America 250 and the Landscape of History Education

In this Civic Learning Week event, Sarah Weicksel (Director of Research and Publications, and incoming Executive Director, American Historical Association) will moderate a conversation with iCivics Chief Education Officer Emma Humphries and historians Edward Ayers (University of Richmond), Katharina Matro (Walter Johnson High School), and David Blight (Yale University and president, Organization of American Historians).

In the fall of 2024, the American Historical Association (AHA) released a groundbreaking report based on a survey of 3,000 secondary school teachers, more than 200 interviews, and analysis of thousands of pages of educational materials. AMERICAN LESSON PLAN: TEACHING US HISTORY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS (bit.ly/AHAlesson) confirmed what America’s educators know: US history teachers are public servants whose primary concern is helping their students learn central elements of our nation’s history.

The panelists will discuss the findings of the report and how teachers are also preparing to use the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding to engage students in civics and a deeper understanding of our past.

Topics of discussion will include how teachers:
• Encourage students to read and understand founding documents to prepare them for informed civic engagement.
• Navigate this moment and focus on history through primary sources and lessons designed to help students learn to think critically, while developing an understanding of the importance of civic participation.
• Make curricular decisions over the materials they use, despite the challenges of legislative actions and local and state mandates.
• Rely on educational resources from a short list of trusted sites led by federal institutions including the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and Smithsonian museums.
• Are thinking about the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding as an opportunity to engage students in a deeper understanding of our national origin story.