The “Spirit” of House Bill 1775

Laws best serve the public interest when the literal reading of the words of any particular piece of legislation accurately reflect the intent behind the authoring of that legislation. The literal reading of the law is sometimes referred to as the “letter” of the law. The intent of the law is sometimes referred to as …

Dos and Don’ts of Teaching American Slavery (for White Educators)

The Southern Poverty Law Center and Teaching Tolerance recently released a report entitled, “Teaching Hard History: American Slavery.” It is essential reading for all teachers; all subjects and all grade levels. The companion podcast series of the same name is equally valuable for educators. For U.S history teachers, like myself, that teach American slavery as …

Colonial Days and the Erasure of American Slavery

Of the four core subjects (social studies, science, language arts, and math), social studies is no doubt the subject with the reputation for having the most potential to be boring. The lifeless history class taught by the uninterested male coach is the cliché that every social studies teacher must work hard to avoid. Then there …