Two weeks ago, I published “5 Strategies for Teaching Social Studies in Turbulent Times.”
Here are five more suggestions….
Help ‘Students Recognize Historical Parallels’
Erinn Leone is Sacramento City Unified school district’s teacher of the year:
In 1963, James Baldwin told educators: “The purpose of education … is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions.” Today, as misinformation spreads, history is distorted, and public education is under attack, social science teachers must embrace our role as more than just history instructors. We are social scientists. Our responsibility is to help students understand how the world operates, how it came to be this way, and what tools exist to resist or create change.
We must teach in a way that empowers. Here are a few ways I believe that social science educators can do this:
1. Connect the Past to the Present
Now more than ever, there are undeniable parallels between past and present (voter suppression, book bans, economic inequality, state-sanctioned violence, etc.). We must help students recognize parallels.
Using current images, headlines, or social media posts as discussion starters is a powerful way to engage students and help them see history’s relevance. This strategy can serve as a hook exercise at the beginning of a lesson to spark curiosity or as a closing activity to help students synthesize new knowledge. When students recognize historical parallels in today’s world, history becomes more than just the past, it becomes a lens for understanding the present.
While teaching the Progressive Era, I introduced Jacob Riis, a muckraker who used photography to expose injustice. After analyzing his work, students found modern images representing today’s social issues and discussed recurring themes. During a unit on reconstruction, we examined historical efforts to restrict voting rights, then compared them with contemporary debates over voter suppression, helping students see the lasting impact of these struggles.
2. Teach Students to Analyze Misinformation
Propaganda isn’t new, but social media has accelerated its reach. We must teach students how to evaluate sources, recognize bias, and fact-check.
One approach is comparing historical misinformation to modern examples. Yellow journalism fueled the Spanish-American War, just as misleading headlines and AI distort today’s political landscape. Ask students: How do governments and media shape public perception? Who benefits from misinformation?
3. Emphasize Civic Engagement
History shows us that ordinary people drive change. Yet today, many students feel powerless. Our job is to show students that they are makers of history—not just observers of it.
Highlighting youth activism across time is one way to do this. Teaching students about youth activism like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s sit-ins, the Children’s March, or East L.A. Walkouts to more contemporary movements like today’s climate strikes, racial-justice protests, and student-led advocacy for gun reform reinforces the idea that young people still have power. Students need to see themselves represented in their curriculum in empowering ways.
Let students develop their own call to action—writing to officials, designing awareness campaigns, or engaging in local advocacy. Civic engagement should be something students do, not just something they learn about.
4. Unsettle the Curriculum
We must challenge dominant narratives by intentionally centering marginalized voices who resisted oppression throughout history.
For example, instead of teaching the Reconstruction Era as a failure, emphasize how newly freed Black Americans fought for voting rights, built schools, and held office. Instead of discussing immigration solely through restrictive policies, highlight how immigrant communities shaped labor rights and cultural movements. People have always resisted oppression; lead with that.
5. Facilitate Civic Discourse
One strategy I use in my classroom is historical debates. We begin with a guiding question or historical argument (the case for reparations, responsibility of government, etc.). Students analyze multiple perspectives, synthesize evidence, and construct their own arguments rooted in reasoning. The goal isn’t agreement, it’s equipping students with the ability to analyze, synthesize, and advocate. It’s about helping students develop ideas that are rooted in evidence, articulate those ideas clearly, and engage respectfully with others who may reach different conclusions.
In a world that feels deeply divided, this is a crucial skill, not just for students but adults as well. We must teach students that forming opinions, especially those that impact society (whether through voting, policymaking, or advocacy) requires critical thinking, respectful discourse, and evidence-based reasoning. This should be a basic expectation, a societal norm. We must teach and model this in the classroom.
Baldwin warned that “precisely at the point when you begin to develop a conscience, you must find yourself at war with your society.” Today, social science teachers must embrace that struggle.
Our responsibility is not just to teach history but to prepare students to recognize injustice, misinformation, and systemic inequality, and to equip them to challenge it. If we want students to change the world, we must first teach them how to see it clearly.
Now, more than ever, that work is urgent.
Thanks to Erinn for sharing her experiences and advice.
I wrote the first, second and third posts in this series on how educators should respond to recent Trump administration actions.
Morgan Polikoff wrote about education research and researchers.
Christie Nold and Sarah Cooper also shared advice about social studies.
Mary Beth Hertz discussed teaching media literacy.
Christina Torres Cawdery offered recommendations to English teachers.
Zaretta Hammond provided ideas to practitioners of culturally responsive teaching.
Students shared their own perspectives.
PJ Caposey and Glasher Robinson discussed administrator challenges.
Leah Michaels and Anastasia M. Martinez talked about teaching English Language Learners in today’s political climate.
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