By Risa Gluskin
Do you ever feel concerned about the place of history education in Ontario schools? Many of us have heard stories of principals who dismiss the discipline in its entirety. Some of us feel that our departments aren’t valued as much as math or science.
We need to do a better job of promoting the benefits of studying history. To that end, OHASSTA has endorsed the values of history statement by US organization History Relevance.
Rachel Collishaw, President of OHASSTA, says:
In keeping with Article 3.1 of our constitution to promote the study of History, Canadian & World Studies and Social Sciences & the Humanities in Ontario, we have decided to endorse the History Relevance Value Statement. As history educators, we believe and know that history is valuable, but we often struggle to convey that value to our students, their parents, our colleagues, and our administrators. By endorsing the value statement, we are joining a global movement of history educators, professionals and communities who are using the same language to promote the study of history. In this time of both populism and truth and reconciliation, it’s more important than ever to clearly articulate why we are teaching and learning and doing history in Ontario classrooms.
Here is History Relevance’s Call to Action:
We hope to begin a conversation amongst Ontario teachers about how to go about this process and how we can use the values of History Relevance.
If you have comments, please send them to me at risa@cabal.org and I will share them.
