How We Can Teach Social Studies More Effectively
I was humbled and honored when Larry Ferlazzo sent me an email a couple of months ago to answer one of the questions for the wonderful teacher advice column he does at Education Week. I’m even more humbled to be featured in a column with Bill Bigelow, curriculum editor of Rethinking Schools magazine, and co-director of the Zinn Education Project, whose work I have long admired. The question for this week is, “What’s the best advice you can give to Social Studies teachers who want to be more effective?” An excerpt from my response:
The best advice I can give Social Studies teachers who want to be more effective is to remember that we teach students, not content.
While standards may dictate that students be able to explain the Green Revolution, the human beings in our classes demand that the information we help them learn also help them develop as people. Students may enter our rooms asking, “when am I ever going to need use this information?” We need to help them leave wondering, “what lessons can I learn from the past to help myself and our society make better decisions in the future?” A study of the Green Revolution, then, becomes a lesson in how a seemingly wonderful solution to problem (hunger) can have unintended consequences that are potentially far more catastrophic (overpopulation, increased reliance on polluting fossil fuels). By focusing on transferable goals, students will not only be more engaged, but will better remember and understand the content.
The rest is here. Part two and three to come, and they’re still looking for answers, so please contribute your suggestions!
How NY is Screwing Up the Common Core
Previously, I’ve explained why I like what the Common Core does for Social Studies learning and teaching. My latest piece for the New York Times’ Schoolbook takes on the implementation of the new standards:
Teachers who focus on content and test-prep are sadly doing all that is necessary to prepare students for the exam. A recent study by Gabriel Reich of Virginia Commonwealth University found that the Global Regents Exam does not call for any historical thinking skills, but rather knowledge of history content, basic literacy and “test-wiseness.”
The history Regents exams do not ask students to do anything that meets the overwhelming majority of the new Common Core standards.
It is particularly troubling then to find that the state does not seem to have a concrete plan in place to change the history regents exams.
Please read the whole piece, and add your comments here or there.
Resources for Teachers Teaching about Trayvon Martin
Tomorrow we will begin a formal discussion of Trayvon Martin’s murder in my classes. As all my students are of the colors that causes them to experience police harassment and distrust in lighter communities, there won’t be much need for background. We’ll read this article to establish facts, and then use the following protocol:
- Students are presented with readings (and sometimes video) on the event
- The class constructs a list of the facts of the event based on the texts and their knowledge
- The class lists questions that the event raises
- The class discusses the questions
This will allow my students concerns and voices to dictate the class, as it should be in a case like this that affects them so personally. This “class” could take anywhere from a day to a week, and that needs to be the case.
If I taught a more diverse group of students, I might use some of the readings below to help my students who don’t experience race-based discrimination on a regular basis. This reading list also serves as a good list for white teachers who might not fully understand why people are so angry (I’ve had three such conversations in the past week). Each article speaks for itself, and all should be read.
My Students Solve the World’s Problems
For the past five years, I held a school “History Day” fair, which I always called “the best thing I do.” As I’m teaching a senior government/economics course this year, I decided to hold “Citizenship Night” yesterday. Students completed Project Citizen portfolios, and we opened up the doors of our school to the public to hear students discuss their work. Project Citizen asks students to identify a public policy problem in their community. They then researched the problem, evaluated alternative solutions, developed their own solution in the form of a public policy, and created a political action plan to enlist local or state authorities to adopt their proposed policy.
The work my students presented last night was impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the passion in their voices as they shared their thoughts with members of the public. It was a testament to the amazing things young women and men will do when they are given some freedom to choose a topic, instruction and practice in research skills, and an authentic public audience for their work. Yesterday was the first time in seven years of teaching in NYC that I had 100% of projects completed on time, and for most of my students, it was the best work they’ve done. In the coming weeks, I’ll post photos of the work as well as some more information about what into the event.
There was a professional photographer on hand who took incredible photos (a little tricky to find: Go to http://jaydorfmanphotography.com/, click on the little arrow button, scroll down on the list in the top-right corner, and click ISA Citizenship Night). Gotham Schools has also an absolutely tremendous write-up of the event that, I have to admit, included some information from my students I didn’t even know yet. From Jessica Campbell at Gotham:
“Don’t be nervous,” Young Writers’ history teacher Stephen Lazar told his 72 seniors last night. The seniors were buzzing around the warm cafeteria, prepping their final citizenship projects for the imminent arrival of evaluators, who would be assessing their work and knowledge. “They’re nervous to hear what you’re going to do with the world.”
Citizenship Night Tonight!
If you happen to be in the Brooklyn-area and are free from 5:00-6:30 pm tonight, please join me for the Academy of Young Writers 1st ever Citizenship Night.
There, our seniors will present their work as part of Project Citizen. Project Citizen, sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, is a curricular program for students, youth organizations, and adult groups that promotes responsible participation in local and state government. The program helps participants learn how to monitor and influence public policy. In the process, they develop support for democratic values and principles, tolerance, and feelings of political efficacy.
Groups of seniors identified a public policy problem in their community. They then researched the problem, evaluated alternative solutions, developed their own solution in the form of a public policy, and created a political action plan to enlist local or state authorities to adopt their proposed policy. My students developed a portfolio of their work and are eager to present their project to civic-minded community members.
Students are taking on a range of issues, including:
- Cyber bullying
- Internet Privacy/Piracy
- Gentrification
- New York City School Reform
- Domestic Violence
- Animal Cruelty
- Trafficking
- Obesity
- Gay Rights
We hope you will join us to listen to what our students have to say, ask them difficult questions, and potentially help them begin to make the changes they wish to see.
The Academy for Young Writers’ Citizenship Night will take place on Tuesday, March 20 from 5-6:30 pm in the cafeteria of our current building at 183 S. 3rd St in Williamsburg.
(For those of you not in NYC, I will share pictures and more here in the coming days)
Guest Post: A Pi Day Lesson for History Teachers
As math teachers around the country gear up for the one day a year some students get excited about math tomorrow, (at least if my remeberance of high school is correct), I am happy to share this History of Pi (Day) Lesson from my friend and former colleauge, John Mcrann, of the Bronx Lab School.
I’d like to thank Steve for letting me “math-evangelize” through his blog. One of my biggest goals as a mathematician and math teacher is to connect my students to the ways in which they use mathematical reasoning in their lives outside of my class. One way that I’ve had some success doing this in the past is to teach about the history of the discipline – empowering students to see math concepts as solutions developed by other humans to solve human problems rather than problems on a page. On pi day, I shared this lesson with some history colleagues at our school who were interested in these ideas and I submit them here for anyone who’s interested. Please let me know what you think.
Pi Day History Activity (Download the Power Point)
