June 26, 2018 Today, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously voted to approve and adopt the 2018 revision of the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework. Congratulations to Dave Buchanan, Sue Wheltle, Heather Peske, and to the entire History and Social Science curriculum framework review panel for their hard work and dedication […]
Full (Complete) Statement from Gorman Lee, Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies, to MA Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
05/22/2018 by Leave a Comment
May 22, 2018 Good morning. My name is Gorman Lee of Boston, Massachusetts. I started my teaching career in Massachusetts in 1993. I taught in Medford and Braintree, and currently serve as the K-12 Director of Social Studies for the Braintree Public Schools. I am also the Director of Professional Development Programming and past […]
Participate in Mass Council’s Legislative Day at the State House on Wednesday, March 29, 2017!
01/27/2017 by Leave a Comment
The Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies (Mass Council) recently held a Legislative Day to advocate, promote, and support social studies education in our public, private, and charter schools at the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday, March 29, 2017. Twenty educators (both active and retired), college/university faculty, and interested stakeholders scheduled and met with over 35 […]
Reaction to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election
11/14/2016 by Leave a Comment
After taking some time for my own reflection on the historic political events that have occurred this past week, I thought I would share some articles and remind you with some sage advice: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/teachers-lounge-teaching-politics-in-the-age-of-trump/ http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/11/11/501604685/teaching-after-trump You can remind students about the fundamental principles of limited government, separation of powers, and system of checks and balances; […]
Maps, Maps and More Maps
04/24/2016 by Leave a Comment
Here comes a reason to actually use that fancy projector the tech staff had installed in your classroom. Go to the library if you don’t yet have one. The David Rumsey Map Collection is online, ready for you to use freely. This link goes to an article about the release of the collection, but go […]
Bridge of Spies is a Time-Piece!
10/27/2015 by Leave a Comment
We have all seen period films and realize that their historical accuracy often leaves much to be desired. Having just viewed Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies recently, I fully recognize that there were some liberties taken with events, dialogue, and so on. However… a huge “However”… this film does not take liberties at all in the […]
The Boys in the Boat
10/20/2015 by Leave a Comment
Author Daniel James Brown met Joe Rantz only in the last weeks of Joe’s life, but asked Joe and his daughter if he could write Joe’s story. Joe said no, but that he could write the story of all the boys in the boat, the crew team from the University of Washington which developed its […]