Shit I Have to Teach in Twenty Minutes
A podcast for history teachers or anyone in a hurry. Eric and Rob interview historians about what are the important concepts about a given topic and they provide free lesson plans aligned with that discussion.
Shit I Have to Teach in Twenty Minutes
S1/E25 Post WWII Suburbanization with Walter Greason
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Rob and Eric are joined by Dr. Walter Greason to discuss how to best teach the suburbanization that occurred after World War II. Dr. Greason is the Wallace Endowed Chair of History at Macalester College. He begins by discussing the centrality of suburbanization in recent U.S. history and suggests that teachers use local stories as a lens for understanding larger national trends. He also challenges teachers to flip the way they teach suburbanization, reversing the traditional narrative that begins with the urban core and spreads out. Instead, he encourages looking at the experiences of rural communities that were changed by the encroachment of suburban development. He also notes the importance of African American pioneers who sought to obtain the American Dream by gaining access to housing in affluent areas. The challenges those pioneers faced will help students understand the limits of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s which did not adequately address access to housing, employment, and capital accumulation. While the Fair Housing Act of 1968 sought to address those limitations, he argues that enforcement of its provisions has been difficult. He also encourages teachers to trouble the stereotypical, deficit narratives about thriving Black communities that policy makers used to dismantle those communities. He also explains that by the 1990s most Americans lived in suburbs and not in cities, and teachers should consider emphasizing the importance of suburbia in shaping the second half of the 29th century.
Lesson Plans and resources:
The “Advising the Venables” lesson can be found at https://bit.ly/4x2wsEy
The “Suburbanization and Segregation by Design” lesson can be found at https://bit.ly/4hXIwmB
Other Resources
Segregation by Design Website: https://www.segregationbydesign.com/
Credits
Opening theme music, “Bossa Bossa,” created by Clare Howard www.clarehoward.com Music supported by the National Council for History Education www.ncheteach.org
Transition theme music, “The Clock is Ticking,” created by Emily Hahn.
Logo artwork created by Jessica Goldman.
Shit I Have to Teach in 20 Minutes is produced by Eric Hahn and Rob Good. Audio and video editing by Sebastian Rosales.
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