Classrooms across the U.S.—from kindergarten to college—are today more diverse than ever.
Looking at what these demographics mean within the field of education, Professor of History Laura McEnaney worked closely with Daniel Diaz ’01, director of the UCLA History-Geography Project, to produce the 2019 Teaching History Conference at UCLA.
The conference, which brought together hundreds of K-12 social studies teachers and higher education professors from across the country, engaged the question: what can culturally relevant and inclusive teaching look like in history and social classrooms across the K-16 continuum?
“We chose this theme because we wanted to open up a conversation about teaching history in a way that goes beyond the diversity paradigm,” said McEnaney, who also serves as vice president of teaching for the American Historical Association. “We have to figure out who our learners are and what they bring to our classrooms. We have to figure out what they need and we need to be talking about race and education instead of just the word ‘diversity.’”
The conference enabled participants—as history educators across all levels—to start having those conversations and make an impact on the future of teaching.
Diaz, who graduated from Whittier with a degree in history, went on to receive a master’s degree in education from Claremont Graduate University and an Ed.D. in educational psychology from the University of Southern California. He has taught high school social studies in Los Angeles County for 12 year. “Working with Daniel was a joy,” said McEnaney. “It is so gratifying to see a former student ‘do their thing’ and partnering with him reminded me of how much higher education professors can learn from folks who are working in the K-12 universe.”
At the conference, McEnanaey was joined by her Whittier colleagues Associate Professor of History Natale Zappia and Associate Professor of Education Lauren Swanson, as well as four of her students: Carlos Gonzalez '19, Amelia Gregorio '21, Madeline Kirkwood '19, and Alicia Pennypacker '19.
