United States History textbooks can hostile terrain for BIPOC students. In Advanced Placement US History classes, which frequently lean heavily into the textbook as a means of delivery content, students see racist imagery, “fair and balanced” descriptions of architects of White supremacy, such John C. Calhoun, and a story of America narrated from a settler’s […]
Author: Eric Beckman
I am a veteran high school history teacher interested in decolonizing history curricula, anti-racist pedagogy, and e-learning.
Always Epic

History Fest is always epic, and this year was no exception.

I’ve been thinking a lot more about archives over the past year. This may appear odd, given my investment in historical study. In my study and practice as high school history educator engaged with academic history, however, discussions around archives separate how academic historians—producers of historical knowledge—and history teachers and students—consumers of historical knowledge view […]

Students read an excerpt from the book which is entry point to considering how Landers constructed historical knowledge from advertisements for runaway slaves and to learning about how some enslaved people sought freedom

Use an excerpt from an academic history to help students see the complexity of the idea of a European Renaissance

NB: these questions might be illegal in some states.
Civil War

Equal parts book review, curricular ideas, and lament.

Oops! I inadvertently posted this lesson plan as blog post. Click here for this slow motion DBQ, and here for other lessons.
Tweeting Point of View

Twitter seems a natural place for analyzing sourcing. I tweet some, and use the site for information on history education, public affairs, and soccer. Tweets in the last category could be useful in the first, because they can show the influence. Tweets from English Premier League teams during matches often reveal points of view, without […]
Vast Anti-Imperial Conspiracy

Reading Underground Asia broadened, deepened, and challenged my understanding of revolution and anti-imperialism in the first three decades of the twentieth century.