7 Questions with Dr. Barbara C.Cruz: Educator, Historian, and Author

 

Dr. Bárbara C. Cruz is Professor of Social Science Education in Tampa, Florida. She is a former

high school history teacher. Today, she works with both pre- and in-service social studies

teachers. Her current project involves the infusion of visual art in teaching social studies, an

offshoot of a Fulbright Global Scholar award she completed in Alicante, Spain.

1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

My high school American History teacher, Ms. Lani Dunthorn. She was passionate about her

subject and, before the term “individualized instruction” was used, employed exactly that

strategy. I remember being bored to tears by our classroom history textbook and not completing

the assigned readings. She offered me the option to read Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the

Wind instead, with some ancillary research activities to determine what was fact and what was

fiction. Brilliant!

2. What role does history play, or has it played, in your personal life?

I am an immigrant from Cuba, coming to the U.S. in 1966 under the Immigration and Nationality

Act of 1965 signed into law by President Johnson. Like many immigrant kids, I served as both a

linguistic translator for my family as well as a cultural mediator. What I would learn in school, I

would later teach my parents at home. We became American citizens on July 4, 1976, the U.S.

Bicentennial. History is part and parcel of my and my family’s personal and professional

journeys.

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

I earned a Bachelor’s in Social Studies Education from the University of Miami, followed by

Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Social Studies Education from Florida International University.

Each of these degrees focused on the curriculum and instruction of the social sciences, with

history at the core. My programs of study all required courses in history --- world, U.S., Latin

American --- and I have continued to weave these learnings in my work, both in the classroom

and in publications.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

People from all walks of life must know not only their own history, but that of others. How can we

be part of the human race without this knowledge?

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

Such a tough choice to make! I guess I would have to say the U.S. Civil Rights Era. Although I

lived through it, I was a child at the time. I remember being confused by so many events and

people (especially since I was not yet fluent in English and my parents could not always help me

understand). So now, learning about that period helps me make sense of those memories and

brings me back full circle.

6.   Your “day job” is as a professor of social science education.  What are particular challenges

that you see facing your students in 2024 as future social studies teachers and how do you

prepare them to be great teachers?

The future (and current) social studies teachers I work with report so many distractions I never

had to face as a novice teacher. Social media and the rise of misinformation is a huge problem

among young people. I try to help teachers teach critical media literacy to their students.

Educators are also facing encroachment by politicians and community groups, resulting in harsh

curricular mandates that are not always in the best interests of students or teachers. I always

remind my students that ultimately, they are curricular and instructional gatekeepers,

professionals who have agency in their classrooms.

7.       Your books include a history of the Cuban sandwich and an award-winning children’s

biography of César Chávez.  What kinds of stories pique your interest as a researcher and

author?

I love the idea of revealing “hidden histories.” My first book for young people was a biography of

the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. It’s hard to imagine now because she has become a cultural

icon, but when I started the research in 1994, she was little known in U.S. popular media. Since

then, I have written books for both young learners as well as teachers. My work also allows me

to explore and publish scholarly works on a wide variety of topics such as teaching English

language learners, the history of segregated beaches, using visual art to teach about social

issues, and the history of LGBTQ communities within the larger historical context.

The Cuban sandwich book has been a fun project and my co-authors and I thoroughly enjoy

introducing people to one of the hallmarks of my culture.