Real + Relevant = CRT

I recently was in a high school US History classroom.  The essential question was, "What problems need to be solved?  How?"  The topic was Reconstruction after the Civil War.  The teacher was connecting aspects of the Civil War to the following points:

• Freed Slaves:  A group of people who have been freed and some of them returned to the plantation for work because they were not "taught" the process of being self sufficient.  Those who returned to work on the plantation, worked for 10% of the commission.  
• History has been a creative process in solving problems:  Hurricane Irene, Joplin, New Orleans.  Then link back to rebuilding the South after the Civil War.  The government spent 12 years to rebuild...  Connected back to more recent natural disasters.  
• President Lincoln:  After dissecting his second inaugural address, the teacher gave a scenario of what it would look like to be a "Lincoln" mom.  

This is a sample of culturally responsive teaching and learning looks like.  I can't say how much I related to US History as a student, but I can say there were affirming remarks from students and what appeared to be a solid connection to the content.  I think I learned as much as the students.

On my way back to my office, I heard this story about Haiti on NPR, Cellphones Could Help Doctors Stay Ahead Of An Epidemic .  This story related to the discussion about rebuilding, and solving problems using technology.  I immediately reconnected to the classroom discussion.
 
The challenge as an educator, is to put all content into layman's terms.  Being able to articulate WHY we are teaching what we are teaching.