Are you a social studies teacher in Florida? If so, please consider joining us in your state council, and connect with a thousand other social studies across the state. Your state council does a great many things, but it also works to stay connected to the national social studies conversation, and it is active in the National Council for the Social Studies’ House of Delegates. (And you should join NCSS too!).

FCSS House of Delegates Members Steve Masyada, Cherie Arnette, and Jennifer Jolley

During the House of Delegates session, resolutions drafted and sponsored by the Florida Council passed on a straight voice vote. These two resolutions address issues of concern in our field and, we hope, may make some level of difference in the state and national conversation.

Resolution 02-01
Supporting Social and Emotional Learning in School

This resolution addresses the recent research in both civics education and in the broader field on ensuring that students have access to the curriculum, tools, and resources they need to address their social and emotional learning.

Co-Sponsors

Association of Teachers of Social Studies/United Federation of Teachers- New York City 

College and University Faculty Assembly

Early Childhood and Elementary Education Community

Georgia Council for the Social Studies

Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies 

Nebraska State Council for Social Studies

Oregon Council for the Social Studies

Rationale

Research, surveys, and recent developments in Florida and other states suggest that increasingly, students need stronger supports in school in the area of social and emotional learning (SEL). The pressures students face within schools and the broader community are significant, and we must  ensure that they are provided the opportunity to become knowledgeable, responsible, caring members of their communities. Understanding risks, thinking critically, developing empathy, and knowing how to engage in self-care can help students deal with the obstacles to success they face on a day to day basis (1);    

WHEREAS; “Social and emotional learning is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions,” (2); and 

WHEREAS; Florida has recently joined other states in requiring schools to spend time addressing student mental health; and 

WHEREAS; that required time is often less than a full day of school over the course of the year; and 

WHEREAS; research by Levine and Kawashima-Ginsberg (2017) suggests that social and emotional learning should be a significant component of a strong civics program that produces ‘more ethical and effective citizens’; and

WHEREAS; research within the field of social and emotional learning suggests that supporting students in their social and emotional learning by giving them the tools to address their own mental and emotional health, fostering a school culture and climate that allows students to develop empathetic relationships that help them feel both safe and loved, and  providing them the opportunity to practice necessary decision-making skills all comprise elements of a strong SEL program; and 

WHEREAS; integration of an effective SEL program requires integration into the broader school curriculum and culture rather than a stand alone approach that provides less than a full school day of learning; and 

WHEREAS; the National Council for the Social Studies has itself suggested the importance of social and emotional learning, especially for elementary students within the social studies; now

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED; that NCSS should advocate for every state to enact and enforce expectations for an integrated approach to social and emotional learning that draws on the most current research in SEL across all grade levels, so that students are given the opportunity to grow as both participants in civic life and as human beings. We also call for NCSS to develop a guide for teachers seeking to integrate elements of SEL into their own social studies curriculum, addressing the question of how we might align social and emotional learning with our content and our pedagogy.  

References

1. Elias, M. J., Zins, J.E., Weissberg, R.P., Frey, K.S., Greenberg, M.T., Haynes, N.M., Kessler, R., Schwab-Stone, M.E., & Shriver, T.P. (1997). Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
2. From Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) (2019). Overview of SEL. Retrieved 14 Aug 19 from https://casel.org/overview-sel/"

Resolution 04-04
Protecting Student Journalism Against Censorship and Retaliation 

This resolution is of a piece with similiar resolutions passed by other educational organizations across the country. It reflects the importance of democratic practices and opportunities for engaged learning on the part of students, while also encouraging the modeling of democratic principles of behavior when it comes to conceptions of press freedom and student rights. It also encourages us to think upon the legal framework surrounding student free press rights.

Co-Sponsors

Association of Teachers of Social Studies/United Federation of Teachers- New York CIty 

College and University Faculty Assembly

Georgia Council for the Social Studies

Human Rights Education Community

Nebraska State Council for Social Studies

Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies

Oregon Council for the Social Studies

Rationale

Elements of inquiry are increasingly a heavy focus of social studies pedagogy and curricular approaches, and allow for students to engage in the practices of civic life and civic literacy as they gain experience with questioning, disciplinary literacy, research, and informed action, with varying degrees of integration into traditional social studies instruction. Student journalism, which may fall under the auspices of both social studies and language arts, is one area of education that aligns well with these demands of inquiry, and is widely recognized as the gateway to participatory civics. Students working on school-sponsored news media learn irreplaceable civic skills, including evaluating the credibility of information sources, understanding and explaining the workings of government agencies, and gathering facts to support persuasive arguments about issues of social and political concern (1). Indeed, the national C3 Framework, with an inherent expectation of media literacy within the context of inquiry, encourages student voice and choice in the pursuit of civic knowledge and practice. Students are able to do their best journalistic work only in a climate that encourages them to grapple with challenging issues free from fear that they, or their journalism teachers, will face retaliation for unflattering news coverage.   

WHEREAS, consuming and creating news about current events is recognized as a foundational part of an effective civics education; and

WHEREAS, school-sponsored journalistic media provides students with a uniquely effective vehicle to learn and share information about the workings of government; and 

WHEREAS, with the estimated loss of 33,000 jobs at newspapers across America since 2008 (2), student media increasingly serves as the “information lifeline” supplying school news to the entire community (3); and

WHEREAS, students widely report that they are intimidated from using journalistic media to discuss contemporary social and political issues, including one 2016 university-led survey in which 53 percent of female high-school student journalists and 27 percent of male student journalists said they had refrained from writing about a topic important to them, because they feared adverse reaction from school authorities (4); and

WHEREAS, in its 1988 opinion, Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (5), the U.S. Supreme Court established a minimal threshold for freedom of the student press, which over time has proven to be an educationally unsound level of institutional control, irreconcilable with the effective teaching of foundational constitutional principles and values, and has consistently faced encroachment by districts, schools, and even the courts themselves (6); and

WHEREAS, fourteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws extending a modest degree of legally protected press freedom to student journalists above-and-beyond that provided by the Hazelwood decision (7), leaving undisturbed a school’s legitimate authority to withhold material that is dangerous, unlawful, or likely to incite a disruption; and

WHEREAS, strong civic education demands students have the opportunity to practice the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in the pursuit of inquiry; and

WHEREAS, students learn regard for First Amendment principles not just from textbooks and lectures, but from observing first-hand whether fundamental constitutional liberties are valued, respected and practiced by the governmental authority figures in their everyday lives (8); and

WHEREAS, a broad array of civic and educational organizations that value both civic learning and student rights, have called for strengthening the legal protections for student journalists at this time of critical need for civic literacy, including the American Bar Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Society of News Editors, and many others (9); now

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: that NCSS should promote and advocate for laws fortifying the protection of student journalism, so students are guaranteed the freedom to distribute the lawful, non-disruptive editorial content of their choice in school-sponsored journalistic media; students and educators are protected against retaliation for journalistic work that provokes disagreement, challenges majoritarian views, or exposes shortcomings in institutional policies and practices; and administrators, teachers, and students should be educated about the rights and responsibilities of journalists in American society.

Citations

1. Ed Madison, How a journalism class is teaching middle schoolers to fight fake news, THE CONVERSATION (June 5, 2017).
2. Elizabeth Grieco, U.S. newsroom employment has dropped by a quarter since 2008, with greatest decline at newspapers, PEW RESEARCH CENTER (July 9, 2019).
3. Frank LoMonte, A free press shouldn’t stop at the schoolyard, CNN.COM (Nov. 29, 2017).
4. Piotr S. Bobkowski & Genelle I .Belmas, Mixed Message Media: Girls’ Voices and Civic Engagement in Student Journalism, GIRLHOOD STUDIES, Vol. 10 at 89-106 (Mar. 2017).
5. 484 U.S. 260 (1988).
6. Dan Kozlowski, “Unchecked Deference: Hazelwood’s Too Broad and Too Loose Application in the Circuit Courts”, Journal of Media Law & Ethics
7. Jennifer Karchmer, Student press freedom laws gain momentum, QUILL (Apr. 16, 2018).
8. University of Kansas researchers have documented a positive correlation between practicing high school journalism in a school where First Amendment values are respected and students’ sense of “civic efficacy,” defined as their belief that they can use their voices to have an impact on social and political issues. The findings are summarized at http://civicsandjournalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Results-hando…

Copies of the endorsement resolutions of the ABA, NCTE and ASNE are available on the website of the Student Press Law Center at https://splc.org/new-voices/&quot

These resolutions, and others adopted on voice vote by the NCSS House of Delegates must still get final approval from the NCSS Board of Directors in the spring.

FCSS sees these resolutions as an opportunity to speak with the voice of our teachers, and to encourage the direction of the national conversation within social studies.

If you have an idea for a resolution you would like to see drafted and submitted, please feel free to contact FCSS Legislative Chair,Dr. Steve Masyada, to see about making it happen!

Civic literacy has long been a concern nationally, and here in Florida, we have worked hard to give our middle school students a strong foundation in civic education. Indeed, 71% of all middle school students scored a 3 or better on the state civic assessment last year. 

That being said, we know that we can always do more. Recently, Florida Governor DeSantis stated that the state would begin assessing the civic literacy of high school students to determine where we stand with that cohort of future citizens. Are there areas of weakness that need to be addressed? This is what the governor’s effort is intended to address.

At this point, implementation of the governor’s desire is being worked out by the experts in Tallahassee. It is likely that students that pass this now-required measure in high school will meet the state’s recently-established college civic literacy assessment, however.

Please be aware that as of now, passage of this yet-to-be-implemented exam will NOT be required for high school graduation or used in teacher evaluations or school grades. It is simply to see where we stand. 

Be sure to watch this space for more information on this new expectation. The Lou Frey Institute will be providing news, information, and resources concerning this new assessment as it is rolled out across the state. We look forward to supporting the governor, and FLDOE, in its efforts and working with teachers across the state in ensuring that Florida continues to lead the nation in civic education and learning!

You can read more about the governor’s civics effort in the Tampa Bay Times and in the Orlando Sentinel.

This is the latest in an occasional series …

CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & engagement here at Tisch College) is searching for a Project Manager. They are looking for someone with advanced project management skills (and ideally a project management certificate) and a commitment to equality, but no prior knowledge of civic engagement is required.

The nascent Center for Equity on Health, Wealth, and Civic Engagement at Tufts University (whose Principal Investigators are Jennifer Allen, Thomas Stopka and I), seeks a part-time Program Coordinator. Our long-term goal is to build a durable center for the study of equity that integrates research from across Tufts, attracts external funds for ambitious projects, generates groundbreaking research, affects the national and global understanding of equity, and offers educational opportunities for Tufts students and others. This work is distinctive in its interdisciplinary breadth, its focus on equity as an ideal rather than inequality as a narrowly defined problem, and its connection to policy, practice and public discussion. We seek a part-time Program Coordinator to oversee implementation of study plans and who will be a key liaison between faculty members, students, and community stakeholders. Under the supervision of the Principal Investigators, the Program Coordinator will coordinate all center activities. Contact me for more information.

Tisch College seeks a VISTA Campus Recruiter— a part-time position recruiting for national service opportunities in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The Recruiter will primarily focus on AmeriCorps VISTA. The Recruiter will create and enact a comprehensive work plan that presents VISTA service opportunities to students at Tufts University. To apply or for more information please contact Sherri Sklarwitz (sherri.sklarwitz@tufts.edu) by December 20^th. Please include the job title (VISTA Campus Recruiter) in the subject line.

Discovering Justice seeks a new Executive Director. Each year, Discovering Justice works with K-8 students and teachers in more than 19 districts across Massachusetts. Discovering Justice provides teachers with civics curriculum, training, and professional development, and also offers experiential field trips and after school programs all designed to provide young people with the knowledge, tools, and resources they need to participate in democracy and extend civic learning into their own neighborhoods and communities.

The  American Academy of Arts & Sciences program on Society and the Public Good seeks a program officer.

A common pattern in the 21st century involves much of the working class shifting from a broad center-left political party toward the right.

One way to measure class is by educational attainment. In Germany, the Social Democrats have lost much of the working class to the right, and the highly educated professions have migrated to the Greens. In the US, where third parties have a much harder time, highly educated people are unlikely to exit the two big parties. Instead, they use their effective voices to dominate at least one party. Recently, the most educated groups have voted Democratic. At one point during the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton led college-educated whites by 5 points, but she trailed Trump among whites who don’t have college degrees by 39 points: 62% to 23%. Democrats would be in big trouble except that race is at least as important as class in the USA, and people of color of all educational backgrounds also tend to vote for Democrats.

What about the UK? Much has been written about the demographics of voters in the recent British elections, but I also like a time-series from the European Social Survey that asks which party people feel “closest” to. This question is asked regularly in even years. It gives you a trend that’s less tied to candidates and specific campaigns.

Above, I show support for Labour, the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats for six educational strata, from less than secondary education to doctoral degrees or the equivalent. The education question changed in 2010, so I have done my best to keep the categories consistent.

In 2002, Labour’s support correlated negatively with education; the Tories did better with people with more education. The Liberals were far behind but drew best from people with university degrees (teachers and other “knowledge workers,” I would guess).

Fr0m 2004-2008, that pattern continued, with the very important change that the Liberals battled Labour for the support of the most educated, who oscillated between those two parties.

In 2012, the classic pattern recurred, with Labour receiving smoothly declining support with educational levels. In 2014 and 2016, Labour did much better with the best educated. In 2018, the most educated voters essentially shifted to the Liberals.

Based on what we know from constituencies’ demographics, it seems that since 2018, many working class English voters switched from Labour to the Tories or stayed home.

(Fremont, CA) I’m saddened by Brexit for personal reasons that I’ll relate below. But first I should offer three caveats.

First, Brexit is not about me. It will affect the residents of the UK and EU; my feelings don’t really matter.

Second, the “remain” side is not self-evidently right, either ethically or practically. There are democratic arguments in favor of withdrawing from the EU. “Leavers” are not simply bigoted or victimized by propaganda. Both of the biggest parties have been divided by the issue. The EU has served some Britons better than others.

And third, the UK election is about much more than Brexit. Austerity is the main policy that has won.

Having said all that, I’ve had a deep, lifelong commitment to European integration–and to a Europe that has Britain in it. My family spent almost half of my first 15 years in London. My primary school, Prior Weston, was situated immediately next to a weedy lot that was still empty because of the bombs of 1940. That was a powerful reminder of the cost of European division.

Britain had entered the European Economic Community by then, and my Christian-Socialist-oriented state primary school embraced the ideal of the EEC. We studied the culture of each EEC member country in turn. I recall the teachers making some prejudiced remarks. Germans ostensibly had no sense of humor, for example. (This is false.) But the overall message was one of interconnection and shared fate.

London was a global city, anyway–a great entrepot. We knew many, many immigrants. The largest share had come from former colonies in the Global South, but many were Europeans. What made London great was its cosmopolitanism, and that has been true since the medieval days of Lombard bankers and Flemish weavers.

When I was a young teenager, now attending a much more conservative independent secondary school, most of my English friends would have denied that they were European. The continent was a foreign place to them, and basically inferior, in their eyes. My English friends would have identified more with the global Anglophone sphere created by British imperialism, and especially with the white-majority countries of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

But I wasn’t British, or European–I was an American in London. And from my perspective, the UK clearly belonged to Europe. Although the little islands had been spared from invasion since 1066 because of a narrow strait, they had participated in all the cultural, economic, diplomatic, technological, sociological and even biophysical developments of the continent as a whole. Even then, I thought it was basically ignorant to distinguish between Britain and Europe.

Years later, sitting by a summer ice cream stand outside of Oslo and watching school children on a field trip, I felt palpably how much the whole scene resembled my childhood in London: the ice cream novelties, the buildings and the park’s layout, the way the kids interacted. If you travel from London to, say, Tuscany, you have changed your milieu. But from London to Oslo or Rotterdam is no distance, culturally.

To build one Europe has always seemed to me a humane and creative project (even though we should acknowledge the barriers around the EU’s perimeter and the often technocratic tendencies in Brussels). Britain–and specifically, England–belongs in the project. It has been more open, more sophisticated, and more humane because it’s been part of “Europe.” And it has shared its own worthy ideals with its European partners.

After today, the EU will go on, but it will be somewhat worse without Britain in it. It’s also hard to imagine the United Kingdom staying united for long. I find this very sad.