We hope you and yours are doing well and that you are back into the swing of things.
We write to you in a social studies climate where civic upheaval regarding the work we do is the norm. Protests, shouting, and even arrests taking place in school board meetings because of the subjects we—as social studies professionals—explore with our students. As with the rest of society, we struggle to keep up with ever-changing mandates, standards, and civic dialogue regarding history, civics, and all things PreK-12 social studies. At local, state, and national levels, unprecedented analysis and critique of what is experienced in social studies classes is taking place. While it is certainly a time of stress for social studies and history teachers as their approaches are scrutinized by the public, it is a time of opportunity for us as professionals to demonstrate our systematic and broadly idealistic approaches to our craft. Coexisting with the climate of misinformation and mistrust in the realm of history and social studies education is the truth that many of our students, colleagues, family members, and even us continue to negotiate the impacts of COVID-19. It has been an unprecedented academic year for everyone, though it is acknowledged it has been far more difficult for some than for others. As we begin an uneven emergence from a global pandemic, please reach out to your networks—both personal and professional—for support. While our job responsibilities have never been more diverse or challenging, we take comfort in knowing the challenges we face will ultimately make us better for it.
In this issue, we report to you:
*Updates regarding the Social Studies learning standards, K-12 *Information regarding the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) annual conference and the NCSS statement regarding Critical Race Theory *Ways you can integrate cultural experiences into your teaching of Illinois Learning Standards *Oxford RoundTable Sessions, Oxford England *Resources for Early-Childhood and Early-Elementary teachers seeking social-studies oriented literature for their students.