Whether you’ve been back to school for weeks or you’re just starting classes, there’s something about the first week of September that often seems to bring renewed purpose, fresh energy, and a sense of possibility. Even so, we know many of you are also facing big challenges — from extreme weather and disrupted learning to understaffed schools, highly polarized teaching environments, and more. As we all get into the swing of this school year, we hope you know we stand with you and are here to support you.
One NEW way we’re supporting you? Our freshly redesigned website, which is now live at FacingHistory.org! Read on to get more insight into how we created the site and learn about some of the exciting things we’ve added.
Tools for Teachers
For twenty years we’ve been pioneers in offering digital learning and resources for educators. And when we set out to design a new digital experience we knew it was important to listen to our community. We spent several months gathering feedback and ideas. Everyone had important perspectives to share.
After hearing the needs of our teachers and others, and applying what we learned, the new FacingHistory.org has been retooled with a vibrant look and feel, user-friendly features, all while showcasing the same great teaching resources you rely on.
Read our full welcome message to learn more about the site and what’s new!
Ideas This Week
In transforming facinghistory.org we’ve also reimagined Facing History’s blog and into a dynamic digital publication channel called Ideas This Week.
Building on nearly a decade’s worth of thought-provoking and helpful blog content for teachers, Ideas this Week will offer a regular stream of articles along with a new monthly companion email newsletter. Visit weekly to find updates on all things Facing History — from announcements and featured press, to expert interviews, impact stories, essays, and the practical insights you’ve come to count on.
Join us as we kick-off our 2022-2023 All Community Read! This webinar offers educators an introduction to Judith Heumann’s 2021 memoir, Being Heumann, An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist and the young adult version: Rolling Warrior: The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution. In this webinar we’ll offer an overview of the book and share tools and strategies from our Coming of Age in a Complex World collection that can help teachers explore the themes of identity, inclusion, belonging, and civic agency found in this powerful memoir.
Captioning is provided during this webinar. If this time doesn’t work for your schedule, be sure to register and we’ll notify you once the recording is available in our On-Demand Learning Center.
Join us and author and education professor, Dr. Bree Picower as we explore possibilities for transforming how teachers think and teach about race and racism in their classrooms.
Captioning will be provided during this webinar. This webinar is not being recorded so please plan to join us live.
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
We are thrilled to share the news about the publication of Jessica Lander’s new book Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggles, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education. Jessica is a Facing History Alumni (having studied with Facing History’s curriculum as a 7th and 8th grader), and she is today a Facing History Teacher. She and her former students launched the national We Are America Project in 2019, of which Facing History and Ourselves is a collaborating partner. We hope you will check out Jessica’s new book! Martha Minow, former dean of Harvard Law School and author of When Should Law Forgive?, states: “At times moving, instructive, sobering, and encouraging, Making Americans will captivate and enlighten all readers. And it will also equip teachers, voters, and policymakers to work together to overcome prejudice and help newcomers build on their talents to strengthen America while pursuing their own dreams.”
PARTNER OFFERINGS
PBS Presents The U.S. and the Holocaust
A new documentary by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein
Premiering Sunday, September 18 at 8/7c The U.S. and the Holocaust is a three-part, six hour series that examines America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century.
In partnership with The New Yorker, GlobeDocs, and WBUR, Facing History is thrilled to be co-sponsoring an upcoming screening and conversation for Stranger at the Gate. This new documentary comes from filmmaker Joshua Seftel’s Emmy-nominated series of shorts that challenge audiences to rethink their assumptions and misconceptions about Muslims. Following the screening, Asma Khalid, NPR White House correspondent and co-host of The NPR Politics Podcast, will moderate a panel with the subjects from the film. Purchase tickets here.
Our Facing History New England team is excited to be offering a workshop session at Framing History: The Power of Pictures, this year’s children’s literature conference for teachers of grades 3 - 8 and school librarians. Be sure to register by October 4th for a discounted fee!
We invite you to join keynote speaker Ekua Holmes and guest illustrators Don Brown, Laura Freeman, and R. Gregory Christie to learn how to get students excited about history, stimulate their historical imagination, and challenge them to think critically about the past. Visit the conference web page to register, download a brochure, and to access information on speakers and workshop sessions.
Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. We believe the bigotry and hate that we witness today are the legacy of brutal injustices of the past. Through our partnership with educators around the world, we are creating the next generation of leaders who will build a world based on knowledge and compassion, the foundation for more democratic, equitable, and just societies.
