STUDY CANADA K-12 was well represented at the Austin, Texas National Council for Social Studies annual conference last November by our Education and Curriculum Specialist, Kyla Sweet (Western Washington University). From November 21 to 23, 2019, thousands of social studies educators gathered for the 99th National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) conference. The Pacific Northwest and the Northeast National Resource Centers on Canada, both U.S. Department of Education Title VI Centers, joined forces to provide Canadian content at a designated booth in the exhibit hall, via meetings and talking with hundreds of teachers one-on-one.
Kyla Sweet, Amy Sotherden (State University of New York, Plattsburgh), Betsy Arntzen (University of Maine), and master teacher Jennifer Dawson (NCSS Georgia chapter president) were also accepted for a record-breaking eight presentations on topics as diverse as: Inuit people and climate change; bilingual schooling, sports, and social studies; teaching about sensitive topics such as the oil sands in Alberta and more. Our Canadian community scholar Neel Baumgardner, University of Texas, Austin, presented “Unbordering North America: Constructing National Parks with Canada and Mexico.” Kyla also had the chance to represent the Canada community in the NCSS house of delegates, where important decisions about incoming presidents and other offices were made.
U.S. Department of Education program officer Dr. Charles Bryan Jenkins also attended the conference and met with the Canadian delegates. Both National Resource Centers are preparing for the 100th anniversary conference in Washington, D.C. this November.