Parenting a toddler can yield surprisingly rich metaphors for thinking about teaching history. My two-year old can identify Bob Dylan on two of my t-shirts (she asked). I have taught her to connect his name with the phrase “American genius.” This amuses me and confounds her mother who views Dylan as manically self absorbed. Of […]
I have a somewhat deserved reputation for tardiness. Just after I finally read Sam Wineburg’s critique of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and began drafting some thoughts, Zinn and Wineburg were in the news thanks to Purdue University President Mitch Daniels. Then, I went on vacation…So, here are my belated thoughts on […]
Presenting at a stimulating Minnesota Council for History Education workshop this week, I stressed the importance of establishing classroom routines around historical inquiry. I know this is important, because I have yet to do it fully and know the consequences. Students still find the task of critically approaching sources strange and opaque. Establishing a frequently […]
Recently, I spent a period (67 minutes) on the Zoot Suit Riots with four classes of regular level, 10th grade US History students, using SHEG thinking like a historian materials and clips from PBS American Experience documentary, available on youtube. The documentary used a lot of witnesses to and participants in the events around the […]
UPDATE: I have created a webpage with a lesson plan and links to specific resources for the activity described below. While looking for some primary sources to make a short unit on Modern Africa more student-centered I came across a trove of primary sources at the South African Government’s site for Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. […]
As I get ready to start another e-learning course I’m thinking back to last fall’s online Politics and Law course. Beyond the communication and motivation issues, I am convinced that design of the moodle site was another barrier to student work completion. Any problems in design were exacerbated by a lower level of student tech […]
I just submitted a letter supporting the proposed 2011 standards. Guidelines for submitting are here. While the standards are not perfect, in my view, they are definitely an improvement over what we have now and what we would get if the process becomes politicized. Since there is organized opposition to the new standards I wanted […]
The idea of “World History” is relatively new.
In preparation for some district curriculum writing I have been examining the new Minnesota State social studies standards. They still need to be formally adopted into law by Governor Dayton. A couple of state legislators have made some noise that they oppose the new standards, but there is no indication that Dayton will block them. […]
I’m continuing to reflect on how to better encouraging student work in online Politics and Law (guest access allowed) through better communication. All of my students passed the course in the recent finished trimester, but that may have been due to frequent reminders to students and parents. In a larger class I might have the time for so […]