Gov’t/Econ

Teaching World-Changers: Lessons From the Civil Rights Movement

Posted by Stephen Lazar on Jan 11, 2012 in Assessment, Gov't/Econ, History, Pedagogy, Where I Stand | Comments Off

Seven years ago I fell in love with two wonderful woman named Bernice Robinson and Septima Clark, who founded the Citizenship Education Program, the little known backbone of the Civil Rights Movement.  Without these two, I am certain we would not be celebrating Martin Luther King Day this Monday.  We in education have much to learn from them:

The primary goal of the Citizenship Education Program was to teach and develop first-class citizens. And every aspect of the program was grounded in this goal—from teacher training sessions to day-to-day practices to the rhetoric of staff correspondence. Dozens of adult literacy programs had targeted African-Americans in the South—but none were as successful as the CEP, because too many narrowly focused on the skill of literacy, rather than its application in citizenship.

In my opinion, we have made a similar mistake with skill-based competency testing under No Child Left Behind. A curriculum and testing regimen that only focuses on skill development outside of meaningful and relevant application cannot prepare students and communities for 21st-century success. I hope that with the implementation of the Common Core standards, we will not make the same mistake again. As teachers, we need to develop a clear sense of our own purpose—and make every effort to ensure that how we teach each day aligns with that purpose.

Read the rest at Education Week Teacher. It’s an honor to share part of their story.

Democracy in Action: Following Up on My Students’ Questions

Posted by Stephen Lazar on Dec 14, 2011 in Gov't/Econ | Comments Off

(This is a long overdue follow-up post)

A few weeks ago, my students left me with a wonderful problem: they generated so many great questions leading to larger inquiry, that we had to narrow down the list in some way.  I must admit, when I came to school that Wednesday morning, I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do, so I took a chance.  I gave my students the entire list of questions, and told them they had 30 minutes to democratically choose five of them that would help us answer our unit essential questions: “How democratic is the US?” and “Does my vote count?”  I held an election for a facilitator, told students they first had to decide how they would go about making the decision, and then sat down and took notes on their process.  What followed in each section captured the American political process in all its flawed messiness.

First Period

This class held no discussion of how to make their decision.  The facilitator started by asking everyone which of the categories (that I had rather arbitrarily created) they were most interested in.  At one point, the facilitator said, “I think we should take 2 questions from each category with more than 4 votes.” Another student responded, “that doesn’t make sense, we’ll have too many questions,” but the discussion about how to go from there ignored the complaint.  The class was much more focused on their objective rather than discussion how to create a better process, much like the American electoral system, where we still vote on Tuesday for antiquated reasons.  The conversation also showed just how much ballot construction can influence the results of a vote.

At another point, one student took on the role of the media, encouraging people to continue arguing for his entertainment.  When a student lost a vote, she said “I feel like this classroom is not a democracy.”  The facilitator asked her, “What would you like to change?”  But the instigator then shouted “Fight fight fight fight!” distracting everyone from the base issue that was raised.  The process of deciding continued without any discussion of how to create a better process.

Second Period

Much like first period, there was no discussion of process.  The facilitator on her own decided to go question by question asking for yes or no votes.  People were voting on their interest levels.  At one point, a student reminded the class “We need 5 questions to answer these [essential] questions [on the board].”  Her comment was ignored, much like how in American democracy, we rarely focus on big picture and long-term, but rather on the issues right in front of us.

About 15 minutes into the process, one student noticed “No one’s even voting!”  Nonetheless, the voting continued.  Five minutes later, another student berated the class, “Can everyone participate, because you are going to start complaining about our decisions?”  Despite the complaint, no further effort was made to include other’s voices.

Third Period

Much like the earlier periods, the facilitator decided how to proceed on her own without discussing with the class.  She too went category by category, and then had students vote for one question within each category.

In the end, these were the questions students chose:

First Period

• Where is the government when Black Friday events happened?
• Why is pepper spray legal when police use it?
• If people are allowed to protest, why do police attack protesters for protesting?
• Can we manage to have safer Black Fridays?
• How do we eliminate poverty without becoming Communist?

Second Period

• What makes the US democratic?
• Can my vote get canceled out?
• What limitations do voters face?
• Is there a way to make our country more democratic?
• What would the US economy be with a Communist government?

Third Period

• Why is it okay for shoppers to campout out and not for protesters?
• How are citizens affected by police decisions?
• Why hasn’t there been another form of government in the US?
• How much power should one person have in the government?
• What would you want to pursue other than a capitalist lifestyle?

The questions about communism and capitalism were tabled until our second semester economics course.  The remaining closed questions were discussed in class the following days, which eventually led all three classes to questions about the influence of money in politics, which we have been examining for the past two weeks.

Some Amazing Questions: Follow up on Black Friday Lesson

Posted by Stephen Lazar on Nov 29, 2011 in Current Events, Gov't/Econ | 2 comments

I had great conversations that carried into today after the Black Friday lesson I did with them yesterday. We spent the second half of today using the Right Question Institute’s Question Formulation Technique to move further with deeper inquiry into the issues raised by this lesson and to help us answer our essential questions for the unit: How democratic is the US? & Does my vote count?

My students came up with some incredible questions, which means I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed with even beginning to think about how to move forward.  I’m leaning towards letting them make that decision (democratically) tomorrow.  Here are their questions, which I’ve categorized.

Questions about Democracy

• How democratic does the government consider itself?
• What makes something democratic?
• Is democratic being liberal or conservative?
• If we have democracy do we have to be socialists?
• What makes the US democratic?
• If our government is capitalist, how can we expect the government to be democratically successful?
• Can the US be democratic without a capitalistic system?

Questions about Voting

• Why would a democracy want an electoral college?
• How much of the 99% votes?
• Can my vote get canceled out?
• Are certain votes rules out?
• What happens when we can’t decide with votes?
• What limitations do voters face?
• Should the US give workers a voice?
• Do only rich people’s votes count?
• Who is in charge of making votes count?
• Whose vote really counts?
• Does the rich vote count more?
• Does age matter when talking about voting?
• How does capitalism play into voting?
• What are the demographics of voters?
• How does the voting system work?
• Does the youth vote actually count?
• Do you think at the age of 18 you are capable of making decisions that can effect the US?
• Why would the people that usually don’t vote be motivated to vote?
• Do you think when our generation votes our type of government will change?

Questions about how the Government Works

• Where is the government when these events happen?
• How is the government run through parties?
• Is the country more liberal or conservative?
• Who declares if the country is Republican or Democratic?
• Should a state be labeled Democratic or Republican?
• How can a president change his political views during his presidency?
• How does the democratic government work in the US?
• How much power should one person have in a government?

Questions about History

• Was it necessary for capitalism or democracy to come first for the second one to happen?
• Does capitalism cause democracy?
• What was the first type of government the US had?

Questions about Laws

• Why is pepper spray legal when police use it?
• Why didn’t the government get involved with the aggressive shoppers?
• Why is it okay for shoppers to camp out and not for protesters?
• Why is it okay for cops to pepper spray people in NY if pepper spray is illegal?
• What laws are they making?

Questions about the Police

• If people are allowed to protest, why do police attack protesters for protesting?
• Should police officers think about the rights of others?
• How are citizens affected by police decisions?
• Why do you think cops think they can do whatever they want?
• Why did cops think it was right to pepper spray innocent protestors?

Questions about Values

• Why is violence accepted during shopping by non-violent protesters are arrested for being democratic?
• Why are they worried about safety when it comes to protesting but every year a person gets hurt during Black Friday sales and they don’t stop that?
• How do the conflicts between capitalism and democracy affect the nation?
• How can we balance the ideals of democracy and capitalism?
• What brings more conflict to the US, capitalism or democracy?

General Questions

• Do the majority fully agree?
• Is “the younger you are, the less you know” really true?
• Can we manage to have safer Black Fridays?

Questions about Economics

• Why is it better for business to be privatized?
• What would the US economy be with a Communist government?
• What would you want to pursue other than a capitalist lifestyle?
• What does how much we pay people show the values of our society?
• How do we eliminate poverty without becoming communist?

Question Comparing to Other Places

• Do you think Democracy here is different from anywhere?
• Do you think capitalism is different anywhere else except New York?
• Why hasn’t there been another form of government?
• Which countries are democratic?
• What are the other practices of other democratic countries?
• Is there a way to make our country more democratic?

Resources I’m Using to Talk About Black Friday Violence

Posted by Stephen Lazar on Nov 26, 2011 in Current Events, Gov't/Econ | Comments Off

My lesson on Monday will ask students to think about the values of capitalism and democracy through the lens of looking at Black Friday and UC Davis violence.  I hope some of the resources will be helpful to others.

Do Now: What is the message that the creator of this image is trying to communicate?  What is your reaction to it? (4 minutes)

Ask students to turn to the person next to them and share what they wrote.  Then, ask for three volunteers to share what their partner had to say. (6 minutes)

Student Essay Reflection #1

Posted by Stephen Lazar on Oct 19, 2011 in Assessment, Gov't/Econ, Reflection | 2 comments

My new school has an school-wide interim assessment process for all classes where students are assessed on the same skills three times a year to track growth and inform instruction.  Unlike most “data-driven” initiatives, teachers at my school collaborate together to design the assessments and determine levels of performance.  The “data” we get from these assessments then is actually valuable in identifying areas where students need support.  The Social Studies assessments focus on creating arguments using evidence from documents.  My first essay in my government & economics course asked to students to agree or disagree with the statement, “Identities are created by marketing.”  The documents I used are here.  My reflection follows, with some of the data below it.

Based on the students’ essays on marketing and identity, there is a range of development on different skills.  The majority of students write in a way that shows they are college ready, and most of those who do not are close.  However, students are showing they are not ready to make valid arguments.  Most students know to make arguments, but their generalized claims need to be supported by concrete and specific evidence.  They also need to recognize that making a good argument involves recognizing shades of gray and opposing opinions.

The largest area of growth for my class is in sourcing information.  Nearly all students presented all or most information carelessly as facts, rather than showing that the information represented perspectives, or worse, came from advertisements.  Additionally, students need to learn to group evidence from multiple sources to support their claims, rather than letting the sources dictate the organization of their arguments.

Both needs are already being addressed in my class.  We are now practicing sourcing together with every single piece of information that is set forth, be it reading or video.  As this concept seems to be entirely new to students, I expect quick improvement.  In order to help students learn to group relevant evidence together, I am having them write individual paragraphs where they need to use multiple sources to answer a question.  These sources offer differing views, so it also helps students get in the habit of recognizing the multiple complexities or sides of issues we discuss.  Just for one example, students this week saw a video showing how direct democracy is being used to make decisions as Occupy Wall Street, but also read an op-ed decrying the state of California’s ballot initiative process.

As we move into looking at politics, students will have even more practice with looking at issues from various sides.  The class will rarely focus on what is the right policy stance, but rather, how a policy should be “sold” to different constituencies.  Students will participate in a couple of simulations from the Buck Institute where they take on the role of politicians trying to appease various groups on both sides of the aisle.

Notes: Standard areas are in all CAPS, followed by the indicators of that standard.  4=Excelling, 3=Succeeding, 2=Developing, 1=Beginning

Announcing a Great Opportunity for Students: Along the Color Line Video Contest

Posted by Stephen Lazar on Oct 16, 2011 in Assessment, Current Events, Gov't/Econ, History, Pedagogy, Planning, Projects | Comments Off

Please share this with any teachers you know.  Dr. Marable was very important to me, and I can think of no greater tribute to him then to share his work so that it inspires new social critics.  I have written a curriculum to to support the project, which you can find here.

“Along the Color Line” Video Contest: Teens Speak Out About Current Events

“Along The Color Line”, written by the late historian Dr. Manning Marable, was a public educational and information service dedicated to fostering political dialogue and discussion, inspired by the great tradition for political event columns written by W. E. B. Du Bois nearly a century ago. This video contest provides high school students with the opportunity and incentive to use scholarly research to analyze and pose solutions to some of the social issues that Manning Marable addressed in his writings such as sexism, racism, imperialism, and poverty. It continues the spirit of “Along the Color Line” by fostering critical analysis on political issues and public events that had special significance to African Americans and to other people of color internationally; allows students the creative license to translate the rigorous research that Dr. Marable used in his “Along the Color Line“ columns into a creative and accessible video medium; and empowers students to speak out about the material conditions of their lives to an audience of teachers, activists and community members at “A New Vision of Black Freedom: The Manning Marable Tribute Conference” sponsored by Columbia University’s Institute for Research in African-American Studies from April 26 – April 28, 2012.

Curriculum Connection: An adaptable weeklong curriculum developed by a NYS certified HS teacher is available free for educators. It provides educational units and background reading for teachers of Civics, Government and US History to connect this contest to their classroom while meeting several Common Core writing (1,4,5,6,9) and reading (1,2,4,6,8,9,10) standards.

Contest Requirements: After becoming familiar with Manning Marable’s column “Along the Color Line” style of blending scholarly data with political analysis to address social issues, students will create a 2-3 minute long video presentation that features their research and analysis of a social issue that is important to them and their community.

Criteria: This contest is limited to students currently enrolled in high school anywhere in the US. Submissions will be judged on depth of knowledge of social problem being discussed, originality, and creative expression. Students can submit individually or through their teacher as part of a class project.

Submissions: The due date is February 17, 2012 before midnight. Submissions should be sent to marablevideocontest@gmail.com. Only one submission per email and per student. Students must include their name, age, grade, and full contact information as well as the name, address and phone number of their high school. Videos longer than 3 minutes will not be accepted.

Finalists: The top finalists will be special guests of the conference, where their videos will be screened. The first place winner will be announced at conference.

Prize: $250 Prize, one of Dr. Marable’s books and the video featured on the conference website.

For more information or questions contact: askmarableconference@gmail.com