Steven Becton leads Facing History and Ourselves, which was founded in 1976 by a middle school teacher in Memphis, TN, who remembered vividly the signs of segregated public facilities.
Mr. Becton began the session with videos of President Obama and Michelle speaking about how Facing History and Ourselves serves as a valuable model for teaching greater understanding and deep learning.
The organization creates curricula about crucial events in history in which U.S. history was in the balance. Its tied to their academics, but aimed at showing how in critical moments people chose to rise up when they might have stood down.
The curricula take students deeply into case studies so that they see the human dynamics that led to action in the context of the time in which they lived. When taught this way, students become more engaged and ask more questions.
Where this methodology is being employed, attendance and performance improves, Becton explained. He displayed a full screen of resource materials that are available for use by schools, free of charge. The organization also coaches teachers on how to effectively teach the enriched context of the histories being studied.