Social Studies
America Uncensored: High School U.S. History Part 1 of 2
In Part 1, students learn U.S. history from the Indigenous nations through Reconstruction while considering the experiences of Americans of different races, sexes, genders, sexual orientations, religions, classes, and national origins.
14-17
year olds
2-15
learners per class
Charged upfront
Meets 2x per week
Over 16 weeks
45 minutes per class
Available Times
Pacific
Available Times
Pacific
Description
Class Experience
There are multiple learning goals for this class. The primary goal is that students gain a broader knowledge of U.S. history and an understanding of America's past based on perspectives of different groups of Americans, as well as how events, practices, and beliefs of the past continue to shape current policy, systems, and society. Students will learn to analyze and contextualize primary and secondary sources, and will practice critical thinking, analytical, writing, and communication skills as they come to their own conclusions about the historical narrative and who should control it.
I am currently enrolled in my final course through the Pace University-Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History master of arts in American history program. In addition, I have bachelor of arts degrees in English, journalism, and political science. I was the director of a social justice center for three years during which time I routinely taught about and facilitated conversations about historical and current political events for both teen and adults participants. I have been teaching history, social studies, and English Language Arts classes for the past five years.
Each class meeting will end with a reading and journal assignment to be completed before the next class. At the end of each week, students will have a one-page essay to complete offering an analysis of the past week's topic based on a prompt. An estimated two to four hours will be needed each week to complete the reading and writing assignments.
Learners will need either electronic or paper copies of the following books. These are the same books learners will use in Part 2 of "America Uncensored: High School U.S. History." – An Indigenous People’s History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz – A Queer History of the United States for Young People by Michael Bronski – Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jayson Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi – She the People: A Graphic History of Uprisings, Breakdowns, Setbacks, Revolts, and Enduring Hope on the Unfinished Road to Women’s Equality by Jen Deaderick
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
For students who need a final grade/letter of completion, this is how the final grade will be calculated: Class Participation (Attendance and Discussion): 25 Percent Journal: 25 Percent Essays: 50 Percent
1 hour 30 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 2 - 4 hours per week outside of class.
The content covered in this class will include colonization, slavery, genocide, war, disease, death, and oppression. The historical realities of U.S. history are disturbing to almost all students, but may be especially difficult for some learners. Please consider whether your learner is ready to grapple with this content before enrolling. In addition, this class will address the diversity of the experiences of being an American. Students will be learn about the experiences of people of different religions, races, genders, sexes, and sexual orientations. We will explore the experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community during each era of American history. There will also be mentions of sexual assault and sexual exploitation in the content. These mentions will not be graphic and will be discussed in as age-appropriate manner as possible. We will also explore current debates around teaching American history. This will include a discussion of “critical race theory” and legislation that aims to or has banned it in public schools. Exploring American history always leads to connections with current events. Students will be encouraged to make these connections and this will lead to conversations about current political debates. My objective when this happens is to facilitate a civil, thoughtful, learner-led conversation in which students arrive at connections through their own analysis. This class is not available for learners younger than age 13, even if they are advanced readers, because of age-appropriateness of the content. For younger learners, please consider my "A Young People's History of the United States" class at this link: https://outschool.com/classes/a-young-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-v0ZVhgCE?usid=0HS5Mu13&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link
– A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn – An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz – A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski – A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen – An African American and Latinix History of the United States by Paul Ortiz – A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross – Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi – She the People: A Graphic History of Uprisings, Breakdowns, Setbacks, Revolts, and Enduring Hope on the Unfinished Road to Women’s Equality by Jen Deaderick – The American Yawp (https://www.americanyawp.com/index.html) – A True History of the United States by Daniel A. Sjursen – Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools by Jonathan Zimmerman – School Book Nation by Joseph Moreau – We Were There, Too! Young People in U.S. History by Phillip Hoose -- Lies my Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
Teacher
Beth FosterThe Foster Woods Folk School, Teaching the Humanities Within an EcoSocial Justice Framework
🇺🇸
Lives in the
United States286 total reviews
225 completed classes
About Me
From ancient times, humans have used stories to better understand themselves and their place in the universe. Stories explain our past and how we can create a better time and world for ourselves and those who will come after us. This is the heart...
