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.
Why Just Mercy Matters
The film Just Mercy can offer invaluable insights to students in unpacking the harsh realities of the justice systems.
![Bryan Stevenson giving a Ted Talk](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-07/6945122783_9955987a88_o.jpg?h=0c2904f9&itok=YxyiJlBr)
6 Classroom Design Tips for Teachers
These classroom design strategies will help you set up your classroom to positively impact student behavior and deepen learning.
![A birds eye view of a classroom filled with students in conversation.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/2018_classroomimage_FH287366.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=Vq5Ksw0d)
Sometimes Empathy is Hard for Teachers
The stresses of teaching can spread educators thin emotionally.
![Graphic image: woman sits at the computer and crying covering her face with her hands](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-08/WomanCryingAtDesk_Empathy_GraphicFH2187402.jpg?h=9e16a70f&itok=Z4bIGhGP)
Teaching LGBTQIA+ Students: Insights from Harvey Milk High School
In this interview, Harvey Milk High School staff discuss strategies for engaging with LGBTQIA+ students as an educator.
![LGBTQ pride flag on chalkboard.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/LGBTQPrideFlagChalkboard_iStock-929777058%20%281%29.jpeg?h=8e4088dc&itok=R2ov_E-w)
Red Scarf Girl Today: An Interview with Ji-li Jiang
Red Scarf Girl author Ji-li Jiang illuminates a number of key lessons that American educators and citizens can glean from the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
![A drawing of young children in China holding little red books in the air.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/RedScarfGirl_preview.png?h=52abab5c&itok=GXuIUI83)
When Is Fake News Propaganda?
Facebook admits social media can be bad for democracy with the rise of fake news used to sway the 2016 presidential election. But when is fake news propaganda?
![Definition of propaganda on a poster: "Propaganda is the task of creating and directing public opinion"](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-07/PropagandaDefinitionR2.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=tJg54RUF)
The Myth of a Post-Racial Society After the Obama Presidency
Barack Obama's legacy as the first Black president of the US was shaped in part by the politics, race relations, and legacy of the Reconstruction era.
![Print shows head-and-shoulders portraits of Blanche Kelso Bruce, Frederick Douglass, and Hiram Rhoades Revels surrounded by scenes of African American life and portraits of John. R. Lynch, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Joseph H. Rainey, Charles E. Nash, John Brown, and Robert Smalls.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-07/01619v.jpg?h=46c12aa3&itok=aNKcUyY9)
How To Assess the Strength of a Democracy
Create a checklist to assess what makes a healthy democracy, especially in times of divisiveness.
![Definition of Democracy](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-06/iStock-531943280.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=juTZbmTu)
How I Faced My Identity When Teaching the Reconstruction Era
Facing History educator Brigid Rowlings shares how her identity and her students' identities shaped how she taught the Reconstruction era in her classroom.
![A sitting teacher speaks to three students while holding a book.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/_DSF7297-15.jpg?h=c3635fa2&itok=PjXiF622)