Hi there
…we are so glad you are here. We empower secondary level educators to create dynamic, engaging learning spaces that foster critical thinking.
It's hard to keep going...
When you have a heart for all kids, and just want for them to find their voice...
- Watching dominant personalities and social identities take over class discussions, negatively impacting the psychological safety for those who are marginalized.
- Recognizing the district-provided curriculum only reinforces the power dynamics and systems of social stratification you know need to be dismantled.
- Seeing that quiet kid in the back you know has the loudest mind(and the ideas that would change the whole conversation) never fully contributing, because you and they both know this is a system that wasn’t built for them.
- Trying to use materials from content experts that has the potential to interest and inspire students, but having to spend hours adapting their content into a format that kids will actually respond to.
Don't give up!
Believe me, I was there. For years.
And it was then I got the best advice in all of my teaching career:
Never forget that we are here to teach human beings first, and curriculum second. And the day that your priorities are the other way around is the day you start to burn out.
Which is exactly what was happening.
Ultimately, we want our students to gain the skills they need to become informed and active citizens in a functioning democracy. And to be able to do that, they have to be able to not only think for themselves, but also express those thoughts and (here is the tricky part) listen to and entertain new ideas, allowing their viewpoints to evolve with added information.
about Teaching Dissent
We believe every high school social studies classroom should be a laboratory for democracy.
As educators, we know what teachers need to know about youth activism: how to channel passion into learning, controversy into critical thinking, and discussion into growth. Teaching Dissent provides social studies teacher resources that don’t shy away from the tough topics.
Our mission?
Developing young voices for social activism by equipping teachers with materials that are:
- Academically rigorous yet accessible
- Controversial yet classroom-appropriate
- Historical yet urgently relevant
- Challenging yet supportive
Whether you’re teaching for the first time or you’re a veteran looking for fresh approaches to social activism education, we’re here to support your journey.
Why Youth Activism Matters
Today’s students are tomorrow’s changemakers. By engaging students in social justice issues, we prepare them to participate meaningfully in democracy. Our resources connect historical student protests to contemporary movements, showing that youth dissent has always been a catalyst for progress.
from the blog
