Welcome back! I’m so glad to write to you again, after a summer where I hope you were able to relax, reflect, and recharge. I have long said that back-to-school is one of my favorite seasons of the year, from my time as a classroom teacher and administrator all the way up to my current role as President and CEO of Facing History & Ourselves. There's just something especially invigorating and exciting about this moment. New connections and memories to be made, new learning experiences primed and ready, and new steps to be taken toward the future. The whole world feels primed with possibility in the first weeks of a fresh school year, doesn’t it?
As educational leaders, it’s important to sit in that energy and allow it to inspire you—but also to move with intentionality, to set a strong foundation for your students, teachers, and community for the year to come. While I know you have a lot on your plate right now, I’d like to take this opportunity to propose a few questions that can help guide your priorities through the coming months.
What do students need to be well-prepared for the future?
Our young people are coming of age in an era that often feels unstable. The rapid rise of artificial intelligence has already begun to have major impacts on our day-to-day, from entertainment and the workforce to classrooms and the digital landscape. Whether or not your schools already have formal AI policies, your teachers and students are surely figuring out what it means for their academic lives and futures. With so much misinformation out there, it’s vital to ensure that the next generation realizes they have a real responsibility to think critically about the content they’re consuming (and creating). Prioritizing a true understanding of media literacy for students—one that gives them the ability to parse sources, evaluate biases, and explore patterns—helps teach the skills they need to participate in the technology-driven world they’re about to enter as adults.
However, the goal is for young people to do more than simply be able to live productive lives as members of our society. We want them to become actively engaged in our democracy, upholding its values with pride and thoughtfully advocating for the change they believe in. With the very institutions of our political system on the line, imparting a civics education is essential to helping students understand that they aren't just passive bystanders in their future—they have the agency to shape the kind of world that they want to be a part of.
How do I ensure teachers can help students make sense of the world?
"People make choices. Choices make history." is more than just a catchy phrase we use at Facing History & Ourselves—we believe this in our bones. Part and parcel of teaching students that their decisions have the power to change the world means helping them understand the historical figures, circumstances, and choices that have brought us to this moment in time. In a time of rising hatred when the idea of truth and history means different things to different people, looking back to look ahead is a way to help young people connect their lives and experiences today with what others have undergone in the past. When educators are looking for ways to make these connections in the classroom, they can turn to Facing History & Ourselves.
Our updated Choices in Little Rock unit explores the context and legacy of the 1957 school desegregation crisis in Arkansas, letting students examine the ways that individual action can strengthen and weaken democracy. Our new Sowing Change inquiry uses the history of immigrant farm labor and the 1965 Delano Grape Strike to help students learn more about building community solidarity to spark transformative social change. And lest we forget the importance of engaging the head, heart, and conscience, our recent Teaching Holocaust Literature ELA collection helps educators plan units that utilize fiction and nonfiction narratives to create space for students to grapple with hard questions about human behavior and moral-decision making. And as ever, Facing History & Ourselves professional development opportunities are available throughout the school year—across a wide range of topics—to support the educators in your schools as they guide students to learn, grow, and ultimately discover who they are.
How can I make my schools places where everyone feels safe and thrives?
Of course, none of these incredible learning goals will be possible to achieve if your school communities aren’t inclusive and empowering environments. I don’t have to tell you that the educational landscape is a complicated and often harrowing place right now for students, teachers, and families alike. All you have to do is read the news to see the ever-shifting laws and guidelines, the external pressures, and the heightened climate of polarization. We know that when schools and classrooms have a positive climate, students are more likely to succeed academically and less likely to engage in bullying. On an individual educator level, teachers can leverage our back-to-school toolkit during the first weeks of school to nurture a reflective and student-centered environment that lays the groundwork for a full year of engagement and connection. But in this increasingly complex world, what steps can district leaders take to center humanity and find ways to navigate the difficult conversations that inevitably arise in diverse classrooms full of multiple perspectives and identities?
Last year at this time, Facing History & Ourselves had just begun a long-term partnership with the School District of Philadelphia to help district leaders, educators, and their students empathetically and responsibly engage with contemporary issues. With tailored professional development held throughout the school year—including sessions of Fostering Civil Discourse, Brave Classrooms, and Teaching for Equity and Justice—we connected nearly 1,000 teachers with tangible tools and resources to create supportive, uplifting learning spaces where everyone can flourish and succeed. We’re so proud of the impact that we’ve already been able to have in Philly, and we’re looking forward to connecting with and driving real results in more districts across our nation.
Being an educational leader is a major responsibility, but it’s also a great honor and privilege. As the new school year begins, Facing History & Ourselves is always here to support you as we work together to build a more empathetic and inclusive world—one rooted in respect and democracy, free from hatred and bigotry of all kinds.
About the Author: Desmond K. Blackburn, PhD is President and Chief Executive Officer at Facing History & Ourselves, a national nonprofit organization that works with school systems to use lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. He has spent nearly 30 years as a career educator (teacher, principal, superintendent, adjunct professor, author). To find out how Dr. Blackburn and the Facing History & Ourselves team can support you, contact us today.
