In my first year of teaching, I was able to attend an NCSS conference and have been hooked ever since. I still remember the excitement of looking over the program and trying mightily to narrow down what sessions I would attend. I remember being in awe as I walked through the exhibit hall, gathering free swag and so many great resources (teachers can never have enough pens and sticky notes, right?!) I remember the feeling of community and togetherness I felt. 

For me, the NCSS conference has always been much more than a conference. It has been a social studies “family” reunion, the opportunity to learn and grow, and a sense of something much larger- a sense that our responsibility as social studies educators is much greater than ourselves. It is our responsibility to educate and inspire our youngest citizens. This year’s NCSS conference will look a little different, but hopefully you will come away with the same feeling. 

This year’s conference theme, “Advancing Social Justice,” is more than a theme. It is a call to action. Social studies education is critical now, more than ever, and social studies educators are uniquely poised to address complex topics and themes within their classrooms in order to advance social justice and inspire students to take informed action. 

NCSS has partnered with the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) and the American Bar Association’s Divison for Public Education (ABA). Attendees at the conference will be able to attend NCSS, NCGE, and ABA sessions. We have a great lineup of interesting and provocative speakers- all addressing the conference theme in some way. Keynote speakers include Nikole Hannah-Jones, Chelsea Clinton, Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, Samantha Power, George Takei & Karen Korematsu, John Valadez, Rebecca Nagle, and Chuck Todd moderating a discussion with journalists about the 2020 Election.

You will also have access to hundreds of sessions and poster presentations, addressing a wide range of social studies disciplines, pedagogy, and strategies. New this year will be a strand of TED Talks, focused on social studies themes. There are sessions that will appeal to elementary and secondary teachers, supervisors, and college/university professors of social studies. In previous years, the narrowing down of which session to attend might have been the hardest task, but this year you have over 250+ hours of content available live over the opening weekend of the conference and on-demand through April 30, 2021.

Finally, what would a conference be without a little fun? The Ohio Council for the Social Studies partnered with us to host a trivia night on Thursday, December 3rd as a conference kick-off. In addition, each night of the conference we will offer “movie nights.” These nights will give members a chance to view new documentaries on social studies topics and engage in dialogue after each viewing. 

You will be inspired by so many and have your own teaching validated and challenged at the same time. I hope you come away with that same sense of community and togetherness, even though we are apart. 

Engage in discussion and dialogue about the conference on Twitter using #NCSS2020. We hope to see you there!