The Secondary History and Social Studies Ed Program Updates
The Secondary History and Social Studies Ed program is wrapping up a busy and productive Fall. We hosted several professional development events to serve current teacher candidates and practicing educators. In September Dr. Laura Muñoz gave an excellent talk based on her book Desert Dreams: Mexican Arizona and the Politics of Educational Equality to a packed auditorium. In October, we co-hosted a Saturday workshop on National History Day with the Arizona Historical Society. In November, Professors Lauren Lefty and Christi Carlson co-led a breakout session for secondary teachers during the Teaching During an Election Year conference hosted by colleagues in the College of Education. Professor Christi Carlson also wrapped up her final year as president of the Arizona Council on History Education and helped organize and run the ACHE annual conference.
The History Education program has also been hard at work preparing a National Endowment for the Humanities-funded teacher institute for summer 2025 entitled “Indigenous Histories of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.” Along with History Department colleagues Eric Meeks and Marcus Macktima, and Institute for Native-Serving Educators (INE) Director Darold Joseph, the institute will invite 25 teachers from across the country to learn with leading historians of borderlands and Native American history, tribal members, and experts in culturally sustaining pedagogy. The institute website is now live (see here for more information), and the application will be open to K-12 educators nationally beginning December 13, 2024.
Finally, we are overjoyed to share that BSEd students and alumni were honored with awards for academic and pedagogical excellence: senior Meagan Engels won the History Department and CAL Outstanding Senior awards, alum Ashley Crose received the Arizona Gilder Lehrman History Teacher of the Year award, and alum Emmett Burnton was chosen for the prestigious Arizona Education Foundation Teacher of the Year award.
