August 30, 2022

Asian American History a Focus in MDE’s Next Comprehensive History Webinars

Michigan Department of Education Press Release LANSING – The next in a series of webinars offering educators greater depth of knowledge for social studies instruction will cover the history and contributions of Asian Americans and provision of public resources for educators to teach comprehensive history, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) announced.

Opening the fall sessions of the 2021-22 Comprehensive History Instruction webinar series will be a three-part free online webinar series from 4-5 p.m. on consecutive Wednesdays in September – September 14, 21, 28, 2022 highlighting Asian American history.

“Our children deserve to learn about the full breadth of the history of the United States and world,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice. “Some of history’s chapters are challenging, uncomfortable, or even searing—particularly those that deal with race, racism, xenophobia, and sexism—but our young people need to learn about all of history and to wrestle with the complexity of our history.”

Michigan educators can register by September 13, 2022 for the three sessions covering Asian Americans and the United States: Immigration and Citizenship by visiting the webinar registration page.

The fall 2022 sessions continue from 4-5 p.m. Wednesday, October 19 with a webinar entitled: Public Resources for Teaching Comprehensive History, which share with educators multiple online spaces to access materials that support educators’ efforts in teaching comprehensive history. Educators can register by October 18, 2022 for this webinar by visiting this registration page.

MDE is hosting this webinar series in collaboration with institutions of higher education, cultural centers, and the 12 federally recognized tribes of Michigan that form the Confederation of Michigan Tribal Education Departments (CMTED) to assist educators with the teaching of and learning about comprehensive history through thematic instruction. 

This webinar series will help educators learn more about historical movements, events, and peoples that are part of the rich, diverse history of our country and world. Presenters will help educators learn more about movements in and aspects of history about which educators may have had little if any background. 

Registration is open to all educators, with the understanding that the content may be more useful for teachers of particular grade levels than others. 

The series began in April with a three-session series on holocaust education and an initial session on Maawndoonganan: Using the Indigenous-Developed Social Studies Resource Guide to Teach To and About First Peoples. Additional webinars on other topics will be announced in the coming months. 

Supporter education organizations of the comprehensive history instruction series include the following:

  • Michigan Council for the Social Studies
  • Michigan Council for History Education
  • Michigan Education Association
  • AFT Michigan
  • Michigan Elementary & Middle School Principals Association
  • Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals
  • Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators
  • Middle Cities Education Association
  • Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators
  • Michigan Association for Media in Education
  • Library of Michigan
  • Michigan Library Association
  • Michigan Academic Library Association