Cierra Article About Bethany Hobbs Abolition Lesson

Despite a heavy windstorm that ripped through the Northeastern region of the country that caused internet connectivity challenges for many students in Bethany Hobbs’ social studies class, they eagerly met on Monday, April 13, to share abolitionist autobiographies they wrote as part of Bill Bigelow’s ‘If There is No Struggle’: Teaching a People’s History of the Abolition Movement lesson. In this role play, every student portrays a member of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), an organization founded in 1833 that aimed to end slavery in the United States. Each student wrote an autobiography of how they came to be an abolitionist and detailed how their commitment to refuting the 200-year-old institution began.

Hobbs encouraged the 9th- and 10th-grade students to choose and examine their identities — gender, age, race, social class, and geographic region — while crafting in-depth narratives to deepen their understanding of the individuals who persisted in the fight to radically change society. . . . Continue reading about Bethany Hobbs’ online lesson