social studies conneCTion

Daisha Brabham, educator, public historian, and curriculum writer, enlightens us about engaging students and teachers in the conversation of race, community-building, and student-centered learning. Daisha's message includes the hope for teachers to focus more on what students can bring to the table and how they can guide students to use their strengths for local activism and civic engagement.

In this episode, Allison Norrie, President of the Association for the Study of CT History (ASCH) and Teacher at Fairfield Warde High School, explains her experience working on the CT Social Studies Standards and how it has affected her perspective of teaching and learning history. Norrie describes the significance of this trailblazing document by defining its position in education today for classrooms to be safe spaces to learn, evolve, and act upon the social studies for tomorrow.

In this episode, Dr. David Bosso, teacher and current President of the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council, digs into the foundation of purposeful teaching. He astounds us by defining the art of classroom instruction from the perspective of teacher advocacy and how it sets an example for students to take action and pursue the change they yearn to see.

Dr. Carmen Coury, Associate Professor of History and the Director of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Southern CT State University, captivates us with her informative and intriguing philosophy on Latin American History and its place in our education system. Dr. Coury advises educators on possible approaches to teaching this crucial part of history and the importance of grasping and emphasizing a multinational lens for our students to embody empathetic skills in the classroom and society.

Jennifer Heikkila Díaz (or JHD), K-12 public school teacher, school administrator, educator coach, and currently the CT Council for the Social Studies Professional Learning Coordinator, describes their passion for culturally sustaining classrooms and school communities. Jennifer amplifies the importance of teacher-student relationships by focusing more on the backgrounds of students to formulate valuable connections with social studies content.

In this episode, Christine Pittsley, the Special Projects Director for the Connecticut State Library, unveils the magic of anthropological fieldwork and its connection to social studies. As a leader in the field of research, Christine explains the benefits of her award-winning program "Digging Into History" and how it positively affected student perspectives of history. 

Visit https://ctinworldwar1.org/dih/dih2023/ for more information about the program!

Mary Skelly, a University Supervisor at Central & Southern CT State University, shares her inspirational journey in the educational field of Social Studies. In this episode, Mary shares crucial advice for those considering the teaching path and the inevitable obstacles that come with it. Her roles as a teacher, a key CCSS Board Member, and now University Supervisor helped foster a vision for the future of social studies teachers and the classroom environments they seek to improve. 

Social Studies, Music & Martin Scorsese?! WELCOME TO SEASON 2! 

In the first episode of our second season, we invited Bill Carbone, Executive Director of TeachRock.org, to speak about his experience with music and how it affected his relationship with Social Studies. Carbone explains the importance of music in education and how it keeps students engaged in Social Studies & other school subjects taught across CT. 

In this special episode, Larissa Babij, a former student of Steve Armstrong, tells her unique experience during the war in Ukraine and details her crucial role in aiding Ukrainian citizens in a time of turmoil and bloodshed. As she plans to return to the country soon, she describes some possible outcomes for Ukraine's future and how we can support Ukrainians from our end of the world.

Further Ukraine-related reading:

• An excellent recent article by American journalist George Packer in The Atlantic: Ukrainians Are Defending the Values Americans Claim to Hold: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/10/ukraine-invasion-civilian-volunteers-survival/671241/
• Historian Timothy Snyder is teaching a course at Yale this fall on The Making of Modern Ukraine with video lectures available online: https://www.openculture.com/2022/09/the-making-of-modern-ukraine-a-free-online-course-from-yale-professor-timothy-snyder.html
• Daily comprehensive digest of news on the war in Ukraine from various sources compiled and curated by Monique Camarra -- EuroFile: https://camarra.substack.com/
• The Guardian's online Live Ukraine feed: https://www.theguardian.com/

In this episode, Dr. Randa Elbih emphasizes the significance of introducing the concept of multiple perspectives from the elementary level of education. Based on her research, Dr. Elbih utilizes her knowledge to expound on the conversation of cultural inclusivity by explaining how teachers can approach the idea of embracing unique stories with their students to build relationships.