The History Matters Campaign is a project of the Knowledge Matters Campaign. It’s podcast launch day! We’re thrilled to debut the History Matters Podcast, a new, eight-part series that envisions an expanded role for high-quality history instruction in the elementary grades. We’re kicking things off with a twofer: Episodes 1 and 2 are both available today!
Our latest podcast explores the pursuit of historical knowledge across multiple dimensions, from the joy it brings young learners to its acceleration effect on student literacy. It also stresses the vital role historical knowledge plays in the foundational purpose of American schools: preparing young students for citizenship in adulthood. We pair these inspiring visions with evidence from schools and districts that are successfully teaching high-quality history lessons today.
I jumped at the chance to host the History Matters Podcast because I’m passionate about the possibilities for elementary history instruction—despite the obstacles and challenges we face. It’s hard to resist the optimism and energy of the groundbreaking teachers, curriculum developers, and learning experts whose insights make for an engaging podcast season.
This is a big day for our History Matters Campaign, which we launched earlier this year to get the conversation started about why we need to teach history in the elementary grades. We wanted to put a finer point on what we mean by “background knowledge” and inspire educators with what excellent history instruction can do.
Our first two podcast guests do just that. In Episode 1 (“Cultivating Citizenship”), author Robert Pondiscio offers a brief history and bright vision for the future of history education in American elementary schools. In Episode 2 (“Content Is King”), Sean Dimond of the Core Knowledge Foundation shares his experiences as a classroom teacher and insights as a curriculum developer.
Subscribe to the History Matters Podcast
I hope you will listen and subscribe! Each episode is less than 20 minutes long and available on all major podcast platforms. New episodes drop every Tuesday through early November.
This is seriously fun content that shines a light on what’s possible. Join us as we explore history’s singular power to serve literacy and civic goals, teach standards, and catch and hold students’ interest.