Teaching Through Tension: What Social Studies Requires Now/Let's Talk Power Live! 📱

Social studies asks students to examine people, power, history, evidence, and the world around them. But what happens when the content itself becomes contested? This week on Let’s Talk Power Live, I’m joined by educator and social studies leader Ismael Jimenez for a conversation about what strong social studies instruction requires right now. We’ll explore what rigorous inquiry looks like when communities disagree about what should be taught, how educators distinguish critical thinking from indoctrination, and what happens when political tension begins shaping the stories, perspectives, and evidence students are allowed to encounter. We’ll also dig into the work of curriculum itself: how difficult histories are taught, how multiple perspectives are handled without flattening complexity, and how educators can create space for students to question, analyze, and develop conclusions they can defend. Because teaching through tension is not about avoiding controversy. It is about preserving the conditions for serious thinking. And in a moment when social studies is increasingly under pressure, the question is not simply what we teach. It is what we are equipping students to do with what they learn. Teaching Through Tension: What Social Studies Requires Now Thursday | 5:30 PM ET Let’s Talk Power Live