Past is Prologue: Teaching Current Events as History

Carly Fox
9th Grade World History Teacher/ 11th Grade US History Teacher
Palo Alto, CA

Taking seriously James Baldwin's proposition that "History is not the past," but in fact "the present," this talk explores what it means to teach not just about the present, but with the present. This approach engages with current events to teach chronological reasoning skills, contextualization, and historiography. It offers examples of how to help students navigate difficult political and personal conversations about the present while modeling ways of teaching and learning that are aware of the past and awake to the current realities of the world around us. Teaching current events can in fact help us teach better history.

Join the conversation.
Have thoughts you'd like to share about this topic or video? Join the Really Current Events Track discussion forum.