Teaching literacy skills through high-quality trade books that provide diverse cultural perspectives is increasingly difficult due to challenges to teachers' book selections. To meet their professional responsibilities, teachers must select literature they judge effective for developing students' awareness and understanding of others'…

The literature on teaching controversial issues offers a framework to help teachers make appropriate judgments about which topics are worthy of deliberation and what information is reasonable to consider in a classroom. Wayne Journell describes four criteria for evaluating the openness of issues, explains why the behavioral criterion is neither…

When it comes to creationism, it might seem as if the United States is trapped in a century-long culture-war rut. In a sense, the Scopes Trial of 1925 put science itself on trial, and it can seem as if every new dispute over teaching evolution is only a repetition of that famous trial. In truth, however, the power of creationism has ebbed…

As the partisan divide becomes more toxic to civil discourse, the role of science in that conversation also suffers from collateral damage, becoming suspect at best, and marginalized at worse, in terms of its contribution to resolving issues rooted in science having national and global significance. The authors suggest ameliorating that damage by…

Amidst the increased demand for social justice throughout the United States, Carolyn Stoughton, a teacher in a midwestern school district, developed and taught curriculum on gender stereotypes and racial injustice to 2nd-grade students. She received messages from families suggesting her curriculum was inappropriate, pushing an agenda, and…

Avoiding the discussion of controversial topics in U.S. classrooms deprives students of an important part of their learning. Jonathan Zimmerman and Emily Robertson, authors of "The Case for Contention: Teaching Controversial Issues in American Schools" (University of Chicago Press, 2017) say Americans are terrible at having informed,…

Political dissent has played an important role in giving U.S. citizens a voice and promoting justice for all. But too often, Sarah Stitzlein argues, dissent is underappreciated, especially in schools. Stitzlein discusses the obstacles to teaching dissent, particularly political movements seeking to suppress curricula and ideas that are considered…

All modern nation-states have periods of difficult history that teachers fail to address or address inadequately. The authors present a framework for defining difficult histories and understanding what makes them difficult. These events 1) are central to a nation's history, 2) contradict accepted histories or values, 3) connect with present…

The school shooting in Parkland, Fla., in February 2018 led many students to engage in walkouts and other protests during the school day. Some schools supported their actions, while others disciplined students who participated. Alan Singer considers these schools' responses and explains that the social studies standards in many states encourage…

If schools are to prepare students to participate more productively in civic life, schools will need to ensure that they have opportunities to practice the skills of civic reasoning, argues Carol Lee. Yet schools are challenged by the limits in the curriculum and the difficulty of addressing the different types of prior knowledge that students…

In a divisive age, how do we support beginning teachers in taking up the challenge of teaching controversial topics and creating classroom environments that promote civil discourse? For insights, the author looked to the work of teacher educators in Northern Ireland, a region that is still affected by many generations of intense sectarian…

In a time of hyperpolarization and hyper partisanship, preparing students to deliberate about their differences becomes even more important. In this interview, Diana Hess, dean of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of The Political Classroom, describes the challenge of ensuring that students have access to…

As school and district leaders become more aware of how racial bias and racism affects interactions within the schools, some have sought to provide anti-bias training to faculty and staff. Drawing on the research into anti-bias and racial equity training, and their own experiences, Gislaine Ngounou and Nancy Gutierrez explain why it is beneficial…

The authors describe the politicization of the process to revise Michigan's social studies standards from 2005 to the present. In 2005, critics objected to the omission of topics they considered important, even though the content expectations document was not intended to be an exhaustive list of material to be covered. The latest, more limited…

Today's youth increasingly are being expected to engage in civil deliberation in classrooms while simultaneously living in a society with a high level of political incivility. However, teaching students to argue--particularly in oral form--is enormously complex and challenging work. In this article, the authors report on a study of four high…