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Social studies education in Connecticut public schools has been getting a major revamp over the last several years, from statutes and mandates to an overhaul of the statewide social studies standards.



It’s a process we’ve covered faithfully on Where We Live: A statute in 2021 required local Indigenous history, prompting leaders from Connecticut’s five major tribes to collaborate on a new K-12 curriculum. In 2022, the Connecticut legislature adopted a statute mandating Asian American and Pacific Islander studies, which brought together a teaching cohort across Connecticut to prepare for that rollout in 2025.



The first 25 minutes of this submission features an excerpt from our Aug. 17 “check-in” on the state’s new Black and Latino Studies elective, which was considered a “first-of-its-kind” state mandate when issued in 2020.

The state legislature combined many of these statues and mandates in 2021, calling for a “model curriculum” that should, they wrote, include Native American studies, AAPI studies, LGBTQ studies, climate change, financial literacy, military service and veterans, civics, media literacy, the principles of social-emotional learning, and racism. It was a long list and a tall order, and prompted the Connecticut State Department of Education to gather a group of experts on all of these fronts, and construct a new set of social studies standards.

The second portion of this submission from 24:55 on, features an excerpt from our Nov. 13 interview with Connecticut educators, one month after the standards were unanimously approved.

We go behind-the-scenes into the “iterative” editing process, and hear why these standards come at a critical time: Social studies teachers are “under fire” and facing pressure to stem an increasingly polarizing and rhetorical divide. For example, we discuss how so-called hot-button terms like “intersectionality” were thoughtfully woven into these standards.

Social studies education in Connecticut public schools has been getting a major revamp over the last several years, from statutes and mandates to an overhaul of the statewide social studies standards.
 
It’s a process we’ve covered faithfully on Where We Live: A statute in 2021 required local Indigenous history, prompting leaders from Connecticut’s five major tribes to <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/2023-01-26/connecticut-tribes-co-create-state-social-studies-curriculum-centering-our-culture-and-our-ways">collaborate on a new K-12 curriculum</a>. In 2022, the Connecticut legislature adopted a statute mandating Asian American and Pacific Islander studies, which brought together a <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/2022-05-19/meet-the-teaching-cohort-modeling-culturally-responsive-aapi-education-in-connecticut">teaching cohort</a> across Connecticut to prepare for that rollout in 2025.
 
The first 25 minutes of this submission features an excerpt from our Aug. 17 “check-in” on the state’s new Black and Latino Studies elective, which was considered a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/us/connecticut-high-schools-black-latino-studies-trnd/index.html">“first-of-its-kind” state mandate when issued in 2020.</a>
The state legislature combined many of these statues and mandates in 2021, calling for a “model curriculum” that should, they wrote, include Native American studies, AAPI studies, LGBTQ studies, climate change, financial literacy, military service and veterans, civics, media literacy, the principles of social-emotional learning, and racism. It was a long list and a tall order, and prompted the Connecticut State Department of Education to gather a group of experts on all of these fronts, and construct a new set of social studies standards.
The second portion of this submission from 24:55 on, features an excerpt from our Nov. 13 interview with Connecticut educators, one month after the standards were unanimously approved.
We go behind-the-scenes into the “iterative” editing process, and hear why these standards come at a critical time: Social studies teachers are “under fire” and facing pressure to stem an increasingly polarizing and rhetorical divide. For example, we discuss how so-called hot-button terms like “intersectionality” were thoughtfully woven into these standards.

Produced by Connecticut Public, 'Where We Live' puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

Produced by Connecticut Public, '<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/about">Where We Live'</a> puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

Where We Live is a call-in talk show about who we are in Connecticut and our place in the world.

Where We Live

Produced by Connecticut Public, '<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/about">Where We Live'</a> puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.