@bgillis
Historian of early America and the British empire. Director of Teaching and Learning for the American Historical Association and Associate Prof. of History at Lamar University (on leave). Opinions are my own and not those of my employers.
Good morning! Texas is revising its K-12 social studies standards (TEKS) for 5.5 million kids, & the State Board of Education (SBOE) is meeting today to discuss their progress today. I will be live-tweeting (posting?) about anything that concerns social studies. Follow this thread for updates!
And here is her subpoena to testify before the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol, noting that “you assisted in organizing the rally” on Jan 6.
The same Megan Powers was Operations Manager for Scheduling and Guidance for the Women for America First rally at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021. 3/4 www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia...
Megan Powers is listed as the America250 General Contractor and “Person in Charge of the Event” for the military parade to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Army (that also happens to be the President’s birthday). 2/4 wtop.com/wp-content/u...
The person who submitted the National Park Service permit application for the June 14 military parade in DC also helped organize rally on January 6, 2021. 6600 soldiers, tanks, and helicopters marching from the Pentagon toward the Capitol—what could possibly go wrong? 1/4
Ever wonder how American history is taught in our public schools?
The @historians.org just published a report that answers your question. I discussed its findings with @bgillis.bsky.social, the Director of Teaching and Learning at the AHA.
LISTEN: directory.libsyn.com/episode/inde...
Applying for a regional subaward is a two-step process: submit a Notice of Intent, and eligible projects will be invited to apply.
Proposals for a first round of awards with periods of performance of up to 12 months are due May 1, 2025.
www.historians.org/community-ca...
The Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Mid-Atlantic/US Territories Region @historians.org welcomes applications for grants of up to $25,000 to organizations that plan to integrate the Library’s resources into education programs, teaching materials, and other related projects.
For the full review, scroll to #America250 is here. Are we ready?: www.historians.org/perspectives...
"If the excerpts screened in New York (about 2% of the film’s total run time) provide any indication, the finished film will foreground some of the most innovative and accomplished scholars of the revolutionary era." #America250 ↩️
"Balancing careful history with compelling storytelling,” the American Revolution doc “seems poised to make an ambitious gamble that television audiences will welcome: an account of the revolution that embraces the complexity, contingency, and nuance of a period rife with contradictions.“ ↩️
Ken Burns is in Virginia this week for previews of his forthcoming six-part documentary series "The American Revolution." I attended a special plenary roundtable about the film at the 2025 American Historical Association Annual Meeting and wrote up a brief review for Perspectives on History. 🧵↩️
We are so pumped to be joining forces with LoC, NCHE, Waynesburg University, Middle Tennessee State, Illinois State, and Metropolitan University of Denver to support worthy organizations in their efforts to teach with and through primary sources.
Exciting news: @historians.org (the AHA) is the new Mid-Atlantic/U.S. Territories regional partner for the Library of Congress TPS grant program. In this role, we will award subgrants of up to $25k to organizations across our region (DE, DC, MD, NC, VA, WV, AS, PR, NMI, GU, USVI).
On the governor’s desk awaiting signature, HB 1060 mandates instruction on the limitations of communism and autocracy, but fails to distinguish between the two. It’s also hazy about the difference between democracy and representative government. arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail...
Text of Arkansas House Bill 1060, which stresses the “natural deterioration of democracies into autocracies over history”
Meanwhile in Arkansas, new legislation would require public schools instruct students about “The natural deterioration of democracies into autocracies.”
NCHE and EuroClio are hosting a discord hangout to mark International Day of Education (Jan. 25). Excited to hear from Jennifer Baniewicz (Amos Alonzo Stagg High School) and other educators from around the world as part of "Perspectives from Three Nations.”
In September, @historians.org published American Lesson Plan, a landmark study on the US history instruction in secondary schools nationwide. Join us at #AHA25 for a panel on What High School Teachers Teach About US History with David Blight, George Sanchez, Brenda Santos, and Whitney Barringer.
The AHA @historians.org is proud to offer free conference registration for public school teachers in New York City. Instructional staff are eligible to register at no cost for the Annual Meeting of the AHA, Jan. 3-6, 2025, in NYC. #historysky #iteachsocialstudies #edusky #sschat
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for sharing this terrific postdoc @jcblibrary.bsky.social! I'm testing your generosity here but would love to also share that we have TWO additional senior research fellowships for BROWN2026. Details at apply.interfolio.com/159128 and see number 2 below for terms... 1/
What's next for history in higher education? Join us at 3:00 PM ET on Dec. 6 for a free online event. I'll discuss the legislative and policy landscape for history education, both nationally and in the states, with Jeremy Young (PEN America) and AHA colleagues. www.historians.org/event/whats-...
Thousands of objects, remarkable and mundane, were in motion as the British American colonies moved toward revolution. All are portholes letting us see the history of the revolutionary era from new and unexpected angles. Call for pitches: www.historians.org/opportunity/...
What object or artifact do you use to capture compelling aspects of the American Revolution and its global legacies? Submit a pitch to the American Historical Review for a special issue called '76 Objects, featuring short essays about material traces of revolution from the US and abroad.
Excited for a panel about American Lesson Plan at #NCSS2024 in Boston with Jim Grossman, Jennifer Morgan, and David Blight. We will discuss what we learned about how teachers teach, and steps the social studies community is taking to inform policymakers about what actually happens in the classroom.
Kate Brown and I will be sharing insights and strategies for teaching #America250 at #NCSS24 #NCSS2024 in Boston. Come join our conversation!
Executive director James Grossman and @bgillis.bsky.social have a busy schedule at the 2024 @ncssnetwork.bsky.social Annual Conference in Boston, with sessions on the AHA's report American Lesson Plan: Teaching US History in Secondary Schools and more. 🗃️
This year's cohort theme is “Resilience in the History Classroom," and participants will use small group discussions as a jumping off point for sampling from the more than 500 sessions on the conference program. Space is limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
The Content Cohort for K–16 Educators will allow participants to build a community through which to explore #AHA25, the largest gathering of professional historians in the world.
Our goal is to facilitate collaboration across a range of institutions to engage and collaborate with each other.
What does resilience look like in the history classroom?
The Content Cohort for K–16 Educators offers a new way for teachers to experience the American Historical Association annual meeting Jan. 3-6, 2025, in New York City.
www.historians.org/events/annua...
“Critics of public schools have accused them of teaching students to hate America…. But a new study from the American Historical Association suggests that such criticisms are overblown, even unwarranted.”
@ahahistorians.bsky.social American Lesson Plan in Forbes: www.forbes.com/sites/peterg...
