Our Title is Our Mission
I almost missed the application deadline for the National Social Studies Conference earlier this year, and even after submitting a proposal at the last minute, assumed mine would not be selected. When I learned in the Spring that Everything is a Primary Source was chosen to present in Nashville in December, so began about seven months of preparation, all the while wondering if my mindset, method and approach to podcasting would go over well with my colleagues from all over the country.
Everyone that attended the NCSS Conference did so because we care about our discipline and want the youth of our country to be drawn to social studies instead of away from it. It’s not about teachers’ egos, though, it’s because we know that, along with school libraries, social studies courses are the hubs of schools. Our subjects cross over to all the others, yet as time goes on, the attention they receive from communities diminishes. By focusing on what we already have with us, including—and especially— popular culture, social studies proves how central its teachers are to a student’s full education.
Just like I did here in New Hampshire at our state council’s conference, I used The Wizard of Oz to demonstrate how I teach using irregular primary sources. This hour long session was surrounded on all sides by me talking at my booth about the EPS mindset and method and then demonstrating how I podcast based on the teaching method. Each component of EPS is intentionally versatile and easy to use as to maximize social studies teachers’ effectiveness. Although the decompression period is still ongoing, the overall reactions I received while engaged with fellow teachers and exhibitors is that there is something to this History through Pop Culture approach.
I spoke with some wonderful people from all over the country on and off mic and if I was to boil down all of these interactions into one conclusion it would be this: We social studies educators take our title as our mission. We are dedicated to ensuring the integrity of our society.
Podcast Karaoke Highlights
Teachers and exhibitors alike dropped by to talk about a selected piece of pop culture in order to see what it tells us about history. I predicted a good two days of recording because of the setting and audience, but I wasn’t prepared for just how good it turned out. The full conversations will begin appearing as early as Thursday of this week, and will go through the Spring.