The countdown is on! “Reframing the Curriculum” hits the shelves in August.

This is the book your students need you to read. Susan’s new book, currently available for pre-order, will be available for purchase soon. This is a practical, hands-on guide to weaving the concepts of healthy communities, democratic societies, and social justice into academic disciplines. Developed for future and practicing teachers, this volume is perfect for teacher education courses in instructional design, social foundations, and general education, as well as for study in professional learning communities.

This book will challenge you to consider the larger story of education in the 21st century and respond with curriculum makeovers that engage students in solving problems in their schools, communities, and the larger world. It presents a proven method for designing units that gives educators across grades and disciplines the tools to bring sustainability and social justice into experiential, project-based instructional approaches.

Pedagogical features include:

• Specific examples and templates that offer readers a framework for reworking their units and courses while meeting required standards and incorporating innovative classroom practices.
• Activities and discussion questions that bring to life and establish ties with the curriculum.
• eResources, including a facilitator’s guide, offering examples of fully developed units created with this model and an editable template for redesigning existing units.

Susan Santone to Speak at United Nations Conference

Susan Santone will participate in a panel on global education at a United Nations conference in August. Her two co-panelists will be Dr. Rose Cardarelli, a retired military officer and professor of human security who has worked with refugees in Greece, Haiti, Germany, and Jordan, and Dr. David Stillman, Executive Director of the Public-Private Alliance Foundation, a UN-affiliated organization that aims to reduce poverty by networking business, government, academia, the financial community, NGOs, and others. The moderator will be Mavrek Srecko, an expert in international education.

The discussion, titled “Education is a Human Right for All,” will focus on ensuring quality education for displaced children and the role of stakeholders ranging from governments to teachers. Drawing from her new book, “Reframing the Curriculum,” Santone’s contributions will emphasize ways teacher preparation institutions can support educators who are supporting displaced students through trauma-informed, culturally relevant instruction.

The panel is part of “We the Peoples… Together Finding Global Solutions for Global Problems,” a global gathering convened by the United Nations Department of Public Information. The event will take place August 22-23 at the UN headquarters in New York. #UNNGO2018

June’s Master Class

Photo Credit: University of Michigan School of Education

The master class Susan taught in partnership with the University of Michigan School of Education was a success.

The SOE recently partnered with education nonprofit Creative Change to offer a two-day master class for educators. Participating teachers learned about curricula that guide students to solve authentic problems while simultaneously meeting content standards. The session was attended by K-12 teachers across disciplines and led by Creative Change founder Susan Santone. Santone explains that the master class was designed to help teachers understand sustainability and social justice in order to incorporate these topics into their teaching. Social justice curricula and teaching practices are of great interest to many education students and practicing teachers. The SOE is committed to offering opportunities for teachers to pursue diversity, inclusion, justice, and equity in their classrooms.

 

During the class, teachers explored their ideal version of the future for their school, community, and society, considering the ways in which they could help to make their vision a reality. “No matter what their discipline was, teachers were able to connect these new curricular concepts to their community. They also saw that these concepts didn’t abandon the state standards, but actually elevated them,” said Santone.

Read more at the U of M School of Education.