Casey Meier
Casey Meier has over 18 years of experience as a high school social studies, Inter Baccalaureate, and AVID teacher. Casey has also trained thousands of teachers from across the United States as an AVID Staff Developer. He was named the Kansas state history teacher of the year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute in 2020.
In this interview we discuss:
- The purpose of social studies education
- What teachers have learned from teaching during COVID that will inform the “new normal”
- How teachers can engage in hard conversations with their students
- Advice for beginning teachers
- How have recent current events illustrated the importance of social studies education?
- What are the advantages of staying neutral during classroom conversations?
- How should beginning teachers find ways to grow and learn during their early years in the profession?
Damon Huss
Damon Huss is the senior editor and curriculum specialist at the Constitutional Rights Foundation. Damon also edits the Bill of Rights in Action magazine and provides professional development training for classroom teachers. Prior to this, Damon spent nine years teaching social studies and ELA in public schools. He then worked as a public defender in Los Angeles County. Damon has also served as the director of the California 3 R’s Project, which provides resources to teachers on ways to teach religion in public school settings. In 2021, the California Council for the Social studies honored Damon with the Hilda Taba award, their highest honor, for making a significant contribution to social studies education.
In this interview we discuss:
- The new mission of social studies
- Lessons educators learned by teaching through the COVID-19 pandemic
- How to structure deliberations and disputes in the classroom during polarizing times
- The role of the teacher in classroom discussions
- Advice for beginning teachers
- Why should civics hold a special place within social studies education?
- How has the pandemic shaped the way people think about writing curriculum and creating lessons?
- What are some tips Damon shares for facilitating civil conversations in the classroom?
Dee Hankins
Dee Hankins is an inspirational speaker based out of Southern California. Dee uses humor, storytelling, and passion to help students develop their resilience. He speaks to thousands of students and teachers each year. Through his talks and meetings with students, he has heard a lot of messages from students that teachers don’t always hear. Dee has also collaborated with organizations such as California Directors of Activities (CADA), Jostens, and The Department of Children and Family Services.
In this interview we discuss:
- The future of education
- The most common question teachers ask about their students
- The most common question students ask about their teachers
- Building relationships in the classroom
- How teachers can facilitate difficult conversations in the classroom
- Advice for beginning teachers
- What would you as a teacher be willing to change in order to meet the needs of students in our current context?
- What does it mean to “be human” in the classroom?
- How can teachers build relationships with their students in the classroom?
Elliott Powell
Elliott Powell is a middle school social studies teacher. Prior to his career in education, he served 26 years in the US Navy. During that time, he commanded four ships, including the command of a minesweeper during Operation Desert Storm. After his naval career ended, he worked as the director of the White House Situation Room from 1999-2001. Elliott was recognized as his school’s “Teacher of the Year” in 2017.
In this interview we discuss:
- The purpose of teaching social studies
- Things teachers have learned by teaching through the pandemic
- How to host difficult conversations in the classroom
- Advice for beginning teachers
- Why is it important to have a rigorous social studies curriculum in these times?
- What can teachers do to structure difficult conversations in the classroom?
- What is the proper balance between being honest and being neutral in the classroom? What role does critical thinking play in navigating this tension?
Kevin Roughton
Kevin Roughton is a middle school social studies, AVID, and SEL teacher in Southern California. He shares his original resources for teachers through his website “Teach With Magic.” His “brain snacks” and “History Mystery Labs” are especially popular with social studies teachers on the west coast. Kevin is also a popular speaker at education conferences and events and has an active presence on social media. Kevin has been honored as Riverside County Teacher of the Year (2011), California Council for the Social Studies Middle School Teacher of the Year (2016), and the D.A.R. California American History Teacher of the Year (2017).
In this interview we discuss:
- The ongoing discussion of the purpose of social studies
- The new normal in social studies education
- How to have difficult conversations in the classroom
- Advice for beginning teachers
- What is the problem with social studies?
- What do you think of Kevin’s idea of using social studies as providing a common starting point for students?
- What advice does Kevin offer for having difficult conversations in the classroom?
- What does it mean to “be yourself” in the classroom?
Liz Kleinrock
Liz Kleinrock is elementary teacher with 10 years of experience teaching in Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Liz shares her original resources for teachers through her website, Teach and Transform. Her work has been featured in news outlets such as CNN, NPR, and The Huffington Post. In 2018, Liz was awarded the Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018. Liz delivered a TED Talk on having difficult conversations with students in 2019.
In this interview we discuss:
- A renewed sense of purpose in education
- Lessons learned from teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic
- How to have hard conversations that are safe and age appropriate
- How to address bias in the classroom
- Advice for beginning teachers
- What are some relational and instructional practices Liz developed during the pandemic that you can incorporate into your classroom?
- How can you safely address difficult topics with young learners?
- How do you think teachers ought to address different biases and perspectives, including their own, in the classroom?
Sarah Nester
Sarah Nester is a Social Studies teacher at an arts school in St. Louis, Missouri. She chairs the Social Studies Department and teaches classes in World History, U.S. Government and Civics, and U.S. History since Reconstruction. Outside of the classroom, Sarah coaches high school lacrosse and co-leads student immersion trips with young people from the St. Louis area.
In this interview we discuss:
- How social studies can address current concerns
- Reflections on teaching during the pandemic and moving toward the “new normal” in education
- Having hard conversations in the classroom
- Advice for beginning teachers
- What do you think the mission of social studies should be? Do you feel a sense of urgency in your calling to teach?
- What factors should you consider when deciding how transparent about your own beliefs you will be in class discussions?
- What are some ways to safely structure conversations on volatile topics?
Megan Forbes
Megan Forbes is a middle school English and social studies teacher and content creator in Southern California. She shares resources, ideas, and encouragement for teachers through her website, Too Cool for Middle School. She is also an active presence on social media and a frequent presenter at conferences and professional development workshops.
In this interview we discuss:
- The challenges of teaching social studies in the present moment
- How to have difficult classrooms conversations during polarizing times
- Advice for beginning teachers
- What is the difference between assessing news sources for bias and assessing them for accuracy? What are some good ways to build a balanced approach to current events?
- What are some ways to responsibly approach conversations on difficult topics?
- How do you think a teacher’s personal beliefs should affect instruction, class time, and student conversations?
- What are some of the advantages of being a beginning teacher?
Tyler Durman
Tyler Durman is an inspirational speaker and former high school teacher based out of Southern California. Each year he speaks to over 200,000 students, parents, and teachers in the U.S. and Canada about how to build better lives together. He is also the author of Counterintuitive, a book on insights gathered from his experiences and conversations with adolescents.
In this interview we discuss:
- How to acknowledge the loss experienced by students and teachers during the pandemic
- How to listen well to students
- The most common questions teachers ask about how to reach students
- The most common questions students ask about their teachers
- How to have difficult conversations in the classroom during polarizing times
- How can you acknowledge the loss your students experienced during the pandemic? What impact do you think that would have on your classroom?
- What does it take to listen well to students?
- How can we help students feel seen and heard during the school day?