Liz Ramos
BIO
Liz Ramos has been a high school history teacher since 2005 and is currently teaching World History and AP U.S. Government at Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga. She is passionate about creating opportunities for students to explore history through documents and interactives to #DOhistory. Liz actively seeks opportunities for students to own their their learning and spark their curiosity in the subject matter, as well as to become engaged citizens. Also, she is an active integrator of technology to help students seek out information and create demonstrations of their learning, and emphasizes media and digital literacies with her students.
Liz Ramos is active in the educational community participating in organizations and networking with teachers on Twitter in various social studies groups. She currently is a member of the California Council for the Social Studies (CCSS) and serves on the Publications Committee. Also, she is a member of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and has presented at multiple of their annual conferences, as well as being a member of the Inland Empire for the Council for the Social Studies (IECSS) while also serving as their Vice President, presenter at various events that they have sponsored over the years, and an IECSS Outstanding Social Science Educator for the Inland Empire twice. She is also a member of the Computer Using Educators and has presented on ways to integrate history and technology at various area councils' tech fairs. Additionally, Liz had served on a variety on curriculum projects locally and nationally; she served as the NCSS advisor on the Newseum’s development of Freedom in the Balance curriculum, wrote a lesson plan on integrating 3D printing in government lesson for Air Wolf, wrote blog posts for CCSS and Voicethread on integrating technology in history education, is a teacher leader in the Constitutional Rights Foundation T2T Collab grant project, serves on an Advisory Board for a Ronald Reagan Library National Archives project, and has written curriculum for PBS’ We the Voters video and lesson series. Liz Ramos is a board member of the News Literacy Project, is a member of the History Teacher Leadership Network- as well as part of the Teacher Leadership Network Advisory group, and has also just became an member of the iCivics Educator Network. Lastly, Liz Ramos is proud that her AP Government class was recognized in Alta Loma High School’s California Civic Learning Award by the California Department of Education.
STATEMENT
We are living in challenging times. As the public and politicians push social studies and civics to the side, I say they are even more important. Advocacy- this is an important part of our past and social studies. I am constantly bringing stories of advocacy into the class and encourage students that we need more #GoodTrouble, as the great civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis calls it. Over the years, I have been fortunate to have had many conversations with teachers across the country and internationally through my various program and conference experience. Given this knowledge, I look forward to using my classroom experience and my interactions with other educators to advocate for the inclusion of social studies in educational curriculum, as well as advocate for better policies and resources for California social studies educators. CCSS goals include resources sharing, I will advocate for the sharing of resources available to social studies teachers and sharing of ways to integrate them into educator classrooms. Many media literacy pieces of legislation have been introduced in the state legislature. Today, students and adults alike are having difficulties navigating this challenging media ecosystem. Pressure must continued to be placed on the integration of media literacy in our curriculum in order to empower our students to be correctly informed citizens moving forward. Lastly, our world and today’s workplace is a different one decades before and is continuing to change at a rapid pace. Our students today need to be able to enter the workplace as well rounded students with a sense of curiosity and creativity. STEM is the current buzzword and push. However, one needs to also remember civics and ethics in STEM fields. One of the top soft skills employers note on a variety of surveys is creativity. These are just a couple of reasons why we need to continue to push and advocate for inquiry in the social studies classroom. Through inquiry lessons, our students learn critical thinking skills, create demonstration of their understandings, and take informed action. This process of Inquiry/C3 Framework needs to be included and more resources to assist teachers in creating opportunities for student inquiry to better equip them for life in today’s workplace. I look forward to continuing to advocating for the above and more as your future CCSS Board member- we need more #GoodTrouble!