U of I professors discuss ways to prepare future educators to teach N…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – U of I professors are discussing ways to prepare the next generation of educators to teach Native American history.

On Friday, Governor Pritzker signed a bill requiring public schools in Illinois to include the subject in their curriculum. 

“We followed the bill as it went through and the various iterations to get a sense of what was the state of Illinois thinking about when they’re thinking about Native American history,” Rosalyn LaPier, a history professor at U of I, said. “How then can we take our expertise and bring that to the classroom?”

LaPier said the department has been talking to the College of Education on how they can work together to prepare students to teach it.

“One of the things that we have been talking about throughout the spring and even this summer, is how we can now think about kind of revamping our coursework, so that we are beginning to think about how our courses can help build knowledge and build…