Month: June 2021

Untold History, Right from the Student Lens

Eduflack American history, arts, civics, reform, Students

If the past few years (or even just months) have taught us anything, it is how important it is that we all know our history … and how boring and irrelevant history education can be for high school students today.

The Driving Force Institute launched its Untold History initiative to change that narrative. Untold has focused on making history interesting and relevant for today’s learners, telling the stories of those events, people, places, and artifacts that are essential, but often overlooked.

To supplement this work, this week we launch the Untold Pitch Competition. Over the past six months, we have been reaching out to students, asking them to develop their own videos on the moments in history that mean the most to them. Those submissions are now in, and we are sharing the finalists … seeking your vote for some of the top videos.

Check out the full competition here – https://makematic.com/blog/the-untold-pitch-competition/

Watch the videos! Share the Pitch! Cast your vote!

CRT and History Teaching

Eduflack American history, BAM, civics, equity, race, reform, Soul

As state legislatures across the nation explore banning critical race theory from k-12 classrooms, it can be easy to turn away from the teaching of American history. After all, our nation’s history can be offensive to some.

In truth, American history is proud and dark, complex and contradictory, patriotic and problematic. In these times, that is all the more reason what we must embrace the teaching of history and ensure all understand both what has happened in our past and why.

I explore this important issue on the latest episode of Soul of Education over at the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen here – https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/how-do-you-teach-american-history-without-offending-anyone/.

Effectively Reaching Young People

Eduflack Marketing, Media, PR, reform, Social media, Students

“The simple answer is … there is no silver bullet for reaching today’s youth. If there was, every Fortune 500 company would turn to it to boost sales, every college and university would use it to increase applications and enrollment, and every non-profit and advocacy group would implement it to increase volunteerism and activism.

No, the answer is far more complex than one-stop shopping or a magical fix-all elixir. To effectively reach young people, PR people need to apply a formula built on respect, understanding, and integrated communications.”

From Eduflack’s latest over at Medium

Do We Want Schools Monitoring Student Speech Outside the Classroom?

Eduflack accountability, BAM, civics, reform, Social media, Soul, Students

We regularly hear about how school districts are closely monitoring what their students say and what they do. It makes sense, after all, as our schools want to make sure they are providing a safe, open learning environment for all.

But does such responsibility extend beyond the classroom? A new SCOTUS case will soon examine that very question, as the court looks at whether a school can punish a student for what she says on social media from her own bedroom.

We discuss the topic over on the Soul of Education program for the BAM! Radio Network. Give it a listen here!