Eris' Aerie

So the three components of a successful social studies student/citizen are: Competency, Reflection and Empathy. Being good at what you do (in this case, usually that means 'knowledgeable'), being able to tell why you do what you do and understanding why other people do what they do. These are all important and I'm always on the look out for ways I can encourage and suppot their development, especially Empathy, which seems to be so lacking in the world. One of my favorite suggestions from my text book is to have a board up, with the outline of a country or region, where students can pin articles or questions regarding that area. This can help direct instruction and lets you know what the kids are actually interested in. I would like to broaden that out and start it even earlier by asking the students what questions they have about the world, how it works and why it is the way it is. Obviously, there are dangers here, and the discussion would have to be carefully structured to keep the discussion on point. Likewise, because it would be early in the school year, I'd have to make it very explicit that there were no stupid questions. Just because something seems obvious to you doesn't mean it IS obvious and maybe the person asking is thinking of it in a different way or in a deeper manner. I do not accept this idea that students care less about the world around them now than at some previous point in history. Kids want to know what's going on in the world, what they have been discouraged from is asking questions about it. This is also fun for me because maybe Period 1 is more focused on gender issues, Period 2 more on economical ones. I can teach the same lesson but highlight different things, keeping it fresh and interesting and maybe the kids who are in different periods can compare notes say during lunch if they want (I know, what kids talk about classes during social time, but a teach can dream). This is called Social Issues Teaching, where you turn the curriculum towards answering big questions, hopefuilly ones that resonate with the students. A lot of them involve ethical checklists, basically asking if the students agree or disagree with the actions taken by the historical characters in question. The depth that we could delve into with these issues is obviously dependent on age, but it is more important that the students are empowered to resolve their own questions as much as possible than it is to race to the end of a prescribed unit.

Would like to remind the class that saying the Pledge of Allegiance is not required and you, as a student, cannot be punished for it according to the Supreme Court and also Common Sense. What's the point of forcing children to swear an oath to a country that infringes on one of the rights it promised to protect, IE, that of Free Speech? Technically, I as a teacher, also cannot be penalized for refusing to say the Pledge, though there are less formal ways I can be discouraged from that course of action. Personally, I've always had really mixed feelings about the Pledge. On the one hand, I DO love my country, and there is something nice about everyone coming together at the beginning of the day, starting with a sense of community... On the other hand, it makes everyone sound like drones and that always rubs me all kinds of poorly. For similar reasons, I also really dislike when teachers do call and response questions because a) it isn't effective at demonstrating what students actually know, only what the few loud-enough ones do, there are always some that just don't answer and those are the ones you should have been trying to reach more anyway, and b) again, it's very Let's Be Good Little Automatons which is the opposite of what I want for my class. I want to encourage/inspire students to make their country something WORTHY of allegiance, not psychologically trick them into admiring it uncritically. That's very much putting the cart before the horse. Likewise, while I want to tell the kids 'This is the community we should have in the classroom,' it is better to create the environment for that community to develop on its own, organically. The students get more ownership, they feel empowered and they can see how possible it is to make their space better, hopefully carrying that into the future. Bangarang.

Pope Julius convinced Henry VIII to join the Holy League by sending him a ship full of Parmesan cheese and Greek wine.