Ideas This Week
Ideas This Week is your hub for updates on all things Facing History—from announcements and featured press to expert interviews, impact stories, and essays on the ideas driving our work.
Youth Activism and Grief on Earth Day
Earth Day grants educators the opportunity to consider the ecological issues facing the planet and the unique ways that they are impacting the young people in their classrooms, which both elevates youth activism surrounding the issue and provides a healthy environment to process "ecological grief."
![Earth is our home cardboard sign on grass.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Untitled%20design%20%2832%29.png?h=e3685665&itok=z-QIZ9aG)
How to Build an Affirming Classroom in the Face of Anti-Trans Legislation
In response to the rise of legislation targeting transgender people, Facing History provides resources for educators to build an affirming, welcoming class community for your students, especially trans and non-binary students.
![Pink and blue chalk with transgender symbol stock photo.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/iStock-847839366.jpeg?h=140710cd&itok=0Ge59Obs)
On Existing: A Personal Reflection
Facing History staff takes a moment to reflect on personal experiences of being a minority amidst a climate of hate and the ability to use reading as a tool for discovering oneself.
![Photo from trans rights march.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/transreflection.jpeg?h=c6980913&itok=xFqakjYv)
A Brief History of Barbie: From Fashion Model to Ida B. Wells
The introduction of the Ida B. Wells Barbie as part of the Women Series of Barbies marks an opportunity to gain meaningful insight into changing conceptions of gender, race, and education through the emergence and evolution of Barbie.
![Ida B. Wells barbie in court.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/idwbarbie_large.jpeg?h=e188ef2c&itok=DaKAijbC)
Teaching in the Light of Women's History
Women’s History Month not only provides the opportunity to further examine the profound ways in which women teachers, and broader perceptions of women, have shaped the teaching profession itself, but also reveals areas of patriarchal rhetoric we must disrupt in order to cultivate school communities that do right by teachers and students.
![Black and white School House 1870 photo with woman teacher.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Schoolhouse1870_Cropped.jpeg?h=82a2e98c&itok=UherGAUe)
3 Women Pioneers in Education
Facing History explores three women pioneers whose legacies continue to shape the contemporary educational landscape.
![Margaret Haley, Maria Montessori, and Mary McLeod Bethune.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/WomenEdPioneers.jpeg?h=77a1d1cf&itok=pkog83Y2)
Anti-Trans Legislation: How We Got Here and Why it Matters
Facing History describes the wave of Anti-Transgender legislation happening in the US, and how this affects our trans youth.
![crowd of people outside with a sign raised to protect trans kids](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/protect_trans_kids_sign_photo.png?h=a6c55029&itok=yP1CBUpC)
#MeToo Past and Present: 3 New Books on Challenging Gender Violence
Facing History summarizes three new books that have been released in the last year that address the ongoing struggle of women against gender violence.
![Colorful quilted portrait of activist Tarana Burke](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/tarana_colorful_quilt_graphic.jpeg?h=1be3eeeb&itok=_rUL5irF)
5 New YA Books on Women's History
Facing History provides a list of five YA titles that have been released in the last year that make important themes in women’s history and contemporary life accessible to young readers.
![Patriotic Graphic with Banner that reads Good Girls Don't Make History](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/Good_girls_dont_make_history_graphic.jpeg?h=a3f48866&itok=PmROzEKj)
5 New Books on Women's History for 2022
Facing History shares five books that have been released in the last year that address important themes in women’s history.
![Book Cover of Woman: The American History of an Idea](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/woman_book_cover_image_red.jpeg?h=ca0659a5&itok=HGXdCSu2)
January 6th
The January 6th investigation has deepened widespread concerns about rising threats of fascism, racism, white nationalism, and other phenomena that undermine justice for all. But in analyses that focus primarily on the role of white nationalism fomented within media echo chambers, for example, commentators have overlooked what may be a more pervasive parallel phenomenon: the widespread crisis of faith in U.S. media and institutions at large.
![Photo of Two People Watching the News on TV](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/two_people_watch_news_tv.jpeg?h=140710cd&itok=9u-6fk5n)