Civics education is crucial to engaged citizenship

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The Founding Fathers believed the main role of public education was not workforce development, but to create citizens prepared for informed participation in American democracy. Without this, they feared the nation might dissolve. Never have the founders looked more prescient.

Civics Education is More Important than Ever

Rather than seeking to raise a generation of political activists and community organizers, civics programs should instill an informed love of our country based on the nation’s founding, how our system of government works, and what Americans have achieved – together with our many failings – since the nation was created.

When ignorance and violence are permitted to trump justice

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This week marks the 65th anniversary of the murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year old black boy from Chicago who was killed by two white Mississippians for whistling in the presence of a white woman.

Easthampton High Scores A National Educational Victory During The COVID-19 Pandemic

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This spring, Massachusetts’ Easthampton High School was crowned national champion in the “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” contest. The competition brings together about 1,200 students from across the country to answer civics questions based on America’s Founding Documents including the U.S. Constitution; The Federalist Papers; and U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

To Keep Our Republic, American Students Must Study The French Revolution

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By Jamie Gass and Will Fitzhugh This op-ed appeared in The…

How Massachusetts Showed the Way on Education Reform

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By Jamie Gass & Charles Chieppo Read this op-ed in The…

Remember Poland’s Working-Class Revolt Against Communism

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This op-ed appeared in The Springfield Republican, The Standard-Times…

Op-ed: Time is right to study Jefferson in our schools

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By Jamie Gass and Will Fitzhugh "Students of reading, writing,…

Op-ed: Our schools ignore US history at our peril

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By Tom Birmimgham | Nov. 30, 2017 State must make good on requirement…

Op-ed: It’s Time to Strengthen—Not Reduce!—History in Our Classrooms

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By Tom Birmingham This op-ed appeared in the print edition…

Op-ed: Students should know the name Fannie Lou Hamer

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This op-ed has appeared in WGBH News and The Berkshire Eagle. October…

Op-ed: Let’s return to educational liberty

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Read this op-ed in The New Bedford Standard Times, The Lowell…

Op-ed: Marshall Plan brought U.S. to apex of power

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By Jamie Gass June 5, 2017 “The cost of war in human…

Op-ed: The Great Statesman Cicero Presides Over The Ides Of March Forever

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“How I could wish that you had invited me to that most glorious…

Op-ed: Slaving history must not be forgotten

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Read this op-ed in The New Bedford Standard Times, The Lowell…

Op-ed: Teaching children assures that we will never forget

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Our schoolchildren need to learn Elie Wiesel’s wisdom, and the tragic events of the Holocaust, but they largely don’t. Wiesel's book Night is not an “exemplar text” in the nationalized K-12 standards, Common Core... Despite the post-World War II pleas to “never forget,” we are forgetting, and so are our children.

Op-ed: Teaching American History: A Straightforward Fix For The Bay State

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Read this full article on WGBH News.  THOMAS BIRMINGHAM It’s…

Op-ed: State should revive US history requirement

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To teach students how to exercise the rights and responsibilities associated with active citizenship in a democracy, Massachusetts should revive the requirement that public school students pass a US history MCAS test to graduate from high school.

Column: The last of ‘The Last of the Mohicans’

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Public school children are unlikely to read "The Last of the Mohicans," a masterpiece of American literature, thanks to Common Core's emphasis on "informational texts."

Guest Opinion: Don’t let Challenger disaster, space race become lost

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(Note: This op-ed originally appeared on the anniversary of the…

Gass: On Veterans Day, Learning from ‘Black Jack’ Pershing

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This op-ed has appeared in The MetroWest Daily News, The Taunton…

Op-ed: K-12 educational focus on government, civics must be restored

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John Boehner’s resignation as speaker of the U.S. House of…

Op-ed: We must teach hard historical truths of Emmett Till’s murder

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This week marks the 60th anniversary of the murder of Emmett…

OP-ED: Lincoln’s Assassination and U.S. History

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Read the full op-ed on The Springfield Republican Editorial Page  and…

New Bedford Standard Times: Otis’ fiery speech a clarion call to teachers

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This op-ed originally appeared in The Lowell Sun, Worcester Telegram…

MetroWest Daily News: “Gass: State flunking the history test”

To ensure that knowledge of events like the War of 1812 would be passed on to successive generations, we must make passage of a basic U.S. history MCAS test a high school graduation requirement.

Fall River Herald News: Mass. students miss out on Native American history

Understanding the complexity our country’s Native American past requires knowing U.S. history. Preferring softer 21st century skills like “media awareness” and “systems thinking” to academics, the Patrick administration in 2009 postponed a requirement, starting with the class of 2012, that Massachusetts public school students pass a U.S. history MCAS test to graduate from high school.

Taunton Gazette: The history behind what Brown, Warren were fighting for

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BOSTON — The campaign between U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and challenger…