Upcoming Trainings
Scroll down to see all our available trainings and workshops. If you have questions regarding the posted trainings and workshops contact Paul Bonnici at 919.962.1544 or bonnici@unc.edu.
Teaching Hard History: Slavery, Reconstruction and Lasting Legacies
A FREE workshop for 8th– 12th grade teachers
Friday May 17, 2019 – Saturday May 18, 2019 at the North Carolina Museum of History
Thank you for your interest in the Teaching Hard History workshop. This workshop is currently full. To be added to the waitlist, please email Paul Bonnici at bonnici@unc.edu with your school name, grade and subjects taught, and county you teach in. You can also request to be added to the Carolina K-12 mailing list to ensure you are alerted when registration opens for future Carolina K-12 events. All applicants will be notified about their status on March 21st.
…All our terrible and beautiful history [can seem like it binds us down, that we are] doomed to an unimaginable unreality. I prefer to believe that the day is coming when we will tell the truth about it – and ourselves. On that day…we can call ourselves free men. ~James Baldwin
America has a complicated past, with racial inequality being at the heart of much of the nation’s “hard history,” from the enslavement of millions of black people, to racial subordination and violence throughout Reconstruction and Jim Crow. And while civil rights activists have resisted and challenged racist laws, structures, and practices throughout history and into the present, a legacy of inequality persists – the realities of which are often avoided in the K-12 classroom. It is essential that teachers learn, discuss and responsibly teach about our “hard history” to ensure students understand the implications of our past and are empowered to address the challenges of the present.
Teachers in grades 8 – 12 are invited to join Carolina K-12 and the NC Museum of History for a FREE two-day workshop, “Teaching Hard History: Slavery, Reconstruction & Lasting Legacies.” The agenda will provide a mixture of historical content, including the realities of slavery, Reconstruction, lynching, and Jim Crow, as well as pedagogical skills, techniques, and protective measures teachers can employ when addressing “hard history” and potentially controversial current events. Since race (though often ignored in K-12 curriculums) is central to exploring American history, culture, and modern issues, specific time will be provided for teachers to explore the complicated subjects of identity, race, racism, and white privilege. In a time when everything, from discussions of our past to debates of our present, feels particularly fraught with discomfort and controversy, attending educators will also have the opportunity to explore and together work through their challenges (and even fears) of teaching in today’s often polarized classrooms.
Teachers will also be given time to explore the NC Museum of History’s new exhibit on Reconstruction, Freedom! A Promise Disrupted, North Carolina, in order to consider both the content presented and the use of primary sources as a teaching strategy for “hard history,” and will also experience the magic of singer Mary D. Williams, who will illustrate how music can be a strong tool for addressing difficult topics with students. Friday evening will include dinner and a special performance of Mike Wiley’s Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till, after which teachers will participate in a discussion with Wiley regarding the show and utilizing dramatic arts in the K-12 classroom.
While these two days will certainly challenge participants to critically examine and reconsider difficult aspects of our past and present, the ultimate goal is that participants will leave understanding the importance of engaging in honest conversation and comprehensive teaching about history and its lasting legacies. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, “Avoiding honest conversation about history has undermined our ability to build a nation where racial justice can be achieved. Only by telling the truth about the age of racial terror and collectively reflecting on this period and its legacy can we hope that our present-day conversations about racial exclusion and inequality – and any policies designed to address these issues – will be accurate, thoughtful, and informed.”
Teachers participating in this FREE workshop will receive:
- 2.0 CEUs (with the completion of required pre-readings)
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner on Friday, May 17 and breakfast and lunch on Saturday, May 18
- Single-occupancy hotel accommodations for teachers who meet distance requirements
- Accommodations are available for the evening of Friday, May 17 for teachers traveling more than 80 miles round trip; please utilize mapping software to calculate the distance from your home to 5 E Edenton St, Raleigh, NC 27601 to ensure you qualify for a room.
- Accommodations are also available for the Thursday evening before the workshop’s Friday morning start for teachers traveling more than 350 miles round trip.
- If you do not meet the mileage requirements but have special circumstances for which you would like to request a room, you can inquire by contacting Paul Bonnici at bonnici@unc.edu.
- Substitute reimbursement for school’s who cannot cover the cost. (Upon notification of acceptance to the training, you will receive details for receiving your substitute scholarship. Teachers are eligible for up to two substitute scholarships per calendar year.)
Who can register?
Registrants must be a full-time, currently practicing 8th – 12th grade teacher or curriculum coordinator. Content and topics covered will be most applicable to teachers of social studies and history courses, but any teacher interested in addressing workshop themes in the classroom (such as teachers of English/Language Arts, humanities courses, etc.) can apply to attend. Participants must be able to attend ALL hours of both Friday and Saturday’s agenda (including the Friday evening performance.) Registrants must also commit to completing all pre-readings (listed at the end of the agenda) prior to the event.
Review the tentative agenda here and to register, fill out this form by May 1, 2019. (Please note space is limited to 36 participants, so those interested should registered ASAP.)
This program is funded by The Humanities for the Public Good Initiative in UNC’s College of Arts & Sciences, which supports people, projects, and alliances that manifest and magnify the value of arts and cultural scholarship in public life. Funding is also provided by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.
Cancellation for Carolina K-12 Trainings
Carolina K-12 is dedicated to assisting teachers by providing free trainings, materials, participant meals, etc. Carolina K-12 does not require a deposit or fee to attend our trainings; therefore, we ask that registered participants needing to cancel do so at least one week prior to the training date. Please understand that participants who do not cancel their spot in a timely fashion prevent teachers on the waiting list from participating.
In addition to the free teacher trainings offered by Carolina K-12, educators can also register to attend the numerous seminars offered by the Program in the Humanities and Human Values (the Program.) While these lectures are designed for a general audience and will not include pedagogical training, they are an excellent way for teachers to broaden their content knowledge in various subjects as life-long-learners. Scholarships covering 50% of the tuition are available for all Adventures in Ideas seminars for currently employed full-time teachers, librarians, and administrators in K-12 public and private schools and community colleges. These teacher scholarships for general seminars are made possible by generous donors to the Humanities Program. Check out the listing of general programs offered by the Program in the Humanities & Human Values here. If you see a general program you would like to attend, take the following steps to apply for the 50% discount: Teachers who attend the Humanities Program’s Adventures in Ideas seminars can apply for a $75 stipend via the Daisy Edmister Fund! Visit the Daisy Edmister Fund site for more information. Scholarships for Teachers at Raleigh Charter High School Thanks to a generous gift from Novie Beth Ragan Gad, whose children are graduates of Raleigh Charter, both full and part-time teachers at Raleigh Charter High School are eligible to receive a scholarship to any Humanities Program seminar. Funds will be reimbursed upon successful completion of the seminar. For information, please call 919.962.1544. Carolina K-12 also offers customized trainings for individual schools, school districts, and extra-curricular programs (i.e., 4-H, Youth Councils, etc.) We can also organize a professional development retreat for your group at UNC-Chapel Hill. Costs vary. To learn more about our customization options, as well as our trainings for after school and youth leadership programs, please contact Christie Hinson Norris at 919.843.9387 or cnorris@unc.edu. From Segregation to Civil Rights: A Journey through North Carolina’s History On January 14th, 2008, Carolina K-12 (then named NC Civic Education Consortium) hosted a training for North Carolina history educators on teaching about our state’s diverse past.
Attend the Program in the Humanities & Human Values’ General Seminars at a Discount & Receive a $75 Stipend Post-Attendance!
Custom Trainings
Professional Development Spotlight
