Great word Bryan!!!  I have the mindset that we need all different political parties to work together to make a better "union".  We need to work with each other and hear each other out despite our disagreements and different perspectives.

My biggest takeaway is this.  I'm going to keep my focus this year on letting kids decide what they see in the evidence.  I'm also going to really be strong on norms for an intelligent, and civil discussion. If I teach one thing to kids this year it's going to be how to listen to someone with a different point of view, and convince kids that differing ideas are not "wrong ideas."

I love the idea of simplifying the focus on the evidence and how to have a civil discussion.

I agree, Bryan. And I especially enjoyed watching the exchange between Jane and Rodney and how they answered each other's questions. Very educational for the listeners. A great model of discourse. 

Creating multiple ways to "talk" - Socratic Seminars, fishbowls, circles, Padlet discussion boards, etc. I think a lot of it starts with some of what we discussed yesterday in the engaging conversations by starting with small, low risk contributions to build up to the heavier stuff. Relationships are key so people feel safe to share. I think also reiterating the imperfect/unfinished piece can help students say "I don't know" or "I'm not sure yet".

The idea of "British-Americans", their loyalties, and the diaspora that occurred.  What does it mean to be loyal to a country/nation/government?   During my education, from elementary through college, the topic of those who did not support the revolution was barely discussed. Because the American Revolution is so familiar to high school students, I can see how a discussion of this topic  prior to discussing various wars throughout world history may foster a greater interest in and understanding of the two (or more) sides in the conflicts we will cover in class. 

It's a fact that Washington and Jefferson enslaved human beings. It's also a fact that, as Jan Kamensky said, "they led a bold and brilliant and world-changing experiment in liberty and equality." These facts are irreconcilable within these human beings and in the founding of this republic. Realities clashed with the republic's founding ideals. I see that as the major theme of American history. I see today's struggles as a clash between those who want to continue trying to live up to the ideals of liberty and equality, and those who want to discard the ideals as archaic and needless, except as propaganda tools. 

That's a fantastic idea, DAWN MERKLE ! It wouldn't matter about chronology or world zone because students would already have some of the content knowledge to build on. 

AND, this discussion doesn't make me feel less pride for my country.  I'm not going to "take a knee" because I learned of a different point of view.  People take a knee because we're NOT discussing the things we need to talk about.   Funny, in CWP we teach what EACH SIDE of a conflict was coming from.  Not when we teach about American history.

I loved the idea of presenting the American Revolution through image analysis. It would be great to have a central place where the images Jane used could be found.

I was also reminded of the power of focusing on "a more perfect union" and the idea of not ever reaching the true perfection of the ideals laid out in the Declaration of Independence.