2022 DCSSC

March 4, 2022

8:00 am-8:55 am

Illinois Criminal Justice Reform Bill:  1 Year Later

Judge Anderson and Mr. Tom Murray

This session will provide an overview of the landmark elements in the 2021 Illinois Criminal Justice Reform Legislation. This act includes changes to almost every area of the justice system, including police accountability, pretrial detention, and sentencing. Aspects of these changing legal standards have already been implemented with final changes going into law by January, 2023.  This session will provide a detailed review of these changes as well as numerous suggested modifications being offered by police associations,  judges,  correctional organizations,  state’s attorneys,  criminal defense attorneys, and concerned public citizens groups.  Teacher awareness of these legal changes are critical for current and accurate Social Studies instruction.

8:00 am-8:55 am

How to Seriously Expect Students to Take Meaningful Informed Action With Limited Time

Mr. Seth Brady

Both the C3 Framework and the newly-revised Illinois State Social Science Standards require students to take informed action, but too often there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to reasonably expect meaningful informed action. Rooted in real-life examples, this session challenges teachers to reimagine what is possible during a single semester or school year. Session participants will leave with a framework and set of practical strategies that make action not only possible but transformative. Meaningful student action doesn’t require teachers to change the good work that is already being done in the classroom, it only requires that questions are reframed to expect meaningful action as an essential output of student learning.  

8:00 am-8:55 am

Early Empires Around the World 

Dr. Lee Brice

There is no simple recipe for early states to become empires, despite what computer games seem to encourage. This presentation demonstrates how to organize discussions of early empires without being tied to a specific chronological, geographical, or cultural approach. All early empires can be categorized into one of three types, which means World History instructors can disregard the straight jacket of chronology and focus instead on discussing similarities in how empires were organized. Instructors may choose to highlight some of the cultures that normally are not compared, such as the Aztecs with Republican Rome or the Mongolian Empire or both. This topic emphasizes big-picture commonalities which leaves room for flexibility in time management and exploring specific issues of interest to the instructor or students.

8:00 am-8:55 am

Fred Hampton, Police Brutality, and the Politics of Black Chicago

Dr. Cheryl Dong

In 2021, Judas and the Black Messiah dramatized the events of 1969 leading up to the Fred Hampton’s assassination by the Chicago Police Department. Despite the Hollywood sensationalization of his death, Hampton’s story fits into a larger narrative about police brutality in the city that has its roots in the Daley political machine. This talk will address the police reform work of the Black Panther Party in Chicago in the aftermath of Hampton’s death, and the continued impact of his legacy on Chicago policing. It will also include the work of the Afro-American Patrolman’s League in their historic suit against the city as well as the ties between Hampton’s 1969 assassination and the John Burge Chicago Police Torture scandal of the 1990s.

8:00 am-8:55 am

The Neuropsychology of Trauma: Trauma-Informed Classrooms and Supporting Psychological Well-being of Students

Dr. Sophia Duffy

Our youth are maturing during unprecedented times: climate change, social and political unrest, global pandemic, and more. These collective traumas exacerbate the effects of many other unfortunate traumas, such as child maltreatment and neglect, exposure to violence, housing and financial instability, and others. Trauma, especially trauma in childhood, dramatically changes the brain. This talk will explore the ways in which trauma changes the brain and how those changes are manifested in thought and behavior. With a strong understanding of the neuropsychology of trauma, this talk will also explore how to apply this knowledge to the classroom. How can we make our classrooms more responsive to students' socio-emotional needs and make our school communities a place of healing and warm connection? Students spend a lot of time at school. How can we utilize those relationships and that time as one of many tools to combat the negative impact of trauma in our maturing students?

8:00 am-8:55 am

FOIA Fun: Yes, Your Cell Phone Can Be FOIAd

Mr. Jason Jaffe

Recently, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws have been weaponized against educators. In an age where the media has had to increasingly rely on FOIA requests to learn about our governments’ actions, how did these laws aimed at openness and transparency turn into tools aimed at “exposing” and “uncovering” things like “hidden agendas,” “bias,” and “secret motivations” of schools and teachers? Come for the basics on FOIA, stay for some practical effects and “what now?” takeaways as an educator. Disclaimer: The presenter is not a lawyer, but just plays one in the classroom.

8:00 am-8:55 am

Voting Rights and Elections - Federal and State Efforts to Expand/Restrict Voting Rights

Dr. Steve Schwinn

Since the 2020 election, states across the country have adjusted their voting laws. Many states have moved to tighten voting requirements, often in the name of preventing voting fraud, while others have moved to expand voting opportunities for their citizens. Moreover, states have begun, or even completed, the process of redrawing congressional and state legislative districts in response to the 2020 census. At the same time, Congress is considering legislation that would protect voting rights. All these changes could have profound impacts on the 2022 elections and beyond. This session explores the delicate balance between federal oversight and state control of voting rights through legislative measures and judicial decisions. *presentation will be repeated in Session 2*

8:00 am-8:55 am

Avoiding the Rabbit Hole: Teaching Concepts in Conspiratorial Thinking

Mr. John Silva

Conspiracy theories are becoming part of mainstream discourse and public awareness. From QAnon to pandemic-related beliefs to older ideas such as the Earth is flat, more and more people believe at least one conspiracy theory. How can educators teach students to avoid conspiracy theories without actually teaching them the specifics of such false beliefs? This session explores the psychological and cognitive factors behind conspiratorial thinking, including the role of fears and anxiety, cognitive dissonance and biases, motivated reasoning and institutional cynicism, as well as discussing how conspiracy theories exploit emotions. 

8:00 am-8:55 am

The Global Supply Chain and How COVID-19 Proved that it Affects All of Us

Dr. James Tanoos

The field of supply chain management has been gaining prominence since the 1980s, when the removal of international trade barriers prompted advances in global trade and an expansion of import/export markets. With many products manufactured in a different location from where the component parts were made, efficiencies in this process can make or break an organization. Prompted by innovations in global logistics such as GPS-controlled, captain-less container vessels, this field has had a growing influence on trade. New positions in multinational organizations have been created, such as Chief Procurement Officers, who are dedicated to supply chain functions. The pandemic has prompted an increased focus on irregularities in supply chain management, from outages of toilet paper at local supermarkets, to chip shortages forcing automobile companies to idle production, to vaccine access in parts of the world. This presentation will address all of these dynamics. 

8:00 am-8:55 am

Middle School U.S. History Roundtable

Mr. Mike Yadgir

With all that is going on in our country and our world, no time is more crucial than the present to engage our students in American history and civic responsibility. In this roundtable discussion, participants will discuss  educators’ role in helping students become effective and successful citizens by focusing on the topics of Inquiry, Equity, and Civics. Please bring 1-2 lessons to share that have been used in one or more of these areas to enhance and enrich the conversation. Around 2-3 weeks before the conference, participants will receive an email with a link to a shared folder to upload lessons and resources. 

9:05 am-10:00 am

Building Bridges y Recorriendo Caminos: Incorporating Latin American History in the Social Studies Classroom 

Mr. Neil Cruz and Ms. Marisol Pulido

The session will provide teachers with ideas, resources and a vision of how Latin American history can be incorporated into a social studies curriculum. Whether looking to start a new course or incorporate new units into an existing world history or global studies curriculum, participants will gain usable examples to take to their schools. This session will provide overviews of units’ structure as well as activities, anchor documents, assessments, projects, and potential opportunities for cross curricular instruction. It will also focus on design thinking, which is a format designed to challenge assumptions, redefine problems, and create innovative solutions to historical dilemmas. It encourages creativity by allowing students to explore Latin America through culminating activities at the end of each unit.

9:05 am-10:00 am

Navigating Current Issue Discussions in Middle and High School Classrooms

Ms. Mary Ellen Daneels

Learn how to enhance the classroom practice of engaging students in civil discourse face to face or at a distance. Learn how to curate the right question, prompt, and strategy to meet learning targets. Walk away with new ideas and tools to enhance current practice which are aligned with standards and the Educating for American Democracy Pedagogy Companion.

9:05 am-10:00 am

What's Changing in Russian Politics

Dr. Richard Farkas

In its Putin 4.0 iteration, Russian politics has transitioned from a wild, adolescent system characterized by surprising changes and spasms to a system bent on creating firm, institutionalized patterns of political control. Many will see this as a return to some of the management techniques of the Soviet system. That vision often ignores the salient differences between the past and the present/future. The appeal will be to look at familiar techniques with an eye to how those are shaping a new Russia – paradoxical and confusing. Russia is a new player in a new world. Much of what will be presented will focus on domestic issues but arms control and relations with Ukraine will be included. 

9:05 am-10:00 am

Art as a Weapon: The Black Chicago Renaissance and its Legacy

Dr. Erik Gellman

What was the Black Chicago Renaissance and why should every Chicago-area social science teacher consider teaching it? This presentation will provide an overview of this dynamic cultural movement in Chicago, from its 1930s-1940s heyday, to its connections to the next generation of artists. These artists' creativity spanned the gamut of cultural production — from radio to dance, painting to photography, and fiction to theater. Moreover, this presentation will compare the Black Chicago Renaissance to the more famous Harlem Renaissance to better understand how the racial and class politics of Chicago’s artists often made their achievements less apparent in popular memory as well as American history. Professor Gellman will be presenting virtually to an in-person audience. 

9:05 am-10:00 am

The Inclusive Curriculum Law: Integrating LGBTQIA+ History in Contemporary Contexts

Dr. Thomas Gerschick

The Inclusive Curriculum Law, signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Aug. 9, 2019, mandates that public schools must teach students about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people’s contributions to state and U.S. history. As teachers well know, this prescriptive mandate has created questions, controversies, challenges, and opportunities. This workshop intends to address the “Now What” questions that inevitably arise with new directives while exploring our variable commitments, the contexts in which we teach, a range of approaches to integrating LGBTQIA+ material, and available resources. This workshop is meant to spark reflection and directions for ongoing consideration.

9:05 am-10:00 am

The Purpose of Emotions

Dr. Michael Maniacci

Emotions are an important but deeply misunderstood aspect of human functioning. This workshop will discuss the theory and research around emotions and how they are used in and out of counseling. Emphasis will be placed upon the various purposes of different emotions and how to work constructively with them.

9:05 am-10:00 am

Salem Revisited: Rethinking Colonial Witch-hunting

Dr. Jennifer McNabb

Salem was home to colonial America’s most infamous episode of witch-hunting, and it has been the subject of intense academic attention since the publication of Boyer and Nissenbaum’s Salem Possessed in 1974. This presentation interrogates the traditional narrative of what happened in Salem and why new interpretations that center around underexplored elements of gender, race, and identity, are essential to making sense of Salem and reframes notions of aggressors and victims. Teaching aids will be provided. 

9:05 am-10:00 am

Voting Rights and Elections - Federal and State Efforts to Expand/Restrict Voting Rights

Dr. Steve Schwinn

Since the 2020 election, states across the country have adjusted their voting laws. Many states have moved to tighten voting requirements, often in the name of preventing voting fraud, while others have moved to expand voting opportunities for their citizens. Moreover, states have begun, or even completed, the process of redrawing congressional and state legislative districts in response to the 2020 census. At the same time, Congress is considering legislation that would protect voting rights. All these changes could have profound impacts on the 2022 elections and beyond. This session explores the delicate balance between federal oversight and state control of voting rights through legislative measures and judicial decisions.​ *This presentation is a repeat from Session 1*

9:05 am-10:00 am

Abusing Numbers: Why Understanding Economic Statistics is Essential to Being an Informed Adult

Dr. Charles Wheelan

Media personalities and politicians talk about statistics like GDP, the Consumer Price Index, and the unemployment rate all the time. However, what do they mean and are they really providing an accurate picture of the economy?  This session will explore what these and other economic indicators truly measure and how they can be misused and misunderstood. Professor Wheelan will be presenting virtually to an in-person audience. 

9:05 am-10:00 am

Middle School  World History Round Table

Mr. Adam White

In this roundtable, participants will discuss the role of dialogue in the classroom and how to spark student engagement and learning through facilitating and fostering an environment that is dynamic and collaborative. Participants should bring, and be ready to share with the group,  1 or 2 lessons from world history that encourage student dialog or could be modified to do so. Around 2-3 weeks before the conference, participants will receive an email with a link to a shared folder to upload lessons and resources. 

Middle School

10:10 am-11:05 am

Civic Online Reasoning: Sorting Fact from Fiction on the Internet

Dr. Joel Breakstone

The Stanford History Education Group’s Civic Online Reasoning curriculum, based on research with professional fact checkers and tested in classrooms across the country, teaches students to effectively evaluate online content. During this interactive workshop, participants will consider the research behind the curriculum, review curricular materials, and discuss how these resources can be integrated into their own classrooms. Dr. Breakstone will be presenting virtually to an in-person audience.

10:10 am-11:05 am

Han Dynasty in Early China

Dr. Lee Brice

This presentation will focus exclusively on the Han dynasty in Early China, which succeeded because they borrowed freely from the Qin ruling toolbox and adapted to the needs of ruling their state. As a result of their mixed philosophical approach, they lasted four centuries. Many of the institutions that later Chinese dynasties used or reacted against were developed by the Han, so any understanding of pre-modern China must be grounded in the Han dynasty. The first half of the dynasty was relatively stable; however, the later Han was riven by peasant revolts and armed insurgencies. This presentation will discuss how society was organized and how cultural changes and economic pressures contributed to peasant revolts and the eventual disintegration of the dynasty. Topics to be covered include emperors, administration (bureaucracy), society, philosophy, and economy.

10:10 am-11:05 am

Should Teachers Disclose Their Opinions: A Structured Academic Controversy

Ms. Mary Ellen Daneels

Should teachers disclose their opinions to students? Join this session and engage in a Structured Academic Controversy with colleagues. Learn best practices for facilitating student-to-student deliberations in classrooms and walk away with new ideas and tools to enhance current practice that are aligned with standards and the Educating for American Democracy Pedagogy Companion.

10:10 am-11:05 am

The Rainbow Coalition: Black and Brown Organizing in Interracial Solidarity

Dr. Cheryl Dong

For a brief moment in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Black Panther organizers in the city of Chicago succeeded in mobilizing a grassroots alliance of poor White, Black and Brown voters in an organization that Fred Hampton called “The Rainbow Coalition.”  This group of erstwhile New Left activists included political organizations, churches, and politicized gangs including the Young Lords, the Blackstone Rangers, and Rise Up Angry. Together, they represented the oppressed and marginalized youth of Chicago and they threatened to upend the power of the Daley political machine. This talk addresses the legacy of the Rainbow Coalition and its co-optation by politicians like Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama.

10:10 am-11:05 am

Economic Decision-Making in the Market Place and the Polling Place

Ms. Sheryl Szot Gallaher

Economics is the study of how people make decisions about how to allocate scarce resources. Those scarce resources can include not only natural resources such as air, land and water, but also human resources such as voters and candidates. This session will demonstrate how to use a decision tree and the PACED decision making grid to identify choice and opportunity cost. It will also provide a description and demonstration of Ranked Choice Voting, a system that is being used in some parts of the country to elect officials to municipal and state offices.

10:10 am-11:05 am

2022 Midterm Elections Preview

Dr. Shawn Healy

The November 2022 midterm elections are among the most consequential in our lifetime. The President’s party almost always loses congressional and state legislative seats, not to mention governors’ mansions. If the past is prologue, this means that Democrats will likely relinquish their razor-thin congressional majorities and Republicans have opportunities to diminish Democratic supermajorities in the Illinois General Assembly and even defeat incumbent Governor JB Pritzker. Regardless, elections are teachable moments, cyclical opportunities to engage students’ interest and participation in the political process. This session will size up the federal and state candidate fields, delve into the issues dividing parties and defining candidates, and provide classroom-ready resources to teach the 2022 Midterms with gusto.

10:10 am-11:05 am

Psychology Roundtable

Ms. Ali Jonesi

Teachers will share lessons and resources for Psychology curriculum from any unit during this roundtable. Please bring 25-30 hard copies for one or two of your favorite lessons or activities to share with the others at the roundtable. Teachers will also collaborate in a shared Google Folder to continue digitally sharing resources after the conference is over. Teachers should be prepared to explain their favorite lesson and answer questions from their colleagues. Around 2-3 weeks before the conference, participants will receive an email with a link to a shared folder to upload lessons and resources.

10:10 am-11:05 am

Mexican-Americans in the U.S. Military

Mr. Kyle Mathers

This session will focus on the contributions of Mexican-Americans in the US military. He will share individual soldier stories of courage and fortitude you can bring back to your classroom; including Richard E. Cavazos, America’s first Hispanic four-star general.

10:10 am-11:05 am

Geographic Scale, its Use, and Meaning

Dr. RJ Rowley

This presentation addresses the concept of geographic scale as it relates to map use, interpretation, and understanding geographic problems more broadly. Scale, at its most basic level, can be demonstrated by using familiar objects to connect the way toy cars are “built to scale” to how scale is used in static and dynamic maps. Toys can demonstrate scale in two domains: (1) how to properly use scale in the interpretation and analysis of maps and map data; and (2) how scale is used to document and understand geographic problems and situations at global/regional/local scales). Real-world examples from each of these two domains will also be shared.

10:10 am-11:05 am

The US Supreme Court on the Precipice of Disaster

Dr. Artemus Ward

At a time of great upheaval and transition in American political history, the U.S. Supreme Court is confronted with a momentous choice: to continue the now-lost conservative project begun in earnest during the Reagan era or capitulate to the Democrats and the nascent New Left political regime. Or perhaps there is a third way? For their part, Democrats in the elected branches have threatened the justices with radical reforms including court-packing and term limits. Will the conservative Court-majority call their bluff and push their warrants or will a center coalition be able to preserve what is left of the Court's eroding legitimacy? *Presentation will be repeated in Session 4*

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

Technology Transforming War: Cyberspace and Conflict

Dr. Richard Farkas

Everyone has suspicions about how significantly cyber technology will change the world, but the reality is far more dramatic than one might imagine. This presentation will outline how the lines dividing cyber mischief from cybercrime and cyber warfare are thin and permeable. It will also look at the “new” realities that have and will continue to confound the most able and focused leaders and experts. All of the following notions of warfare must be reconceptualized:  the enemy, allies, weapons, defenses, responses, proportionality, culpability, and objectives. In essence, the entire concept of “warfare” because the world faces an avalanche of unknowns.

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

The Roots of Political Polarization and Role of Social Studies Education in Ameliorating It

Dr. Shawn Healy

Americans are more politically polarized at both the elite and population levels than at any time since the Civil War. Toxic polarization makes democratic governance difficult, if not impossible, leading to divided, dysfunctional institutions, and driving distrust of decision makers and one another. This session will trace the trajectory of political polarization in the U.S., examine its underlying causes, discuss its implications for social studies education, and conclude with steps we can take as citizens and teachers to ameliorate it.

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

Racism and Slavery in the Time of Lincoln

Dr. Ann Durkin Keating

This session will explore the life of Abraham Lincoln within the broader context of American society during the Civil War era. The focus will be the challenges of teaching about racism, slavery and equal rights in Lincoln’s time, as well as Lincoln’s own evolving views on those subjects set alongside those of Stephen A. Douglas and Frederick Douglass. 

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

COVID-19’s Impact on the Illinois Economy and State Government Finances

Mr. Ralph Martire

The coronavirus pandemic has touched all aspects of people’s lives. Family relationships, politics, education, social dynamics, and the way people work have been significantly altered because of this disease. The pandemic has also had a serious impact on the state’s budget, which will result in major ramifications for all Illinoisians. This session will explore both the immediate and long term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Illinois State Government’s finances and on the state’s economy as a whole.

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

Putting Historians in Their Place: Making Sense of Secondary Sources in the Middle School and High School Classrooms

Dr. Jennifer McNabb

This interactive presentation focuses on practical strategies for helping middle school and high school students work with secondary sources more successfully. For students trained to read texts for content and comprehension, reading historical texts critically for arguments and context often poses a significant challenge. This presentation offers teaching resources that will help prepare students for engaging critically with the work of professional historians and focuses on tips for helping students think and write about secondary sources, to position them for success at the next level of their academic careers.

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

AP Psychology Roundtable

Mrs. Kristin Myers

What engaging lessons, review activities, and assessments are currently being used in class?  In this roundtable discussion, participants will share favorite ideas with AP Psych colleagues. Documents and a shared folder link  will be sent out 2-3 weeks prior to the conference to gather topic requests and upload lessons. Please come to this session with at least 1 idea to share with colleagues and then walk away with many more.. 

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Current Crises and Ongoing Challenges

Dr. Wendy Pearlman

The past year has seen momentous events in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. In March 2021, Israel held its fourth inconclusive election in two years, eventually producing a government that deposed the twelve-year premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu. That May, violence escalated when Palestinian families in East Jerusalem protested Israeli court orders to force them from their homes, Israeli troops stormed al-Aqsa mosque, the Hamas movement fired rockets, and Israel launched bombardment on the Gaza Strip. Then, and in the months that followed, Palestinians have protested the Palestinian Authority for not only failing to offer leadership, but for being increasingly repressive of its own population. This presentation will explain these and other recent developments and place them in the vital historical and political context necessary to understand the larger picture of the conflict. Dr. Pearlman will be presenting virtually to an in-person audience.

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

Geographies of Everyday Life

Dr. RJ Rowley

Students see and do things that are geographical but don’t have names to attach to what they see and experience. It is critical that teachers help them identify how they see geography in their everyday lives. Such an understanding will help them better understand the concepts from the class when they have something familiar to apply them to. Furthermore, they will become more aware of their world and, as a result, will become better local and global citizens. This talk will address a series of examples of how students might recognize geography in their everyday lives through their daily movement and travels near and far, as well as in news, religion, politics, health, and socio-economic patterns we regularly encounter. Potential assignments that might help engage students in the practice of recognizing the geography all around us will be shared.

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

The US Supreme Court on the Precipice of Disaster

Dr. Artemus Ward

At a time of great upheaval and transition in American political history, the U.S. Supreme Court is confronted with a momentous choice: to continue the now-lost conservative project begun in earnest during the Reagan era or capitulate to the Democrats and the nascent New Left political regime. Or perhaps there is a third way? For their part, Democrats in the elected branches have threatened the justices with radical reforms including court-packing and term limits. Will the conservative Court-majority call their bluff and push their warrants or will a center coalition be able to preserve what is left of the Court's eroding legitimacy? *This presentation is a repeat from Session 3*

12:05 pm-1:00 pm

Middle School Civics Roundtable

Mr. Matthew Wood

Middle Schools throughout Illinois, as of the 2020 school year, were mandated to implement one semester of Civics at some time throughout their students’ middle school experience. Many districts, schools, and teachers have questions about how best to incorporate these mandates within existing course structures. As a 15 year teaching veteran and representative of the Illinois Civics Hub, Matt will guide a roundtable discussion on implementation of this mandate, provide best practice materials and resources to foster support in implementation of the mandate, and will provide Q&A time for those seeking support in this area. Around 2-3 weeks before the conference, participants will receive an email with a link to a shared folder to upload lessons and resources. 

Cost: $40 per attendee.

Each attendee must complete this form. Attendees will receive a confirmation email. Please save this email as proof of registration.

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Please complete one payment form for your school, and email or fax it back to the address below. Only one form is needed per school. Payment is due 30 days prior.