What a great conference we had yesterday! Thank you for joining us!
Also thank you to our amazing presenters, vendors, and our sponsors Wreaths Across America and the Maine Education Association!
Special thanks again to @shennabellows.bsky.social for her great keynote address! #socstudme
Sign ways “Welcome to the Augusta Civic Center Maine Council of Social Studies Auditorium Have a great day!”
It’s conference day! Snow won’t keep Maine social studies teachers away from a day of learning and community. #socstudme
Happy Birthday Maine!! You don’t look a day over 200.
Our conference schedule is online! Have you registered yet? Just over a week to go!
Go to mainesocialstudies.org to register and check out our amazing sessions! #socstudme
Excited to speak today @icivics.bsky.social #CivicLearningWeek panel with Educating for American Democracy where we’ll discuss the importance of civic education #socstudme #sschat civiclearningweek.org/national-for...
A very cool idea.
#sschat #socstudme 🗺️
SecDef Hegseth recently renamed Fort Liberty in NC back to Fort Bragg. But this time it is not honoring a Confederate general but instead is named for Maine WW2 veteran and Silver Star recipient Roland Bragg.
#sschat #socstudme
www.pressherald.com/2025/02/11/f...
Navy, yellow and white poster featuring a photo of an older black woman with short salt and pepper coiffed hair and chunky gold necklace and earrings. Text of flyer: Lois Ann Dickson Fitt Rice "mother of the Pell Grant" Born: 1933 - Portland, ME Died: 2017 - Washington DC Accomplishments: member of the College Board Creator of the Pell Grant, helping make college more affordable, especially for low-income students member Pres. Foreign Intel. Advisory Board (Clinton) member of the Brookings Institute mother of Susan Rice, dir. Domestic Policy Council and former US Nat, Security advisor (Obama) over 80 million students in the US have received Pell Grants
Back to #BlackMainersOfGenius is the mother of the Pell Grant, Lois Ann Dickson Fitt Rice! From Portland, ME Lois went on to an illustrious career in public service and business. She helped to create the Pell Grant which helped over 80,000 US students go to college! 🗺️ #sschat #socstudme
Text of flyer: Robert Benjamin Lewis was born in Gardiner, ME to a mother who was born enslaved and a father of unknown Native descent, though it is thought to be of Mohegan or or Pequot heritage. Little is known of Lewis' early life. The family would move to various places in Maine and eventually he would take to the sea working as a cabin boy, sailor, and cook. Lewis held three patents, a rarity for for African American inventors. His most well known was for a on oakum picking machine, which became a mainstay of Maine shipyards. Oakum picking was a tedious process but used in ships rigging. His machine made this faster and easier. He also invented a feather refresher for use in the fashion industry and improvements on brushes used in whitewashing. He also developed and sold "Lewis' Arabian Hair Oil" which promised to promote growth and shine. He grew his own hair long as proof of this promise! Lewis' most important contribution was the writing and publication of his book Light and Truth in 1836, which was the first history book to be written from an Afro-centric perspective. He included history of Native Americans, noting that they shared many similarities and a cultural heritage with Africans. This book refuted and denounced the ideas of white superiority. and asserted that all humans had a common ancestor, long before archeological evidence would confirm this. The book was published in Portland, Maine and has been reprinted many times since its initial run, including two 20th century versions. In his later life he would support colonization in Haiti, believing that Black people would never achieve equality in the US. He died in Haiti after falling ill while the ship he was working on was docked there.
Ok, so I do a thing in my classes called Real Mainers of Genius. For February I will be focusing on Black Mainers of Genius.
First up: Robert Benjamin Lewis 1802-1858, inventor and author of the first Afro-centric ethnography.
🗺️ #sschat #BlackHistoryMonth #socstudme
Did you know the solar panels President Carter installed at the White House eventually ended up in Maine? Unity College used them to heat water in their cafeteria! 🗺️ #socstudme #sschat
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/c...
I also sometimes share this beautiful song written about the Christmas Truce #socstudme #sschat #wwi #christmas24 youtu.be/s9coPzDx6tA?...
I share this with my students each year after we learn about the Christmas Truce. #socstudme #sschat #Christmas2024 #WWI youtu.be/NWF2JBb1bvM?...
Waiting to visit #socstudme
Attending @ncssnetwork.bsky.social ? Join me for FREE food and discussion around teaching ways we civically engage our students! www.eventbrite.com/e/teacher-le... #NCSS2024 #socstudme #sschat
