I'm a historian of Early America, a complex time and place where people often defy simple categorization and surprise us with their actions and beliefs. One of the great things about History is that there is space for a variety of interpretations. Historians disagree about things all the time! But another core part of History is learning how to make a reasoned, reasonable argument, based on careful consideration of the evidence. We closely examine historical sources in my classroom, allowing them to challenge our preconceptions. This helps us to draw meaningful connections between past and present. Ultimately, I ask students to reflect on this: Do they agree with the writer L. P. Hartley that “the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there”? Or do they resonate more with William Faulkner’s conclusion that “the past is never dead. It’s not even past”? These are questions I’m still grappling with as a teacher, and I’m always so interested to hear what my students think. History is fundamentally a conversation- a conversation that becomes much richer and more accurate when every student in the class feels able to engage with the sources and empowered to contribute.