Teaching History With Fidelity in an Uncertain, Politicized Climate

This conversation explores educators’ challenges and strategies in teaching history amidst changing state guidelines and societal expectations. The panel discusses the importance of balancing required content with diverse perspectives, the role of storytelling in engaging students, and the necessity of fostering critical thinking skills. Each educator shares insights on how to navigate these complexities while preparing students for active citizenship.

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Andrew Swan is a devoted middle-school teacher who has worked at Bigelow Middle School in Newton, Massachusetts for over 20 years — currently as an 8th grade Civics teacher. He keeps striving for the ‘perfect’ lesson and the secret sauce that works for every student. Andrew is the author of many books on pedagogy that remain rattling around his head (for now).

Agustina S. Paglayan is a political science and public policy professor at the University of California, San Diego, and a nonresident fellow at the Center for Global Development. She is an expert in the interplay between politics and education.​ Her research has received numerous awards from the American Political Science Association for deepening our understanding of democracy, autocracy, political economy, political history, public policy, and labor politics. Her findings have been featured in The Economist, NPR, the Washington Post, and other media. She has consulted for the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

In her new book Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education (Princeton University Press, 2024), Paglayan shows that education systems in the West emerged not from democratic ideals or industrialization needs but from governments’ desire to control citizens.

Tyler Bonin is the Civics Education Specialist at the Goldwater Institute’s Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy. Prior to joining the Institute, Tyler managed marketing efforts at State Policy Network and the Classic Learning Test (CLT). While at CLT, Tyler created and produced the Anchored podcast, a top-ranked program focused on conversations at the nexus of education and culture, with such guests as Cornel West, Robert P. George, Heather Mac Donald, Glenn Loury, and more.

Additionally, Tyler taught and developed curricula in history and economics at Thales Academy, a network of private classical academies in the Southeastern United States. He was also a lecturer at Judson College at Southeastern, where he taught in a program for college students seeking careers in education. Tyler holds degrees from Campbell University and Duke University.

Patrick Riccards is the CEO of the Driving Force Institute, the nation’s largest producer of American history education films. DFI currently has more than 60 million users worldwide.

Robert Pondiscio is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute where he focuses on K–12 education, curriculum, teaching, school choice, and charter schooling. He is also a former New York City public school teacher and the author of many books, including “How the Other Half Learns: Equality, Excellence, and the Battle over School Choice” (Avery, 2019), about Success Academy Charter Schools.