“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Meade
Social Studies, History, Civics, Policy & Process, and Criminal Justice. Why wouldn’t you want to teach these? It is the building block of our future. How we plot our trajectory by looking at how we got here. We can’t change our society without understanding it, nor can we preserve it.
The US Army taught me how to hate. That may be an exaggeration, I was a pretty angry young man and probably would have learned how to hate more efficiently without them but man. Those Drill Instructors were good at teaching hate. I hated all things communist so much that I still hated them 30+ years after basic training.
As part of my Masters in Public Administration coursework I went to Vietnam studying international public policy. I didn’t hate everyone when I got there, I felt very welcomed and found it to be a wonderful place. Then I visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum and the Vietnamese Military Museum. This is where it got me. These people, the North Vietnamese that I had been taught to hate had a different history and as a result, a different perspective. Their collectivist culture had a bearing to be sure but their totems were different too. Their reference points, their understanding and their pride were real, even though it conflicted directly with mine. It took me a while to understand all of this. To process it, to really get deep. I had to accept that I had been taught a false hate. It had its purpose, but it was not real.
It helped go deep on my thoughts with Vietnam that I had already gone their on Civil Rights. The Netflix movie 13th brought it home after I had spent several days facilitating a police leadership class with a surprise student. A leader from one groups that is extremely active criticizing Portland Police Bureau was a student in the class. She helped me see that while we were saying the same words, we had very different meanings and that our reality as a result was very difficult. Proactive meant different things to both sides of the conversation. Professional did not have a shared meaning, it went on and on. Then, watching 13th and seeing the role that Police had within the black community such a short time ago, gave me pause. I had to rethink my thoughts on police minority relationships. Our past is prelude to our now and our future.
It took me 5 decades to come to this place. How do I not help others find it faster. How do I not help shape the future with knowledge of our past? It seems imperative. It seems important.
Social Studies to me is how its wired. How things have changed predicts how things will change. The world is a confusing place, making sense of the geopolitical, geographic, historical, and economic world is important. Here I will stand, making a difference in my corner of the world.
Eyes forward, positive attitude
Chief
The Embed Educator 
Wow, I LOVE your story! I feel like I haven’t been able to really listen to and understand the whole trajectory that brought you to where you are today in the path of becoming a social studies educator. I appreciate you sharing the hard conversations and experiences that opened up whole new perspectives of the world and the history behind it. It is such a good reminder that we are always learners, and that becoming a social studies educator embodies this belief about asking questions and learning about others and the world around us in ways that stretch our minds and ways of thinking. Your students are going to love the way your approach the history and understanding of our world!
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