is crucial that teachers have students examine questions like: "Did Brown v. Board of Education achieve its intended goal of desegregating public schools?" and "Did the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education go far enough?" These lessons should be rooted not only in the past, but also in the legacy and shortcomings of Brown today.

Below are primary and secondary sources that teachers can use to help students examine the past and present of Brown:

Cornell Law School: Full text of the Brown v. Board of Education I court decision

Cornell Law School: Full text of the Brown v. Board of Education II court decision

University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law: Brown overview

The Los Angeles Times: Brown headline story 1954

The National Archived: Brown case documents

The Nation: Coverage in The Nation of the Brown court case 1954

Oyez.org: Overview of Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007)

Cornell Law School: Full text of the Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007)

Teaching Tolerance: Segregation Today

USA Today: Education racial segregation map 2014

Speech: Eric Holder on the 60th Anniversary of Brown

The Atlantic: Brown Improved Education Opportunities for African Americans

Images: (Top) The Brown family: Linda, sister Cheryl, mother Leola, and father Oliver. (Bottom) Nettie Hunt and her daughter Nikie on the steps of the Supreme Court after the Brown ruling.

100th Anniversary of the Ludlow Massacre: Teaching Workers' Rights

This Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the Ludlow Massacre. Although this event should be an essential component of any U.S. history unit on industrialism, it is rarely taught in schools. Moreover, the 100th anniversary has not been widely covered in the mainstream media (although the Nation did recently run this excellent article).

The Ludlow Massacre showcases the poor conditions for workers at the turn of the 20th century and the importance of workers unions. John D. Rockefeller's Colorado Fuel and Iron had a major mine in Ludlow, Colorado. The ethnically diverse miners (mining rules were posted in 27 languages) and their families lived in a company town and survived on items purchased at the company stores, housing provided by the company, and medical attention from company doctors. Their lives were controlled almost completely by their employers and they lived in a state of wage slavery. Additionally, work conditions were extremely dangerous. Across the country, over 3,000 mine workers were killed in accidents between 1880 and 1910. Compounding these dangers, Colorado had only two mine inspectors

Yet, mining was a very profitable business for the owners. As such, owners had no interest in losing profit for the increased benefit and welfare of their employees. For instance, Rockefeller was worth $900 million in 1913 (Coincidentally, in that same year, he used $100 million of his wealth to create the Rockefeller Foundation for the "well-being of people throughout the world").

In September 1913, the Ludlow mine workers went on strike. They demanded the right to form a union, an 8 hour day, and an hourly wage. The striking workers and their families were forced from their homes and subsequently formed a tent city outside the mines. Labor activist Mother Jones even visited striking workers to support their cause and was jailed. To continue operations, Rockefeller brought in replacement workers or scabs. Families were dramatically strained. After months of striking, tensions were high. Rockefeller claimed the strike was illegal and the workers had no right to their jobs. If the strikers used violence, the governor Elias Ammons might have the authority to clear the camp.

The historical record is unclear who fired first, but on April 20th, 1914, shots were fired between the armed soldiers and strikers. Initially, eight people were killed (five strikers, a child, a bystander, and a soldier). The Colorado National Guard used machine guns to fire on the tent city for almost 14 hours and they eventually burned the camp. As a result, 2 women and 11 children hiding were burned to death in the fire. By the end of violence, 26 people were dead. In response, miners attacked nearby coal company facilities. Woodrow Wilson would later send in the U.S. Army to protect the coalfields. Although the strike would continue into the fall of 1914, lack of funds weakened the strike.

The aftermath included more calls from Progressives to reform labor laws. With the outbreak of World War I (and the U.S. entrance into the war in 1917), the important workers rights legacy of the Ludlow Massacre faded. However, it can even be argued that the Ludlow Massacre would later influence the New Deal policies of the Depression.

In teaching this event to students, I would suggest the following as the inquiry question: Was the Colorado National Guard and Rockefeller Company justified in breaking up the Ludlow Strike? 

I have created this inquiry-based lesson plan for teachers interested in teaching the Ludlow Massacre: www.christophercmartell.com/LudlowMassacreActivityMartell.pdf

 

New Massachusetts Social Studies Standards Are Long Overdue

As a social studies teacher educator, I spend a considerable amount of time helping future teachers navigate the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework (which I will refer to hereafter as the social studies standards). Despite the conservative Fordham Institute’s recent praise for the standards (they gave them an A-), the honest truth is that Massachusetts' social studies standards are in need of a major revision. The current standards do not address the the academic needs of students. Rather than having students analyze and evaluate evidence, the social studies standards focus almost exclusively on having students "describe" and "explain" (analysis does not appear until the high school grades). In general, the document is a list of history and social science facts and lacks a strong emphasis on writing from sources (an important shift in the new Common Core) or using disciplined inquiry.

The Massachusetts social studies standards have a complex and political history. For a full background, read my previous post on its problematic development. In short, before 2003, Massachusetts had a social studies framework that emphasized U.S. history in the elementary grades and world history in the secondary grades. Influenced by the events of September 11th, Massachusetts revised its social studies standards to focus more on U.S. history across the grades.

There are dilemmas raised by the current content of the Massachusetts social studies standards. First, the heavy emphasis on U.S. history is problematic. As a long-time U.S. history teacher, I know the importance of students understanding the nation's past. Yet, in an increasingly globalized world, it is essential that Massachusetts' students better understand the world outside the United States and this requires significant study in world history, geography, comparative government, and global economics. It demands that students have a strong understanding of diverse cultural perspectives. Ideally, students would learn U.S. history integrated within larger global history courses. 

Second, social studies in the early elementary grades lacks content coherence. The curriculum is poorly organized and leaves teachers with minimal guidance on how to connect topics. Moreover, there is an unusual emphasis on folktales and stories about Americans (which seems much more appropriate for language arts), a heavy emphasis on patriotism and following rules (with no mention of democracy or activism), and a general lack of world history, geography, and civics. 

Third, the content in the standards are heavily Eurocentric, which does not reflect the growing racial and ethnic diversity of Massachusetts' students. The vast majority of historical people listed are of European decent. People of color are depicted in terms of a Black and White binary (there is limited inclusion of American Indians, Latinos, and Asian Americans). Numerous figures and events significant to the history of people of color are absent. There is no mention of slave revolts, sharecropping, Geronimo, Battle of Wounded Knee, Angel Island, the Zoot Suit Riots, César Chávez (is only included as an optional famous American in Grade 1), 20th century race riots, the Black Panthers, or Vincent Chin. As such, many students have a difficult time connecting to the material or worse find the social studies they learn in school culturally irrelevant.

Despite these flaws, my main contention with the current standards is not with its content. Rather, the standards prevent social studies from moving beyond fact-recall. The current social studies framework is predominately a list of names, dates, places, and events from history (with some integration of economics, civics, and geography, especially in the elementary grades). If Massachusetts takes the needed steps to revise its social studies standards, I would suggest they consider the following:

1. Future standards should focus on argumentation and inquiry, which will help transform social studies teaching and student learning. Content is important, but developing thinking is more important. Content is the vehicle for learning to assess evidence, develop arguments, and understand multiple perspectives. However, the exclusive focus on content (even with an uncertain high-stakes test in social studies) has resulted in teachers spending less time developing their students' thinking skills and more time covering an extensive lists of facts (which the breadth of the current standards make it almost impossible to cover). I have seen this in practice at the various elementary and secondary classrooms that I visit. More often than not, social studies lessons are focused on helping students memorize names, dates, places, and events (albeit, often in engaging ways). It is less common to see students engaging in historical, civic, geographic, or economic thinking or making arguments rooted in history and social science evidence. 

2. Future social studies standards should have content coherence and use a spiral curriculum design. In its current format, students rarely revisit similar concepts at deeper levels as they progress through the grades. Partially a result of the current curriculum being a jammed-packed content list, students may only "cover" certain content during one specific grade and never learn about it again. This is especially true for the elementary grades. For the most part, each grade's curriculum does not build on or connect to the previous or future year's curriculum. In elementary and middle school, there is little to no mention of argumentation (and when it is mentioned, it is to assess the arguments of others). Inquiry is absent throughout the document. Yet, there is substantial evidence from the research on social studies education that elementary and middle school students can engage in historical thinking and argumentation. Furthermore, Massachusetts may find it helpful to focus on understanding  community (family, city/town, state, nation, world) in K-1, as many other states do. This would help create a foundation for future learning in social studies. Currently, the early grades are a hodgepodge of holidays, symbols, folktales, and "famous Americans." There is little opportunity for making judgements or discovering through the social studies. The current social studies standards generally underestimate the cognitive abilities of young learners.

3. Teachers should be participating in the design of any new social studies standards and feedback should be solicited from teachers statewide. This would ensure more support and an stronger transition from the old standards. Social studies teachers in Massachusetts are already aware of the Common Core and many have taken professional development on the implementation of Common Core's language arts standards in social studies. This has rightfully caused many social studies teachers to become concerned that social studies is being "left behind" and marginalized in the curriculum (especially in Massachusetts, where the history and social science MCAS has been suspended for years). Additionally, Massachusetts has a large number of exemplary social studies teachers whose expertise is an asset. There are many social studies  teachers across the state who use inquiry in their classrooms and volunteers can be solicited from the secondary departments and elementary schools that are known for their innovative social studies practices. This is a moment to empower the state's social studies teachers. It could shift the growing sentiment that "social studies doesn't matter" to it being a crucial subject in students' college, career, and civic development. This has certainly been the case for science in Massachusetts, which continues to receive a strong spotlight on the state-level.

Massachusetts would not be alone in revising its social studies standards. Last year, in cooperation with the major professional organizations in history, geography, economics, and civics, the National Council for the Social Studies drafted “The College, Career, and Civic Life(C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards (C3).” C3 was designed to help guide states in re-writing their social studies standards by balancing new demands from the Common Core State Standards and core tenets of the various disciplines in social studies. This framework offers a strong foundation for building new Massachusetts social studies standards. This is the same process that the state is using to revise its science standards in light of the recently released Next Generation Science Standards (a science companion of C3). 

There are two paths for Massachusetts to take on social studies education: Stay on the current trajectory, where social studies students spend most of their time memorizing, rather than thinking, and the subject continues to be marginalized. Or, redesign the curriculum to support the growing need for students to become informed citizens who can construct arguments based on evidence and engage in inquiry and problem solving. This will require a shift in the state-mandated curriculum. Which path will it be? 

What Happened to Elementary Social Studies? ...And How Can We Get It Back?

Recently, an experienced elementary teacher in a local urban district asked me for some ideas for motivating elementary teachers to teach social studies, especially when it is not tested in Massachusetts and teachers feel they have to "squeeze it in" with the new Common Core standards. I am posting my response in hopes that it will encourage other elementary teachers to make the case that social studies is more important than ever. Here is my response (with a pseudonym):

Dear Linda,  

From speaking with other teachers and our preservice teachers, I have become incredibly concerned about the lack of social studies being done at the K-5 level (especially in urban schools). Sadly, it shouldn’t be hard to squeeze in, especially since it should be a taught daily like math, English, and science. In an age of Common Core (whether we like it or not), social studies needs to be a regular part of the elementary curriculum. Part of the problem is that most people see social studies as learning stories and memorizing names, dates, and places. However, it should be taught as inquiry and argumentation, which fits in well with the major themes found in Common Core. I have attached two nice handouts, one from the Boston Public Schools and one from the state of Oregon, on the shifts in ELA found in Common Core. Both offer the keys to arguing that social studies is not only needed, but vital for students to do well on the Common Core assessments (PARCC, Smarter Balanced). If you need to tie more social studies into Common Core, the best argument is that social studies serves many needs in the ELA/literacy portion of Common Core, particularly a focus on informational texts, text-based answers, and increased writing from sources. More importantly, beyond Common Core, social studies is a vital school subject in helping students understand their histories, develop as citizens in a democratic society, and understand the world and cultures around them, not to mention learn to reason and make arguments based on evidence. 

To help with ways to connect all the social studies disciplines to Common Core, I would recommend looking at the recently released C3 Framework. Supported by national history and social science organizations (including the NCSS), an outstanding writing team created this framework to help guide states revise their social studies frameworks (much like science groups created the Next Generation Science Standards). It is aligned with Common Core and it breaks it down by social studies disciplines (history, government/civics, geography, economics) and includes student goals for grade levels (2^nd, 5^th, 8^th, and 12^th). My hope is this will be the document that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education uses whenever they decide to revise the state's History and Social Science Curriculum Framework.

I hope this helps with your attempt to get teachers to teach social studies even though it isn't tested.

The Future of BPS and the Search for a New Superintendent

The Boston Public Schools is in the midst of many changes. In the next couple years, the ELA and math MCAS exam will be replaced with the PARCC test based on the new Common Core standards. A new teacher evaluation system has gone into effect that gives principals more discretion in dismissing teachers that they rate unsatisfactory, however, concerns have also been raised about its race and age bias. BPS has instituted new policies that give principals more flexibility in hiring teachers. A new school assignment system will go into effect that will modify school choice using a home-based model, but will ultimately limit school choice for most parents and could result in more race and class segregation. The Boston School Department will physically move from Court Street downtown to the renovated Ferdinand Building in Dudley Square (see images below). With Marty Walsh taking office as the first new mayor in 20 years, there will also be major changes in the leadership of the Boston Public Schools, including a new Boston school superintendent.

During this time of change, the choice of the next school superintendent is crucial. On the one hand, Marty Walsh could choose a market-based education reformer; someone who would expand the number of charter schools, push for merit pay, develop a contentious relationship with the teachers union, and expand programs like Teach for America in BPS. In fact, in an interview about a month ago, he said he would "absolutely consider" his former mayoral opponent John Connolly for superintendent (a candidate who generally supported these education positions). Although this appeared to be merely a verbal consolation for his former rival, it resulted in media buzz, as well as push back from some Walsh voters, who found John Connolly's market-based education reform vision and donors troubling.

On the other hand, Marty Walsh could choose a proven leader with experience as an educator to improve, rather than simply reform, the Boston Public Schools. He could follow the lead of progressive New York City mayor-elect (and Massachusetts native) Bill de Blasio, who will appoint on Monday Carmen Fariña as the next NYC superintendent. Fariña is a former Brooklyn teacher and district leader who agrees with de Blasio's stance that there is an excessive emphasis on standardized testing and that market-based education ideas, including the expansion of charter schools, have not improved the New York City public schools. Although I do not have a specific list of superintendent candidates, I do offer the following three suggestions for Marty Walsh's selection of the next superintendent. 

Avoid Educational Charlatans
First, do not choose a self-proclaimed education reformer or someone who professes to "turnaround" urban districts. An educational charlatan is someone who falsely claims to have a special knowledge about education, when they do not. Marty Walsh should avoid any superintendent candidates that promise radical change or rapid results. This is usually a sign that the prospective superintendent is overly ideological and usually ill-informed on school improvement (which research shows that meaningful school change almost always takes significant time). These candidates will make lofty promises that they cannot keep, and worse, their promises will often result in greater school inequity and corporate profiteering. John Connolly ran almost exclusively on his education platform, which included decentralizing the school system and increasing charter schools. He highlighted his contentious relationship with the Boston Teachers Union. These reforms would be major set backs for, despite its high rate of poverty, one of the best urban school systems in the country. The Boston Public Schools need a superintendent committed to sustaining the the progress the system has made over the past two decades and someone who will intentionally focus support and resources on the schools that are struggling the most. This strategy has had relative success at the William Monroe Trotter (where I have done work as a professor at Boston University) and Orchard Gardens. The voters of Boston chose Marty Walsh, which was a clear rejection of John Connolly's market-based education reform plan.

Experience and Qualification Matter

Second, choose someone who is experienced and qualified to be superintendent of the Boston Public Schools. A qualified superintendent would be someone who has led a large urban district similar to Boston with an educational background in school leadership and a track record of improving schools. Over the last decade, many large cities chose superintendents from the business or non-profit sectors who never led a school district (i.e. Paul Vallas in Chicago, and later Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Bridgeport, Arne Duncan in Chicago, Joel Klein in New York City, Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson in D.C.). They chose superintendents that did not have doctorates in educational leadership and were not certified to be superintendents. They had little to no background in managing a school budget, negotiating contracts, and especially lacked experience in leading curriculum and instructional improvement. They had never been teachers or, in the case of Michelle Rhee or Kaya Henderson, were teachers for a short period of time through TFA (high-performing education systems like Singapore or Finland require educational leaders to have substantial experience as teachers and they do not have organizations like TFA). These superintendents generally received positive publicity in the media, but their actions had negative effects, including massive school closings and decreasing student populations, high teacher turnover, test cheating scandals, and relatively little improvement in test scores (which was usually their main promise).

Local Knowledge Can Make the Difference  
Third, there are many qualified candidates inside and outside the Boston Public Schools, with knowledge of Boston or similar districts, that would make excellent superintendents. Despite saying he will only look outside BPS during the campaign, Marty Walsh should not rule out some of the current BPS leadership. Educational leaders who have spent time in the district may have important insider knowledge that is necessary for meaningful improvement in the district. They will understand BPS's students and families well, and unlike outsiders, not be under the false impression that the Boston school system is failing. They will know when to give principal's more autonomy over their schools and when to require more involvement from the central office. When looking outside of the district, Marty Walsh should consider superintendents of other Massachusetts urban districts and successful school districts nationwide of comparable size and demographics (It is a better idea to look in San Diego or Austin, rather than New Orleans or Chicago). It would be smart to look at high-performing urban school districts that are often overlooked by the media, including Brockton (MA), Framingham (MA), Union City (NJ), Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC), Montgomery County (MD), and Cincinnati (OH). Candidates who previously or presently lead these districts will have a strong understanding of sustainable educational change and be leery of rapid and dramatic system-wide reform, especially those that have become fashionable with the market-based reformers. As Boston College professors Dennis Shirley and Andy Hargreaves recently pointed out, the most successful school systems do not have "policies supporting fast-track teacher certification programs or salary bonuses for teachers who boost test scores. None have systems of sanctions for struggling schools with rotations of principals and staff in and out that erode trust and destroy community. None set up win-lose competitions among neighboring schools. Instead, teachers and schools in challenging circumstances receive additional supports, including from more successful schools, so that they can identify problems quickly and resolve them." 

For now, the waiting game continues to see who mayor-elect Marty Walsh will appoint and what he envisions for the future of the Boston Public Schools...

(Top: Court Street, which is the current headquarters of the Boston Public Schools. Bottom: The Ferdinand Building, a former department store that is being renovated and will soon be the new headquarters for the Boston Public Schools.)

Teaching About the Boston Tea Party

Today marks the 240th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. This historical event is often credited as being the spark that set off the American Revolution. This evening many Bostonians will participate in the annual re-enactment of the Tea Party starting at the Old South Meeting House and ending up at Griffin's Wharf (we can talk about historical accuracies of the new Boston Tea Party Museum some other time).

Due to its connection to the principles of freedom and liberty, the Boston Tea Party has often been co-opted by social movements that believe they have a philosophical connection. This has included abolitionism, women's rights movements, civil rights movements, pro-war movements (especially during World War I and II), anti-war movements (especially during the Vietnam War), anti-abortion movements, immigration reform movements, anti-immigration movements (such as the Minutemen Project), anti-corporate movements (such as Occupy Wall Street), and, of course, the recent conservative Tea Party movement. Sometimes these movements are rightful heirs and sometimes they are not. For example, the naming of the conservative Tea Party movement, a modern-day libertarian movement for small government, is built on a false premise that the Boston colonists were protesting against higher taxes. In fact, the colonists were protesting against Britain's financial support for the East India Tea Company that affected their local trade and the lack of colonial representation in Parliament (remember "no taxation without representation" from your history textbooks?).

When creating social studies lesson plans around the Boston Tea Party, it is important to teach not only the event in historical context, but also about current movements that claim to be descendents of the original movement. It would be helpful to spend a couple class periods using primary sources to answer the inquiry question, "Were the Boston colonists justified in their acts during the Boston Tea Party?" This could be followed with a debate or a mock trial. Afterward, the students should learn about the Parliament's reaction to the Tea Party and the ensuing Coercive Acts or Intolerable Acts (as some of the people in the colonies called them). Finally, students can be asked to examine modern movements claiming to be rooted in the Boston Tea Party and assess if those groups live up to the spirit and the philosophies of the Boston Tea Party of 1773. For some excellent resources in teaching the Tea Party, see the links below:

Resources for teaching the original Boston Tea Party (and the woman-led Edenton Tea Party that followed):

Boston Tea Party: Lesson Plan (Secondary)

Boston Tea Party: Lesson Plan (Elementary)

Boston Tea Party: Video Game: From Crown or Colony?

Boston Tea Party: National History Education Clearinghouse

Boston Tea Party: Massachusetts Historical Society [Set 1]

Boston Tea Party: Massachusetts Historical Society [Set 2]

Boston Tea Party: National Archives

Boston Tea Party: The Smithsonian

Boston Tea Party: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Boston Tea Party: The History Channel

Boston Tea Party: University of Houston's Digital History (Account of George Robert Twelve Hewes)

The Shoemaker and the Tea Party by: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred Young

Edenton Tea Party: North Carolina History Project

Edenton Tea Party: Learn NC

Boston and Edenton Tea Parties: University of North Carolina

Resources for teaching about modern day movements linked to the Boston Tea Party:

Lesson Plan: The Tea Party

Lesson Plan: Occupy Wall Street

Lesson Plan: Immigration Reform

Lesson Plan: Gay Marriage

Teaching the History of Thanksgiving

In the United States, it is a common fall tradition in elementary classrooms to teach about the "first" Thanksgiving. Recently, I was talking with a colleague at BU about her daughter's "Pilgrims and Indians" project. Troubled by the inaccurate portrayal of the Separatists (Pilgrims) and Wampanoag people, we worked together on helping her daughter get quality resources to build her historically accurate project. My colleagues' daughter now has a much more accurate understanding of the Wampanoag way of life and a healthy obsession with learning more about the Wampanoag people.

Elementary and secondary students should know the whole history of Thanksgiving, which extends beyond the 1620s (and is much more complex than is usually portrayed in the media). It is true that there was a harvest celebration at Plymouth in 1621 (it was not a thanksgiving). It is true that Squanto (whose name was Tisquantum and who had been previously kidnapped by English fisherman) and Massasoit helped the Separatists survive their first winter (out of political necessity). It is true that the two groups lived in relative peace for several years. It is true that eventually, conflicts grew between the two groups and the Whites demanded that the Wampanoag eventually give up their guns. It is true that the Whites did not respect the Indigenous peoples' way of life and issues of the Whites' cattle rampaging Native villages were common. It is true that war would break out and Metacom/King Philip, the Wamponoag chief, would be killed. His head would later be placed on a pike at the entrance of Plymouth and remained for over two decades. It is true that the English attempted to Christianize the Native people and "praying towns" were formed for this purpose. It is also true that in 1970, Wamsutta (Frank B.) James was asked to speak and then had his speech suppressed by the local officials holding the 350th anniversary celebration of Pilgrim's landing. A protest of this resulted in the first National Day of Mourning, where a group of Native activists protested their oppression by pouring red paint on Plymouth Rock and occupying the Mayflower II. It is true that jessie little doe baird has led an effort by the Wamponoag people to reclaim their language as a form of survivance. It is critical that this event is taught through the lens of Native resistance and uplift. Below are a few resources that may help...

Here is a list of links for elementary and secondary teachers to teach the whole story of Thanksgiving (several more were added in a 2020 update of this post):

Adult Books:

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (2020 Update)

New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans, and the Remaking of America

The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of America


Teen and Children's Books:

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People (2020 Update)

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving (National Geographic)

Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving


Teaching Resources:

First National Day of Mourning

The Suppressed Speech of Wamsutta (Frank B.) James, Wampanoag (1970)

National Day of Mourning: United American Indians of New England

PBS American Experience: We Shall Remain: After the Mayflower
[Full Video]

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe: Historical Timeline (2020 Update)

Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda (2020 Update)

Zinn Education Project: The Politics of Thanksgiving Day (2020 Update)

Rethinking Schools: Rethinking Thanksgiving: Myths and Misgivings (2020 Update)

NPR: What Educators Need To Know About Teaching Thanksgiving (2020 Update) 

Age of Awareness: Decolonizing Thanksgiving Toolkit (2020 Update)

The New Yorker: The Invention of Thanksgiving (2020 Update)

Washington Post: Making Indian Headdresses in School Is a Terrible Way to Teach Thanksgiving (2020 Update)

History News Network: Top Ten Myths About Thanksgiving

National Archives: Thanksgiving as a National Holiday

Smithsonian: Thanksgiving

History Channel: Thanksgiving

Plimoth Plantation: Thanksgiving

Black Friday: Teaching About Consumerism

Consumerism: n. the belief that it is good for people to spend money on goods and services; a preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods.

In the United States, the day after Thanksgiving has been dubbed by the media as "Black Friday." It is a time when stores (usually large chain and "big box" stores) run sales to attract people to begin Christmas shopping. This results in crowded shopping malls across the country (see the above picture). It has even become a consumer tradition to wait out of stores the night before in hopes of getting that "hot-ticket" item. In the recent decades, "Black Friday" has also been marked by stampeding herds of people running into stores after opening. Often the ensuing fights and injuries among shoppers are then covered by the same media sources that promoted Black Friday.

Consumerism developed in the United States in the late 19th century and has increasingly become a component of modern American life. The first major boom in consumerism occurred during the 1920s (see the below picture of billboards outside New York City during this time) and a second major boom after World War II (see the below picture of a California shopping mall in the 1950s). The cost of this consumerism has been a dramatically inequitable allocation of wealth, increased global pollution, and negative psychological effects on individuals. Moreover, almost everything in western society is being commoditized. Services that were once for the public good are becoming privatized (an idea rooted in Milton Friedman's work on privatizing education and supported by current day wealthy philanthropists). The term "consumer" is problematically used to describe people who seek education, housing, or health care. There are underlying assumptions that consumers can make the best choices in the market place and capitalism creates fair and equalizing conditions.

Yet, students are rarely taught in their social studies classrooms to be critical of consumerism and capitalism. While there are many economics curricula and lesson plans that promote an uncritical view of capitalism, there are also numerous resources that highlight the problems caused by it. By challenging students to think about consumerism, they learn to question a system that has potentially negative effects on communities and nations. If students gain a better understanding of the economic system and the problems that arise from it, they develop important critical thinking skills necessary to be democratic citizens.

Here are some websites for helping students better understand consumerism:

Ad Busters: Buy Nothing Day Campaign
A grassroots movement to create an international day of protest against consumerism celebrated annually just after Thanksgiving. Appropriate for elementary and secondary students.

Social Justice Economics Lesson
A lesson plan that I created for teaching key economic concepts through a social justice lens. Highlights that not everyone starts with the same resources and that the system has certain advantages and disadvantages. More appropriate for elementary students.

Media Smarts
A Canadian Center for digital and media literacy. Has many lesson plans related to consumerism. Appropriate for elementary and secondary students.

Oakland Unified School District: Critical Consumerism Unit
A unit plan developed by J. Flaningam of the Oakland Unified School District to teach his students to critically read the world of consumerism.

The Story of Stuff
A popular 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production. Appropriate for elementary and secondary students. 

TED Talks on Consumerism
Short talks on consumerism from the TED Conference. Some frame it in positive terms and others question it. More appropriate for secondary students. 

Film: PBS Frontline: The Persuaders
Examines the world of marketing, from products to politics and its impact on the American social structure.

Film: The Corporation
A 2003 Canadian documentary film that examined the modern-day corporation. More appropriate for secondary students.

Film: PBS American Experience: Tupperware
Looks at 1950s consumerism through the development of the Tupperware product line. More appropriate for secondary students.