Schoolutions: Teaching Strategies to Strengthen School Culture, Empower Educators, & Inspire Student Growth

S3 E4: Humanities in High School: Making History Relevant with Heather Roberts and Tom Bateson

• Olivia Wahl • Season 3 • Episode 4

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Are you dreaming about creating a humanities course for students in your high school? Learn from teachers Heather Roberts and Tom Bateson how to turn that dream into reality! Heather and Tom describe their first-year step-by-step process for designing their co-taught humanities course. They offer detailed strategies alongside struggles and successes to support colleagues in beginning their journey to making history engaging and relevant for learners.

#humanities #highschoolteacher #makinghistoryrelevant #coteaching #planning

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.

Schoolutions – S3 E4: Humanities in High School: Making History Relevant with Heather Roberts and Tom Bateson


[00:00:00] Olivia: Welcome to Schoolutions, where listening will leave you inspired by solutions to issues you or others you know may be struggling with in the public education system today. I am Olivia Wahl, and I am so honored to welcome my guests today, Heather Roberts and Tom Bateson. Let me tell you a little bit about Heather and Tom. Heather Roberts has been teaching for the last eighteen years.

[00:00:28] Olivia: She has taught general English in grades 7-12, as well as Syracuse University's Project Advanced (S.U.P.A.) courses in both public speaking and writing to high school juniors and seniors. Last year was the first time she co-taught with a teacher of another content area, a humanities class that we will focus our conversation around today.

[00:00:50] Olivia: When Heather is not planning or teaching, she can be found cheering at a local sporting event for one of her four children, cooking or baking with her family, reading, hiking, running; or just enjoying the outdoors. Tom Bateson is from New Hartford, New York. He has a bachelor's degree from Utica University and is currently pursuing a master's degree in curriculum and instruction.

[00:01:17] Olivia: Tom is entering his 3rd year of teaching 9th, 10th, and 11th grade social studies. And he coaches football and basketball. I am thrilled to welcome both of you as guests on Schoolutions, Tom and Heather. Welcome. Welcome. 

[00:01:30] Heather: Thank you for having us.

[00:01:31] Tom: Happy to be here!

[00:01:33] Olivia: Yeah. So, I kick off every episode by asking guests who an inspiring educator is from their life. Heather, will you kick us off and share with listeners? 

[00:01:44] Heather: Um, I think one of the people that I, I always look to within our own building even is, um, one of the math teachers that we have, Lisa Szot. Um, and that's because she always has students at the forefront. It is always the first thing on her mind. She's always doing what's best for them.

[00:02:05] Heather: Um, she works really, really hard, and she cares about them in all aspects. And I think that inspires me every day to walk into a building and to see her and the type of work that she puts in every day for them. 

[00:02:19] Olivia: Beautiful, beautiful. Um, Tom, how about you?

[00:02:22] Tom: Um, well, I could, I could go back, and there's a few teachers when I went to high school, one of them was a coach and a teacher, and he kind of, in my mind, made it cool to teach and do all those fun things.

[00:02:36] Tom: And he was always there, and he was an inspiration to me, especially with sports. But as far as teaching, especially, there were just some teachers that had an energy in the room, and you know what like they came in every day with an optimism. And, you know, not one specifically, but those teachers always left an impact on me that made me want to do that.

[00:02:56] Tom: Um, and I still see them every day in our building as well. I mean, there's just some teachers that bring it every day, and like, it just inspires me to want to do that. Um, anybody that does anything with passion to me is inspiring, and I hope I have that same passion when I teach. So- 

[00:03:10] Olivia: You, well, you both do! I have the privilege of hanging out in your classrooms, um, individually, collectively. And you, your journey has totally rocked my world, and I thought I must have you as guests. I have to let listeners know, um, I know this episode is releasing in October, but you are both giving up time this summer, um, to meet and share about, you know, the co-teaching journey that you've embarked upon. 

[00:03:41] Olivia: And what in the world a humanities class is, and how it really benefited, not only the students in your school district, Holland Patent Central School District in Holland Patent, New York, but also you as teachers and educators. So, I always name an issue that I see in public education, and you are the solutions finders, the changemakers that I sought out to speak to it.

[00:04:07] Olivia: I see way too often a total disconnect between the worlds of ELA in high school and content areas. Um, and the district, you know, asked both of you, would you consider teaching a class we’re deeming humanities of where ELA is merged with global studies? Um, and I want to start our episode off inspired by Heather's words.

[00:04:36] Olivia: I printed it out. Heather emailed me this. Uh, so here's just a glimpse into the very, very beginning: “With neither of us having any experience in planning for, or teaching a humanities class before, there was a fair bit of building the plane while flying it that was happening. As we head into our second year of teaching this course, we have been in the thick of further developing our curriculum to be as engaging as possible for our students. The development of this course has been the most meaningful challenge of my career thus far. It pushed me in unanticipated directions, and I am grateful for the opportunity to engage in that journey with both my co-teacher, Tom, and our students.”

[00:05:23] Olivia: Boom! So, I cannot wait for listeners to hear about the magnificence that both of you bring, um, and how you've touched the lives of your students. With that said, Heather, help us understand what in the world a humanities class even is.  

[00:05:39] Heather: So a humanities class combines, um, study of the past in study of history with literature from across the ages. So what we ask is that we study based around concepts that have happened throughout history, and a lot of times, that takes a reorganization of the curriculum.

[00:06:04] Heather: Um, instead of just thinking in a chronological manner, we take the content that needs to be covered for a global studies class or history class, and we take a look at conceptual understandings. And we reorganize, and then we combine that and create a greater depth of understanding with the addition of all different types of literature in reading and writing that can create a much deeper level of understanding for the students.  

[00:06:34] Heather: And we're able to spiral the two together, um, to create a curriculum where both Tom gets to cover the content that he really needs the students to be able to access. And then I get to merge in the skill work that they really need to have to be learners of English language arts at the same time. 

[00:06:55] Olivia: It's brilliant. Um, and I know you, this class launched for the first time in the school district, uh, September of 2022. So you've had a year of this. I guess we'll call it an experiment. Um, and I'm so interested, Tom, to hear from you. You know, what are the benefits that you found? Not just for your students, but also for you together as colleagues? 

[00:07:20] Tom: Well, there's a couple benefits, I think, for students. First of all, um, they're constantly interacting with texts and documents. Um, so differentiation of instruction is made a little bit easier, and it's almost built in because we're always talking about, okay, what reading level are we going to give? And then if we give different options or give choice to students, um, they're always, there's always something for them, right? And they may not all want the same thing.

[00:07:45] Tom: So I think that's also a benefit. Um, and more importantly, the skills cross over. Um, right? A lot of the things that we're doing in social studies, especially now, um, with new initiatives and new standards, is reading and writing based. Um. Our Regents tests are now more reading. Um, there's a lot more writing.

[00:08:05] Tom: And, you know, with, with technology now, everybody's texting and typing, and I mean, there's not as much writing going on. And I think that we need to have more of an emphasis on that, and this allows us to do that. So, the skills cross over 100%. They're building skills. Um, and then for us as teachers, I love doing this because the different perspectives that we add to it, um, I think makes for a better experience for students, but also for me, because um, I might see something a little differently than she does or she might see something that I don't see, um, which makes it easier with some students.

[00:08:41] Tom: Um, and we were discussing this a little bit a while ago. We were talking about how, like, when we confer with students, like, I notice sometimes I go to certain students, and they're like, I want her because she just resonates with them and vice versa.

[00:08:55] Tom: There are some students that I'm like, oh, they just like the way that I explain things, and we have that, right? And we can kind of lean on each other, and there are certain skill sets that she offers that, you know, whenever we're talking about writing, like I'll just defer to her, and it just, it makes us get better value out of our talents, and I think that helps students. 

[00:09:14] Olivia: So I think of the term collective efficacy, and I also think of the term professional capital. Um, both of you have passion that exudes from you and it just seeps into your students. Um, and I know you shared the library or the media center in order to teach this class.

[00:09:34] Olivia: How many students did you have in the humanities class? 

[00:09:36] Heather: Um, we had thirty-two. 

[00:09:38] Olivia: Thirty-two kids, um, and all different, you know, you had from striving to thriving students. And I, I, I just, I cannot shout out enough the way you navigated sharing space, literally sharing the space. Um, you bounced into different classrooms. But Tom, I have to just totally acknowledge that the way you moved throughout this space, oftentimes when I would bounce in, I would struggle to even find you because you gave so much beautiful work time to the students; you were right down at their level.

[00:10:04] Olivia: And so I think we have to acknowledge that all three of us have been entrenched in this world of professional learning with Cris Tovani and Sam Bennett. Um, thanks to the school district bringing brilliance in to nurture, um, relevancy to get kids engaged in the world of, you know, what does it mean to be a historian? What does it mean to be a historian as a reader, writer, thinker, problem-solver? So Heather, help us understand, too; you alluded to it a bit - how have you specifically gone about connecting the worlds of ELA and global studies? Can you speak more to those understandings or the bigger concepts? 

[00:11:03] Heather: So, when we, when we combine English with global studies, um, we try to search for different enduring, um, they're called enduring issues within, like, the New York State Global Studies content. And a lot of times, what we found was that if we planned around these thematically and conceptually, these issues that may be repeated throughout history. 

[00:11:33] Heather: And we looked for a deeper connection, um, across time that that would create a deeper understanding for the students. So, instead of starting with a book and then planning a unit based off of, I want to teach this book; where we begin is okay; what do we need the kids to know? Like, Tom and I would sit down, and I would have a conversation with him, and we'd say, okay, content-wise, I'd say, Tom, what do you need the kids to know?

[00:12:02] Heather: Um, and then we go from from there. So we would then take those, those events and then categorize them also, and maybe rearrange the curriculum. Um, rearrange what things lend themselves better to be taught with each other. And in which ways we think that the students will create a longer-lasting understanding by grouping those concepts or in that content together.

[00:12:33] Heather: Um, once we do that, we start with, okay, well, what are the questions that we can ask the students to strive towards an understanding of - those unit guiding questions? That across all of these, what do they share? What are the questions that it's appropriate for students to ponder throughout an extensive unit that covers all of these pieces?

[00:12:56] Heather: Um, and once we figure that out, and what we want them to really think about and ponder, um, we start thinking in terms of strands. Okay, so what are the big pieces? And what we found, um, and it took us about a half year into the course to figure out that we have to plan this way.

[00:13:17] Heather: So the way we started planning, um, you know, the way we were used to planning - teaching in isolation; ELA, and global studies. We found out halfway through the year there was a better way to do it, um, which, you know, trial and error. And like I said, we're kind of building the plane while we're flying it, but we got there eventually.

[00:13:40] Heather: Um, and we figured out that if we really narrow it down to about three strands for a unit and make sure that those concepts spiral through everything that we add to a unit, we can get more creative with what historical events and concepts we put together. Um…

[00:11:02] Olivia: Heather, can you give an example? 

[00:14:11] Heather: So, for our unit, um, based around the ideas of conflict, um, I, you know, we sat down together, Tom and I, and we thought about if we're, if we're going to have a unit that covers different types of conflict, um, anything from, you know, World War I and World War II to the Cold War to, um, the Russian Revolution to the rise of Stalin - all different types of conflict. What are those overarching questions?

[00:14:34] Heather: And then what are those overarching strands that we think conceptually will help the students to link all of these different conflicts together? Um, so the three strands that we came up with were legacy and, propaganda and nationalism. So, for each one of those pieces, um, that each one of those different events throughout history, we covered them and made sure that each time we were teaching about one of those events, those three strands wove through. And they could see connections then, you know, students are able to go back and forth, which I think is really important.

[00:15:12] Heather: It's not just a continuous; let's add more, and let's go forward. As we're learning, it's also at times; when can we reach back. And that's when deeper connections are made when it's not just piling up more information, but you are going back. 

[00:15:30] Heather: And the students are able to make connections with the things that they have learned before at the same time, when you structure it in this way through strands. So when they're thinking about, um, conflict in the development of legacies, how, what is the legacy of World War I? And then they get to World War II. Well, what was the legacy left by World War II?

[00:15:51] Heather: And are there any connections back to World War I? And the way that those legacies were developed, you know, eventually when we get to, um, the Cold War, are there any connections in that way? Can we work back and forth? And the more times that students are reaching back to do that, um, the deeper the understanding; the deeper into their long-term memory, and they can make connections to today's world, which I think is one of the pieces of the humanities course that becomes exceedingly important for kids is its ability to connect to what's going on in the world today.

[00:16:26] Heather: Which then leads back to those enduring issues they're enduring because maybe we don't have a solution or an answer yet. It's something that repeatedly we see. Um, and so then structuring it around those pieces that also becomes really beneficial for the students. Um… 

[00:16:46] Olivia: Yeah. Tom, I, I can picture it being in your classroom. I can close my eyes, and every time I'm there when you are teaching and doing a micro-lecture, perhaps just enough to send them off to read, write, think, talk. I watch your students, and I watch them sit up a little straighter. I watched them lean in to hear what you're going to say. And there's this sense of relevancy that you bring to the table.

[00:17:17] Olivia: Um, you know, your knowledge of analogies and just social media in general, you scoop kids up right away. But there's something that I've heard you say before around students need to know what makes someone have power and really unpack that, and then it helps them make those connections to today. So, I know you've spoken to different leaders over history and how those threads and strands, um, help them uncover those patterns. Can you say a little bit about more about that? 

[00:17:52] Tom: Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, well, first, I just, I’ve always tried to find, like, again, an entry point, some way that I can connect with them and make it as simple as possible. So, one of the things I always go to is, like, a lot of these dictators, a lot of the figures that we talk about, like, they're old school influencers.

[00:18:07] Tom: They really are, where they're trying to find power. They're trying to spread their message, and with power and influence with accessibility, right, comes money, and with money comes power, and like it, just round and round we go. So, like, I always reference those social media influencers, and hey, those people you see on TikTok, like, how do they get?

[00:18:26] Tom: How are they? Why are they visible so much? Why are they in all walks of life? They're doing movies. They're doing this. It's like these, what these dictators are trying to do. Um, and again, I think sometimes we get so caught up in the minutia of curriculum, and, you know, we try to go so deep within the text.

[00:18:43] Tom: Sometimes, if you can just keep it as simple as possible, um, it's easy to understand for them. Like, that's just one of my, my, I guess, beliefs is that let's try and let's, let's just take a step back, try and make this as simple as possible. And again, make those connections. Right? And then I always say to, like, for students, some of the best ways to learn is to teach.

[00:19:03] Tom: And if you can explain it in its simplest terms to your peers, right, or make a simple connection, right, then you'll be able to learn the content just a little bit better. So, yes, I'm always filled with those little quips and…

[00:19:15] Heather: When we figure out, okay, what is our entry point? Right? How can we grab their attention and really get the students to see that this, this concept matters, right? And that it matters today. And it mattered yesterday. Then we get to ask that question of okay, where are the texts coming from, you know? Um, from an, you know, the ELA, the English standpoint too; what can we hand them that they're really going to want to read? You know, to get those, those minutes of reading and writing and to make sure that they see the worth in reading and the worth in writing and why it's so important to the world.

[00:19:52] Heather: Um, and it's really important for them to see that all of these pieces don't, none of them act in isolation. You know, everything, there is a pattern to things where they connect, and they link, um, and that's those skills for reading and those skills for writing and the way that that functions in society and the way that it has functioned for a really, really long time.

[00:20:19] Heather: That those really important skills of reading and writing and how students can be authentic, authentic creators of products that other people will read that become a really important and useful piece for society in general. So, um, we try to hand them then documents. 

[00:20:43] Heather: And in part of our planning process there's a lot of time that goes into, okay, where are texts that are really accessible for our students? Um, and that, you know, that, that question as to which texts; that's going to change from year to year. That's going to change, you know, that can change from class period to class period, as we figure out, okay, who are our students as we get to know them and we figure out where are their access points?

[00:21:09] Heather: Where are their interests? And then it's a lot of time gathering texts and figuring out, okay, here are our concepts, here are strands, now, what text can we bring in that are going to be those anchors for the students to go back to and those anchors for the students to, um, sometimes it's an anchor text, and sometimes it's those supplementary pieces.

[00:21:34] Heather: And sometimes it's not the same one for every student. But, you know, that's where that hard work comes in. But that's the work that really allows them to reach that next level in terms of reading and writing. 

[00:21:48] Olivia: So I have to say, Tom, I know you said make it as simple as possible, but there is no way it would be as seamless as it is during your 42-minute period or 40-minute period. Sometimes, you teach in blocks, so 40 and 40 over days, without that planning that you do. And, and so yes, for someone just walking into your class, you make it look easy. And it's nuts to me because I know the work that's going into it. Um, and Heather, I want to just linger for a sec. because you have had the students also create these authentic products that go out there into the world to, to make sure that they know their voices matter.

[00:22:36] Olivia: And that what they're studying matters. So can you just give listeners an example of what, what's an end make that you chose to have them embark upon in this class that they, um, got to show their understanding through reading, writing, talking? 

[00:22:52] Heather: Um, so, okay, this is, I'd like to speak to one that we're going to try for next year. This is something that we're in the midst of planning right now. 

[00:23:03] Olivia: Ah! Love it!

[00:23:03] Heather: Um, so I'm really excited about this one, and I'm really hoping that the students get a whole lot out of it. Um, so we study at the beginning of the year, um, revolution. Because when I asked Tom, like, where are we starting? What do we, what do we need to get through?

[00:23:21] Heather: Um, what topics are we covering? One of the things that he has said is, you know, revolution, French Revolution, um, Haitian Revolution. There are all different revolutions, um, throughout history. So first, we decided, okay, which ones can we really group together? Um, so that the kids have, you know, make those connections back and forth between them.

[00:23:45] Heather: Um, and then I start thinking about texts. Okay, what can the students produce that is, um, something where there's really consistent models for them? That it's something that they can see the function of throughout society. So, what we've been thinking about for this year, um, we take a look at, like, the Declaration of Independence.

[00:24:08] Heather: We take a look at, um, the Declaration of the Rights of Man. And, um, we have been studying and taking a look at adding in this year's curriculum; okay, the, the U.N.’s Declaration of Human Rights, which was, um, first created after World War II. So there has been a lot of changes to society within the last, you know, 70, 80 years.

[00:24:41] Heather: So, what we have been taking a look at is having the students produce something that looks the same, but is an updated version. So, in their own society today, you know, since that first document was created by the U.N., um, do they think that there are things that aren't included that maybe they feel should be, that it's something that's important to them?

[00:25:06] Heather: Um, so they're going to engage with these documents and take a look at how they have functioned throughout time, because those are, you know, living, breathing, functional documents that came from the population. 

[00:25:20] Heather: Um, making an impact throughout history. So, we're going to ask them, okay, if you were to make an impact, today, through writing a document like this, what would you want to create? What, what type of wording and phrasing? You know, and I want them to take a look at, really, how important it is, even on a sentence level, and a word level, in the way that language really, really functions.

[00:25:46] Heather: Um, and as an English teacher, that's really important to me. And then, in terms of global studies, it's important to Tom that they learn the function of those documents throughout history. Like, they have to know that those existed, who produced them, the why, the audience. You know, the purpose behind the document, who the, the proposed audience was for that document, and I want the students to think that through.

[00:26:15] Heather: So, if they're the voice that needs to be heard today because they think that there needs to be revision to a document, how do they make their voice heard? And then finding that authentic audience. Do they then write a proposal? You know, and we teach them what a proposal looks like to make a change and then how do they create one of those and, you know, what audience needs to receive that in order to start the process of creating actual change.

[00:26:45] Tom: And one of the things, too, that kind of goes along with that is like, especially in global studies now, students have to be able to contextualize opinions and documents. Right? So, when they see these documents, they can't just say, Oh, that document’s from World War II. And that's it. There's no right answer.

[00:27:02] Tom: There's no singular answer to tell me, like, what the purpose of the document is, and then contextualize it within the, right, the historical time period that it took place in, right? So, in order to form their own opinion, right, which is again, the goal of, I know, my goal is a global teacher, right? Having them being able to have their own independent opinion based off of what they've read and facts, and then obviously how can they contextualize what they're saying, right?

[00:27:28] Tom: Don't just give me your opinion and then leave it at that. Can you tell me why you think this way? So, I feel like all of these skills just kind of, again, cross over. And that's why I think that these makes, or these end products that they make, right, gets, demonstrates their ability to do all of those things.

[00:27:47] Olivia: Yeah, and it just helps them be better humans, ultimately, you know, understand that world around them. And I think of both of you often and the, the commitment you've made to the students to craft this class from the ground up. And Tom, I always laugh. I, there's this website letter to my future me or letter to future self.

[00:28:09] Olivia: But I, I think, you know, if you could go back in time and write a letter to your past self or to Tom of August of 2022. You know what would you, what advice would you give yourself about prepping for this journey? Because it's a lot, you know, what, what would you, what tips would you give yourself to start this off?

[00:28:30] Tom: I would just say, um, I think over the span of, right, when you make a new course, there's always some nerves and reservations. Um, whenever you do something new, there's always a little bit of risk and weary that come along with that. So I guess my advice to myself would be maybe not worry as much because when everybody's heart is in the right place, and everybody's working hard towards a common goal, I mean, I think that you're going to get there.

[00:28:58] Tom: And when you don't, and you make mistakes where you grow from those mistakes, um, and I, I really do feel like the work that we all put in, um, benefited students. I feel like the students' efforts that they put in was phenomenal. And, you know, if you raise the bar, students will raise to the occasion.

[00:29:13] Tom: And, uh, you know, it also helps when you have a great co-partner as well. So all of those things combined, I think a lot of my nerves, I just be like, stop worrying so much. This is going to be okay. Cause there's a couple of points where you get a little stressed out, but that's about it. 

[00:29:28] Olivia: Yeah. Yeah, I love it.

[00:29:28] Heather: I would like to add, though, that we, that was Tom's second year teaching last year. So, we had known, we had known each other for a year, but it, we had known each other, like, in passing in the faculty room. 

[00:29:48] Tom: Yeah, hey, what’s up?

[00:29:48] Heather: Like we didn't know each other very well when this was proposed to us. Like, hey, how about the two of you teach together for 80 minutes a day? Um, you know, we accepted, and we were like, yeah, sure. Um, that, I mean, the concept sounds fabulous. It sounds amazing. Um, but we had a lot of needing to get to know each other. Um, and, you know, conversations that needed to be had about just how do you run your classroom? You know, what are you comfortable with?

[00:30:29] Olivia: Yeah. Yeah, so true.

[00:30:29] Heather: Um, it's just basic pieces when you're going to share a combined classroom of the way that you manage time, the way that you manage everything. Um, so there was a lot of that to be done at the forefront, and I think that brings up nerves at first; when you don't, you don't really know someone. Um, but I, I think that that, that rapidly went away once we started by a couple of weeks in, I think we got into a little bit of a groove of knowing, okay, like, this is, this is going to be good stuff.

[00:31:04] Heather: You know, what's going to come out of this is going to be really good for kids. Um, yeah, I also think it, it's really, really important. Um, in being able to teach with somebody else in the room, number one, there's somebody who understands the challenges of what you're teaching. Um, and they are right there in the thick of it for 80 minutes a day. Plus, planning with you every single day.

[00:31:33] Heather: And when there's somebody else to share your challenges with that truly understands the challenges of what's going on in the room. That becomes really important. At the same time, somebody to high five and when you have a success, having somebody right there that you know, you know, when somebody isn't in the room with you, and you run over, you're like, yes, they got it.

[00:31:54] Heather: And, you know, they'll high-five you, but they don't really know how important that is. Tom does. You know, we can share those successes, and it's, um, you know, and there's a level of trust and humility that has to happen too. Like, when I, you know, you have to have a level of humility in the room with somebody to be able to say, like, this isn't working for me. Like, can you do this better?

[00:32:22] Heather: Like something isn't grooving today for me. I'm not connecting with this student. Can, maybe you can explain this better? Um, and to be able to have the trust and humility to be able to say that, you know, and that it's not hurting anybody's pride when there's just a level of respect that you have, that, that you can say that and just say, hey, you give it a try, because the way I'm going about this isn't working right now. 

[00:32:50] Tom: That's the thing too. Sorry, but to go along with that point really quick, I really do feel like, like, my philosophy in teaching, it all starts with relationships. And just like the relationships you have with students, leads to good things in the future, right?

[00:33:04] Tom: You have to have a good relationship with whoever you're working with, right? So, like, as long as those relationships are intact, and you trust each other, and you can talk yourselves through the good stuff or have a tough conversation if you have to have it, I think everything follows suit after that. And that alone should be like, okay, as long as this is sound, we'll be fine. And stop worrying about the little stuff that, at the end of the day, sometimes you can’t even control. But you can control your relationships. 

[00:33:27] Heather: And I think it's important for students to say that too. 

[00:33:30] Tom: Yeah, absolutely. 

[00:33:31] Olivia: It's, it's parallel practice, right? Like how in the world are they ever going to see that flexibility and the humility or take it on themselves if they don't see it modeled? And both of you are symbols of those things for your students.

[00:33:47] Olivia: Um, and the joy. There is joy in your classroom. I never got so excited about global studies before in my life until I started hanging out with you guys. Um, and so I, I'm interested to know, how do you plan? I know it doesn't just happen over a prep period. Um, how do you do that planning? I'm going to have Heather attack that question, and then Tom, I know it is probably burning on listeners' minds to know how do you narrow down the content because your students, as 10th graders this year, took the Regents, correct?

[00:34:26] Tom: Yes. 

[00:34:28] Olivia: And so that you, we hear so often the Regents drives…you know, we've got to cover all of this content. And I think we're discovering as teachers, A-that's not what best teaching is to cover anything, cover content, but how do you narrow it down? So Heather, start us off. How do you plan? Is it over Zoom? Like what, what do you do, guys? 

[00:34:48] Heather: There's, um, I feel like planning happens all the time. Um, it happens over, it happens over text, it happens during planning period and during lunch. Um, it happens when you have a sudden moment of inspiration or realization while you're grading something, and you send an email out.

[00:35:08] Heather: Um, it happens definitely over Zoom. Um, it happens over FaceTime. It, we use all different modes. It happens everywhere and all the time. Um, because we have to be flexible. We're not all in the same place at the same time. Um, and especially because, like, Tom coaches multiple sports. Um, and I have four kids at home and a family, and, um, there's a lot going on.

[00:35:41] Heather: So I think the flexibility of it. 

[00:35:43] Olivia: Yeah. Um, I love it. 

[00:35:47] Heather: It happens whenever. 

[00:35:47] Olivia: Yeah. I love it. Yeah. Whenever, wherever. Tom, how do you narrow the content down? And again, I want to make sure listeners are privy; a major initiative for us as educators within the district is to ensure every child is engaged. All children are learning. All children are engaged. And a main way to ensure that is that the kids are doing the work. It is not lecture for 40 minutes. There, it's not guided notes land. Um, and so you all are really making sure that two-thirds of that 80-minute chunk of time, your students are reading, writing, talking, problem-solving.

[00:36:30] Olivia: Um, and you are there as facilitators of the instruction. So, Tom, with that said, without the ability to lecture for a whole period as days of yesteryear, and still happens in a lot of places, how do you narrow down the content? 

[00:36:46] Tom: Well, I would say when we, our first, first and foremost, what texts are we giving students, right? Because there's plenty of texts out there that involve or incorporate a lot of the content anyways. So, by virtue of the reading, as long as the students are reading. So that's really the first goal: is how do I get the students to want to read? Right? And that took work, like, especially last year going through this, like, we, we talked about, how, the reading that the students were doing at the end of the year, in comparison to the very beginning, right?

[00:37:17] Tom: They were reading more. They were building their tolerance for reading, and I think that's the first part of it is we need to build their stamina so they're willing to read. Because once they're willing to read, they're going to be getting their content. And then afterwards, there's going to be gaps, right?

[00:37:32] Tom: As adults, I'll read things and be like, you know what, there was a couple pages there where I wasn't as invested, right? Maybe I missed a couple of things that I need content-wise. Then where, at the beginning of last year, I felt like we were front-loading like, hey, let's give them a mini-lesson before they read, because I felt more comfortable, and then they went and read it, and I kind of told them what they already needed to know.

[00:37:55] Tom: So, they weren't discovering it themselves. So now, like I would say the second half of the year, we kind of realized, well, that should probably come afterwards. Let's fill in the holes. And then that way, they're, one, again, becoming independent thinkers, they're finding this stuff on their own, but second, like, we, I can fill in the gaps later.

[00:38:14] Tom: They will get the content, um, there is a lot, so it does take a lot of time and preparation to find the right texts, um, and to make sure that we are covering everything, um, but also, right, I, I think as long as they're strong readers and they can locate information and, come up with the conclusions; contextualize, that's the word I used earlier, right?

[00:38:39] Tom: Then they should be all right, but it is a struggle. And we have the, we have the Regents exam that we have to deal with as teachers. And that's scary for any teacher. It's scary for me. So, there is always that stress, but, um, with time and preparation, right? They'll get the content. As much as we worry about it, but, you know, I feel like I'd be worrying anyways.

[00:39:00] Olivia: Something I have been researching is the idea of annotation and, um, how often research shows that children annotate incorrectly. They highlight information that is not important. And so, something both of you were just masterful with was coaching into: how do you know when you don't know? How do you talk back to a text?

[00:39:23] Olivia: And I know I've watched your students voluminously annotate their texts. And that was a huge part of cracking open content when there are misunderstandings. Um, and so how did you go about teaching kids to annotate texts thoughtfully? Heather, do you want to tackle that?

[00:39:43] Heather: I think the first thing we had to deal with was the hesitancy that students had when it came to reading texts on their own. They didn't trust themselves. And they thought that, um, a lot of times students who may have difficulty, reading and accessing a text, really it's just their confidence. They're just, they don't sometimes believe in themselves, um, to be able to do that.

[00:40:12] Heather: And, and they think that if they don't know something that that, that means there's something wrong. But in reality, I have to show them and model first the fact that I don't understand absolutely everything the first time that you read a text. No one does. And that doesn't mean that you know, I don't have the skill set that I need to get to the understanding that I need to have.

[00:40:37] Heather: Um, it just means that on a very basic first level, we have to give confidence. We have to believe in them and show them to believe in themselves as readers. It's okay to mark on a text that you don't understand something that's okay. You don't need to hide that. Because once you start to make use of those, then you can dive into, okay, how do we use other portions of that text?

[00:41:06] Heather: Maybe to gain an understanding and to gain that knowledge that we weren't sure of in the first place. Um, you have to show them that questions are not bad. Um, that lacking some information or some understanding; that's not bad. Okay, sometimes you have to fill in the blanks, but that, you know, that's life.

[00:41:25] Heather: That's what we do. We go, and we find the information, and that doesn't mean there's anything wrong; it just means you need to do a little bit more, maybe research, or, um, dig a little bit deeper into a different part of the text. So, I think once you open that door and create an understanding that questions are okay.

[00:41:49] Heather: It's okay to mark on the text that you don't understand something. It's okay to have question marks. Um, that you open up another door to useful annotation. 

[00:42:01] Olivia: Yes. Yes. 

[00:42:02] Heather: We don't see highlighting everywhere. We're able to narrow it down. In the process of maybe we highlight these things and maybe we, you know, there's another marker for things that we don't understand, and that's okay. And not all annotation should look the same. 

[00:42:20] Olivia: Yeah, exactly.  Um, so Tom, I'm sure you guys have thought this through. We've had lots of planning time over the summer, um, to unpack and make revisions. What are you the most excited about moving into year two of co-teaching a humanities class with Heather? 

[00:42:39] Tom: Oh, well, I will say, I think the best thing about going into year two is we, the curriculum mapping, for the most part, I would say 70, 80%, right? We kind of cemented like we liked. There were some things that went very well. We know each other. We know the, you know, I know her standards. She knows mine, right? We now know, okay, now going into next year, what are we dealing with here? Right, because, like I said, the last year, the entire year, we're trying to learn as we go.

[00:43:10] Tom: Now we know what to expect. So, going into this year, now we can refine, we can change, we can reorder some of our curriculum mapping. We've already done that a little bit. How can we thematically build the course better? But it is exciting to actually take more time to focus on, you know, student needs to focus on how to, um, get better instruction rather than building new curriculum, because that is a lot of time.

[00:43:38] Tom: It's a lot of preparation. Um, it was a lot of us talking till 10:30 at night, the night before; middle of the week work because it was the only time we had to plan, right? So it is a, it's a lot. Um, so going into this next year, I'm just excited about the potential of what we can do now, having some, like, a lot of the legwork done. And not that we're not going to change it because we're going to be bettering all of our things, right? We should always be evolving and changing, but I feel like a lot of the unknown is known now. So that makes everything a lot easier. 

[00:44:14] Olivia: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Heather. How about you? What are you excited about?

[00:44:19] Heather: I'm excited to dig for more texts. I'm excited to expand my, my repertoire with, um, supporting texts. And I know a lot more about global studies now. I knew, I mean, I knew, I knew what I knew before heading in, but there were definitely times when I had to, you know, call Tom up at 7:00 on a Thursday when I'm trying to figure out for the next week and say, okay, can you explain this revolution to me again? Because I don't, I'm not sure I have all of it.

[00:44:54] Heather: Um, there were just things that obviously, with his content, he knew in a deeper manner. And I think when I'm looking for supporting texts now, and when I'm looking for anchor texts and things to add in, I have a much better understanding because of working with him the way that things conceptually are connected.

[00:45:15] Heather: Um, and that only betters me as a teacher in a humanities course, that now, okay, now, year two, um, when I'm choosing those texts, I'm, that's at the forefront of my mind as well. Um, and I don't have so many questions. So, I feel like I can trust myself a little bit more with picking out texts. I might not, you know, bring every single one to Tom and say, okay, which one of these two do you think?

[00:45:40] Heather: Um, every single time that I might, I might, you know, trust myself a little bit better within that aspect. Um, I'm really excited to expand even more with the use of small groups this year. Um, we did small group work last year, but I think that now with our content, um, so much more solid and the ability to, um, find a process for tracking, um, students’ skill development over time and the way that they're approaching or mastering standards over time.

[00:46:16] Heather: You know, it took us a while to figure out how to merge those two sets of standards and how to keep track of both simultaneously within the same room. So, I'm excited for the ability now to add in more small group work in order to address where people might need some remediation, or we might be able to accelerate some students if we can within that and to really expand in that way as a teacher.

[00:46:47] Olivia: It's so exciting, and how lucky I am to be part of this journey another year with both of you. Um, you inspire me every time I get to just listen. I get to vibe off of your connectedness because the kids feel it, and, um, I just am so grateful to the school district for giving the opportunity to have this experiment of humanities.

[00:47:12] Olivia: And, um, I think it's also shed a beautiful light on the possibilities and potential for co-teaching. This is what co-teaching should be in every way, shape, and form. Um, so. If there are teachers that want to reach out to you just to say, you know, how did you even get started? Um, I'll tuck your contact info into the show notes. Um, what would you leave listeners with as a call to action? You know, why is this important for us to give a go? Um, Tom, you want to start us off? 

[00:47:45] Tom: Yeah, I would just say, um, I just, I guess I come back to why I'm doing this and what I enjoy about teaching. Um, I know my role as a teacher. I'm here to help students develop skills become better adults. Uh, and whether that's in academics that's in their professional careers, and as human beings, right?

[00:48:06] Tom: I just want them to have one - a positive experience at school, and that's where those relationships come, right? That's like, first and foremost, for me. Um, how can I help them in anything? I always tell them listen. You can come to me with questions about social studies, but if you need to come in here, I have an open-door policy.

[00:48:24] Tom: We can talk about anything, and I'll do my best to help you. And if I can't, I'll find somebody that can. But I truly love making those connections. I like what I do. And I think that um, enjoying what you do and being able to come to work every day excited about what we're doing. Um,  excited about the students, the people you work with, um, and, again, trying to better yourself every single day.

[00:48:50] Tom: I guess I just think about that in terms of what am I doing right? Like, why am I doing this? Um, so that would be me. I'm going to my third year of teaching, and I'm constantly trying to be a sponge. I learn from her every single day. I learn from other teachers in the building. I'm always trying to pick up new tricks and add them to my toolbox. And I learned from my students, and that's really, I mean, and I enjoy every minute of it. So…

[00:49:17] Olivia: Awesome. Yeah. Heather, how about you? 

[00:49:19] Heather: Um, so I think every day I approach this, specifically, this humanities course, um, with the idea that our goal is to create a learning environment where students can thrive, um, and see that we don't exist as learners and as readers and writers and in any environment in isolation. Just like our curriculum doesn't, you know, exist in isolation. And that my goal is to create an environment where they believe in themselves.

[00:49:56] Heather: Um, they believe in their own abilities. They believe in the abilities of their classmates. And just to create a learning environment where there is respect and, trust, and confidence. And that students every day come in and leave, knowing that they matter as readers, as writers, as students, as people. And that they can encourage others, and they do every day.

[00:50:32] Heather: Um, and that, that's the type of learning community that I think we need to try to create for students. It's just a place of respect and a place of confidence. Um, and a place where we're becoming better readers, writers, people.

[00:50:54] Olivia: Yeah. Beautiful. And I feel so, so lucky to know both of you as people, as humans. Um, and just to learn alongside you, be thought partners with you. And I am so excited for year two of this humanities journey. And, um. I'm just, I'm grateful for you and this really important work you're invested in for the good of humanity in general. Um, and just thank you both of you so much. 

[00:51:25] Tom: Thank you for having us. 

[00:51:26] Heather: Thank you for having me. 

[00:51:29] Olivia: Schoolutions is a podcast created, produced, and edited by me, Olivia Wahl. Special thanks to my guests, Heather Roberts and Tom Bateson. Also, a big thank you to my older son, Benjamin, who created the music that's playing in the background. I would love for you to share the podcast far and wide. Leave a review, subscribe on YouTube, and follow us on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and Facebook @schoolutionspodcast. If you'd like to become a Schoolutions sponsor or share episode ideas, leave me a SpeakPipe voice memo at my website, www.oliviawahl.com/podcast, or connect via email at @schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com. Please keep listening. Let's continue finding inspiration together.



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