IHARE – Teacherhostels, History and Archaeology Programs
The New York State Council for the Social Studies annual conference was held March 22-24 in Saratoga Springs. Several of the sessions were related to the new common core curriculum in social studies.
The primary presenter was Larry Paska of the New York State Education whom Bruce Dearstyne identified in a post last week as the point person in the state for the project. Also speaking was Regent James Dawson. Continue reading “Social Studies Conference Commentary”
The movement to evaluate teacher performance took a new turn recently. According to a press release from Governor Cuomo dated February 16, 2012: “Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New York State Education Commissioner John King, and New York State United Teachers President Richard C. Iannuzzi today announced a groundbreaking agreement on a new statewide evaluation system that will make New York State a national leader in holding teachers accountable for student achievement.” Continue reading “Social Studies Curriculum:Will Standardization Hurt Local History?”
In previous posts, I have written about various components of the New York State History Community including the county historians, the county historical societies, and the municipal historians. I would like to take this opportunity to address another and highly relevant area, the teachers, beginning with the councils for social studies. Continue reading “Whither the Social Studies Councils?”
Bruce Dearstyne’s recent post, Historical Societies: Getting Past Hard Times, raises a number of disturbing issues. The story of the tribulations of the Saratoga County Historical Society is one of concern. The Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education (IHARE) has had several Teacherhostels / Historyhostels in Saratoga County mostly relating to the Battle of Saratoga and also in Waterford. Last summer as part of a Teaching American History grant, a group of teachers from Vermont stayed in Clifton Park while learning about the battle. I have had email exchanges with Brookside’s Executive Director Joy Houle about the possibility of having a Saratoga County History Conference there as was done in the Hudson Valley. Continue reading “New Social Studies Curriculum: The Time to Act is Now”
At the recently concluded annual conference of the American Historical Association, in addition to the passionate discussions about “NO HISTORY JOBS! NO HISTORY JOBS! NO HISTORY JOBS!” featured in my previous post, there were four panels on “Historians, Journalists, and the Challenges of Getting It Right.” Excerpts from a report by Rick Shenkman, publisher and editor-in-chief of the History News Network on these presentations follow [his full report is online]. Continue reading “Why is the Press Indifferent to History? How Do We Communicate History?”
by Peter Feinman
by Peter Feinman
by Peter Feinman
