Connor Williams comes to his historical work from a teaching background, having spent six years teaching middle and high schoolers American history, literature, government and economics, not to mention one year as a substitute jack-of-all-trades that brought him from the Chemistry lab to the Art Studio to the ESL classroom. He continues to sporadically teach for Middlebury College.
Having taught high school classes ranging from basic to AP, Williams approaches historical education with a strong understanding of what effective instruction looks like, the best methods by which to engage and connect with students, and how to build classroom cultures that allow for deep and searching questioning of the past. He also understands the challenges today’s educators face, including restrictive state standards, too much curriculum for too little time, disengaged students, and the challenges and opportunities posed by ever expanding technology. Williams also has experience successfully conveying traumatic heritages and histories surrounding oppression, enslavement and genocide to diverse groups of students, focusing on equity and inclusion.
As such, his teaching workshops address every step of the process of ethically and effectively teaching these “difficult histories,” from selecting primary source materials and constructing impactful lesson plans to moderating conversation and creating effective evaluations. From one-off Zoom workshops to intensive semester long visits and follow ups, Williams is prepared to bring his unique combination of formal scholarship, publicly facing history, and secondary teaching experience to classrooms, departments, faculties, or districts.
Connor Williams 