What's the Big Idea?
A podcast about big ideas in education. Tune in to listen and think, then respond on Instagram @BigIdeaEd and Bluesky @dankearney
What's the Big Idea?
Teaching the Election and Civic Engagement
In which Dan talks about how teachers can feel prepared and empowered to teach and talk about the upcoming election. He's joined by Erica Hodgin from Facing History & Ourselves, truly the gold standard for approaching difficult history and civic topics in K-12 classrooms.
This election will bring unique opportunities and challenges for all teachers (not just social studies teachers!) and meeting this moment means thinking about ourselves, our classrooms, and how we'll foster civil discourse when emotionally charged topics come up.
Even more than that, Erica discusses why it's vital to engage young people in the democratic process and civic life beyond textbooks.
Mentioned in the episode:
From Facing History
- Civic education landing page
- Democracy in Action: Teaching about the 2024 Election & Educating for Civic Participation
- Teaching about Voting and Elections
- Back to School Toolkit
- Fostering Civil Discourse Guide
- Teaching Resources for US Elections Collection
- Democracy and Current Events Toolkit
Music: We Have a Tripod
