MA Teacher Kelley Brown on Founding Documents, U.S. History, & Civics

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy and American Federation for Children’s Walter Blanks interview Kelley Brown, an award-winning civics and government teacher at Easthampton High School and former Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Ms. Brown discusses her background as an educator, her work with the “We the People": The Citizen and the Constitution program, and how it helps students engage with America’s Founding Documents, U.S. history, and enduring civic ideals. She examines the nationwide decline in K-12 civics education and how teachers and policymakers can reengage the subject to strengthen our democratic civic knowledge and understanding. Ms. Brown also shares her thoughtful approaches to teaching complex topics such as slavery, race, and equality under rule of law, in ways that honor our history, while addressing how America hasn't always fulfilled its highest ideals. Brown concludes by reflecting on her own civic heroes and heroines from U.S. history and how their examples can inspire students and citizens to become more knowledgeable participants in our republic.