Preparing to Leave

     It is December 24th 2012; after dinner with my family and going to watch The Hobbit for the second time, at home I am continuing the Herculean task of moving out of my room, packing, doing laundry, and wrapping Christmas presents. All of this needs to be completed by 5:30 am on Wednesday at which time my parents will pick me up and take me to the charter bus stop at Bradley to catch my bus that leaves at 6 am . With so much to do in preparation for my trip to Paris and study-abroad in Rennes, it is critical to make time for the important things in life. So, I took a break to watch an epi of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This epi was appropriately named, We'll Always Have Paris. 
     Preparing to leave is a bittersweet moment. On one hand I am eager to embark upon this adventure, on the other hand, I will be leaving everything that have been my constants in my life. This journey is planned for six months, the longest that I will have ever been away from my hometown area. Much can change in six months. What will Peoria be like when I return? What will America be like? How will my friends have changed? Who will I be? In this moment I choose to not give way to doubt, anxiety, and fear, but to throw my life once again into the hands of God and step out in faith. 
    In the book of Isaiah it is written:
         Fear not, for I am with you;
         be not dismayed, for I am your God;        
         I will strengthen you, I will help you,         
         I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.(1)
Already, in preparation for this trip the Lord has opened up doors of unexpected blessing and financial provision. One of my testimonies is that I have a person to sublease my room for this Spring semester! Since I am one of the signees on the house lease, I am responsible for my portion of the rent, $200 a month. Though this is a good price, it stinks to think you will be paying for something of which you are not benefitting. So I had been looking for a person to sublease my room for a semester, not a likely prospect for the Spring semester, yet I held out hope.
     About a month ago, there was a possible candidate from Purdue who was thinking of subleasing. He is  member if Chi Alpha on that campus and was graduating this December. He had been hired at Caterpiller in Peoria and it looked like this would be the answer to my prayers, yet, in the end, Caterpiller helped him find more a more permanent housing situation. My hopes for finding someone to sublease withered on the vine. But, a little over a week ago, Kyle (one of my roommates), told me of someone from Bradley that he has been getting to know that has been commuting and wanting to get closer. This person was thinking he would move into the dorms. Living here would be vastly cheaper than the dorms while still providing for his need to be closer to campus, and after viewing the home last Thursday, told me on Saturday that he would move in for January-May. What a great answer to prayer! How good is my God! In the words of Michael Scott from The Office, it's a win-win.win.
     In the spirit of travel and new beginnings, I was inspired this afternoon to shave my beard. (part of it) As you can see I have been taking excellent care of my skin underneath that beard, which is baby smooth!

   December 24th, 2012

1. Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

Weebly

Well, in the spirit of 21st century education, I will be using Weebly to post my second unit plan. Check it out at: http://koldwar.weebly.com/
Please let me know what you think!

Loewen: Chapter 13

Reflection:

"If knowledge is power, ignorance cannot be bliss."
                                                                                – Loewen, 342

      We have made it to the end of this book, and we finally find out the answer to the problem of bad history, and it is:...ask more questions. I was really hoping for a more definitive ending after we had been taken through 12 chapters of critiquing and finger-pointing social studies and textbooks. I really wanted a concluding action plan, so I read the afterward only to be told to ask five questions: when and why was something written, whose viewpoint is presented, is the account believable, is it backed up by other sources, and how is one supposed to feel about the America that was presented?
     The best point, in my opinion, that he brings up is that emotion is the glue that causes history to stick. We remember most vividly things that emotionally affected us, ie., 9/11, fights with friends, etc. So, in the end, my practical take-away question is, "How can I get my students' emotions involved?" Apparently, it will be different for varying personalities, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, etc. As a teacher, part of my responsibility is to assess how to get each of my students emotions involved in our studies. Not an easy, one-size-fits-all task!

Japanese atomic bomb victim

Source: http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120618212214/fallout/images/8/83/Japanese-atomic-bomb-victims-47.jpg

Big Question: Loewen says history textbooks are too big already (and they are), how can we teach more in-depth when we cannot even cover all the material we need to as it is?

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJMf1Y9GBrA&feature=related
     This video could be used to expose students real people from a different viewpoint to give a broader understanding of peoples American experiences.

Cantù: Chapter 13

Reflection:

" Social studies teachers effectively use technology by engaging students in the use of primary sources and the inquiry approach"

                                                                                  –Cantù, Chapter 13, Section 2

     The final chapter of this e-book, chapter 13, informs of best practice in social studies by using primary and secondary sources in conjunction with technology. There are several sites and suggestions for finding and using digitized primary sources. The author of the book is involved with a grant to promote students and educators creating projects and learning using the Library of Congress online. In my ETE 371 course we created a Weebly website and student project to promote Teaching With Primary sources (TPS). My group and I found the LOC site to be difficult to navigate. As well, at least for our project, the resources that were digitized and available we slim.

     At the end of this book, I can look back and say happily that it has been very beneficial to me. I have already been able to incorporate several websites, such as the LOC, into my projects. From the host of technology sites I have used wordle, timetoast, Prezi, and pbWorks. Creating a digital book to teach social studies for a digital classroom is "putting your money were you mouth is" so to speak, and has been a great experience. It is so simple to visit websites for lesson plans, or watch videos by merely clicking on the link rather than having to type in the web-addresses.

Source: http://alwayswearacitation.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/primary-source.png?w=500

Big Questions: How can society prevent class differentiation on the basis of access to technology?

Link: http://atomicbombdrop.weebly.com/

     This is a webquest our group created on weebly for primary source learning using the Library of Congress.

Cantù: Chapters 12

Reflection: 

"Two primary reasons why students should study anthropology: 1) the subject matter is 'intellectually exciting,' and 2) it provides global information and builds critical thinking skills."
                                                                                         –American Anthropological Association (ASA)

     Chapter 12 focuses on the behavioral sciences of: anthropology, psychology, and sociology. It was not too surprising for me to see that there are little to no national standards for these subjects. Though they are intensely interesting, they do not generally fall within the STEM curricula that receives the lions share of attention in the educational world.
     In my high school, sociology and psychology were elective courses for upperclassmen. We had no anthropology class. So of the most interesting class discussions were in these classes. It is here that students primarily can question and be challenged with topics and questions that are critical to daily life. It is unfortunate that this domain is undervalued.

Source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zJd%2BDyodL._SL500_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-big,TopRight,35,-73_OU01_SS500_.jpg

Big Question: How can psychology be rescued from the monicker of "kooky" science?

Link: http://www.tutis.ca/Senses/index.htm
     Site contains tons of flash, video, pdf, and links about the physiology of the senses.

Loewen: Chapter 12

Reflection:

"When you're publishing a book, if there's something that's controversial, it's better to take it out."
                                                                                                    --Holt, Reinhart, and Winston Representative

"One person's point of view is another's ax to grind, so textbooks end up without axes or points of view."
                                                                                           – Loewen, 314

      In this penultimate chapter, Loewen asks the question, "Why is history taught like this?" He enlightens his readers regarding outside influences on the book publishers.  Publishers write for several audiences: students, historians, professors of education, teachers, parents, and textbook adoption boards. Though books are intended for the first on this list, in practice, they are written for the last. It's obvious when considered, textbook publishers are in business to make a profit, the more books they sell the greater the profit. How can they sell more books? by being adopted in the states as the official classroom textbook. The two biggest markets for textbook adoption are California and Texas, the choice is obvious, given the choice to appease let's say Texas or Rhode Island, the publishers will acquiesce to the demands of Texas' adoption board. So, in answer to the opening question–history is taught like this because of money.
      I can understand the publishers wanting to make a profit. I can empathize with parents and teachers having specific things they desire in a text. What perplexed me was finding out that there are historians who rent out their names to publishers for royalties! How can a professional lower him/herself to this standard?! Not only is this unethical, it seems illegal. In college, if I write a paper and my colleague submits it to the professor with his name on it, that is considered criminal. This brings up another point, that of plagiarism.
     Loewen has documented and shown examples of text in competing textbooks that are nearly identical. How did they end up with the same material? Did one copy another, or did they both copy from another source? As well, why have there been no lawsuits? This issue of plagiarism is concerning and needs to be addressed.

Big Question: If our school textbooks are plagiarizing and our textbook adoption boards are allowing it, how can we hold our students to the highest ethical levels in their work?

Source: http://www.craftsforlearning.com/images/TexasTextBookCartoon.gif

Link: http://www.texastextbooks.org/

     Website for the Texas curriculum

Loewen: Chapter 11

Reflection:

"The past is prologue"                              -– William Shakespeare

"American exceptionalism–the United States as the best country in the world–which starts in our textbooks with the Pilgrims, gets projected into the future."                                         –Loewen, 284


     Faith, Hope and Change. Progress. Buzz words in American thought and politics in our times. Loewen points out the unbridled hope that we as Americans consistently have effused, the archetype of progress that "bursts forth in full flower on the tetbooks' last pages."(282) I can concede that the typical portrayal of our country and it's history is one of hope and progress. Things have been bad, but they will get better. We are moving on to bigger and better things. Manifest Destiny has been regurgitated and repackaged. Though it is getting more difficult to believe, I do not agree with Loewen when he writes, "gradually the archetype of progress has been losing it's grip."(284) Just watch one of the latet presidential debates and you will hear the rhetoric of "getting us back on track" and "moving us into the future". Which track exactly are we on? What future are we moving in to? They speak as if we all know and it is inevitable.
     As well, Loewen addresses once again the end of American history textbooks. This time he asks the question why we do not address and question the future of America. The books almost all end with optimistic  hopes for our country. Yet, why paint such a picture? Why not rather end by bringing students up to current debate and problems and invite them to reflect on the America they will be inheriting and how they can use history to help solve these problems.

Big Question: How can I get students to end my classes with modern day problems and challenges and  challenge them to find answers in history?

Source: http://fwwsite.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/02/GECornCerealPreview.jpg

Link:http://www.dowwaterandprocess.com/launch/worldwaterday/map/index.html#misc 
 
     We take water for granted, but for many people it is life and death. This is an interactive map about global water issues.

Cantù: Chapter 11

Reflection:

" Perhaps the greatest contribution of the NCGE over the past century has been their creation of the national geography standards,Geography for Life, which were released in 1994"
                                                                                  ––Cantù chapter 11, section 2

    Geography must be one of the most hands-on and engaging topic in the social studies. In this chapter there are videos related to the wide breadth of geography: volcanoes,hurricanes, the solar system, oceans, navigation, global issues, stonehenge, the moon, planets, black-holes, the arctic, earthquakes, climate, weather, topography,maps, an so on. All of these topics makes for a rich seam of information from which to dig out the materials necessary to create exciting and engaging lesson plans.
     The NCGE, National Council for Geographic education, is dedicated to what they term geo-literacy or geographic literacy. The define geo-literacy as “the ability to rationally consider and make reasoned decisions about the interconnections between human and physical systems.” (1) The themes of geography are condensed into five domains: location, place, relationships, movement and region. To the end of fostering geo-literacy in these five domains, the NCGE has crafted eighteen national geography standards. 

(1) Cantù chapter 11, section 2

Big Question: Why is geography traditionally not taught past the middle school?

Source: http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/koen-olthuis-maldives-island5.jpg

Link: http://www.reachtheworld.org/games/geogames/Play-GeoGames.html
     This interactive site could be used on the smart board for small group geography competition.

Cantù: Chapter 10

Reflection:


"And it underscores what we already know about education – in the long run, it [economics] is the single best investment in stimulating the world’s economy."

 – Dr. Gary Becker, Nobel Laureate in Economics

     Economics. The dismal science. In chapter ten of Cantù's book the focus shifts from history to economics as he ventures into another discipline under the umbrella of social science. As a pre-service teacher, this is one of the subjects that I am most concerned about passing on the content test and of teaching. I am a history major and have only studied a bit of microeconomics and a bit of macroeconomics. In preparation for the content test, I ordered some books that overview the main concepts and thoughts of several social science disciplines, economics being one of them. I found the video links in section one to be short but informative.
     At the heart of this subject is the idea that economics studies not money, capital, nor theories, but choices. Economics is looking at the choices people make in light of unlimited wants and limited resources. Following this line of thought, the Council for Economic Education  (CEE) has created resources in line with their vision of “a world in which people are empowered through economic and financial literacy to make informed and responsible choices throughout their lives as consumers, savers, investors, workers, citizens, and participants in our global economy.”(1) To this end, the study of this discipline is to create educated citizens who can use their informed understanding to actively participate in our democratic society.
     The majority of this chapter is an enumeration of twenty standards in economics. Each standard is accompanied by a multiplicity of web-links to lesson plans using that standard. Listed here the twenty standards are:
1) Scarcity

2) Marginal cost/benefit

3) Allocation of Goods and Services

4) Role of Incentives

5) Gain from Trade

6) Specialization and Trade

7) Markets - Price and Quantity Determination

8) Role of Price in Market System

9) Role of Competition

10) Role of Economic Institutions

11) Role of Money

12) Role of Interest Rates

13) Role of Resources in Determining Income

14) Profit and the Entrepreneur Growth

15) Role of Government

16) Using Cost/Benefit Analysis to Evaluate Government Programs

17) Macroeconomy-Income/Employment, Prices

18) Unemployment and Inflation

19) Monetary and Fiscal Policy

 20) (One appears to be missing)


(1) Cantù, Chapter 10: Section 1


Big Question: How does the analytic approach of economics differ in key respects from approaches appropriate for other related subjects such as history and civics?

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYtFL6BxtuMOhB-C0KJ1xesOdvdSFdl9lA0gNdPFJ7hiD4dGvXwd7kGo-L4UuB9wdjni2xTSEKOGF3FunPODJMvAZox2F_0vLdnS-HWMBpwErs8JxABdBEBlhmb5rcF0R2X36SPyQsmCy/s1600/dismal_science.gif

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

     Fun video on youtube to reinforce ideas about economics and two leading people in this field.

Loewen: Chapter 10 and Cantù: Chapter 9

Reflection:

 “It has been recognized since the founding of the nation that education has a civic mission: to prepare informed, rational, humane, and participating citizens committed to the values and principles of American constitutional democracy.” 

                                                                        

 ––preface to the National Standards for Civics and Government

"It cannot be doubted that in the United States the instruction of the people powerfully contributes to the support of the democratic republic."                                            

  ––Alexis de Tocqueville 

      Chapter nine of Cantù's book focuses on investigating the goals of civic education and is replete 

with yet more websites and links to helpful web material for the modern social studies teacher. The

introduction starts off with this quote from Thomas Jefferson that informs the understanding of social 

studies education: 
          I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people 
          themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with 
          a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their
          discretion.
Jefferson's ideology runs deep throughout modern American education: people, given the right information and the choice, will ultimately make the right choices and be able to govern themselves. Ergo, the key is teaching. 
     I do not wholly subscribe to this line of thought. It is not my observation in life, nor in the study of history, that people as a whole are rational creatures. For example, how can one explain the vices to which people are prone such as: drinking, smoking, drugs, and sexual promiscuity to name a few given the known dangers associated with these activities. A person fully motivated by rationale motives would understand that smoking leads to cancer, excessive drinking to cirrhosis, drugs to a multiplicity of problems mentally, socially, and physically, and sexual promiscuity to disease and pregnancy, yet "rational" people continue engage in these practices. I do believe that education is a part of making good decisions, but I do not believe it is the panacea.

Big Question: If education truly is the foundation to a stable democracy, why is it not fully funded and encouraged for all citizens?

Source: http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/c0.119.403.403/p403x403/589_452145054823736_827897166_n.jpg

Link: http://www.worldology.com/Europe/enlightenment_imap.htm

     The ideas of the Founding Fathers are steeped in Enlightenment thinking, this site is a good interactive for the Age of Enlightenment.

Reflection: 

"We see things not as they are but as we are."

––Anaïs Nin

     In chapter ten of Lies, Loewen writes about the disappearance of the recent past. He describes three divisions of people in African culture: those living, those recently deceased (sasha), and those deceased long ago (zamani). Those more recently deceased, the sasha, he terms the "living-dead". By this he means that a person has died, but they live on in the memory of those still living who remember them personally. Several reasons given for the lack of "living-dead" in modern school textbooks are: lack of courage to write about them while they can be challenged by other people, lack of time in classes to cover older material and newer, and because textbooks are tertiary sources, not enough secondary sources have yet been written. 
     Last week I was scanning a textbook at Quest Charter Academy and I definitely noticed what Loewen was talking about. The majority of text ended with World War Two, everything from there on grew increasingly terse and hurried. In my opinion, the main reason not much attention is given to most recent history is because frankly, this material is not included in teaching standards or standardized tests. The majority of testing is on older history, or those in the category of zamani, not the sasha.
    The biggest take-away from this chapter is the international good-guy image we have of our country. Since we do not delve deeply into studies of the more recent past, we do not understand some of the modern problems we have, and why we are perceived the way we are globally. For example, the majority of students have no understanding of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan in 1979, how we trained and funded and used Osama bin Laden and rebel forces to fight a proxy war with Russia. So, in 2001 when bin Laden bombed the twin towers, most Americans had no idea why, and were left to assume. Instead of being able to understand our mistakes in history, we merely blamed Osama and Muslims for this "rogue" attack. A lesson in sasha history would have gone a long way in understanding 9/11.

Big Question: Given the limited class time and material that needs to be covered, how can recent history be given its proper place in school curricula?

Source: http://i.qkme.me/35swzx.jpg

Link: http://www.timeforkids.com/

     Time site that has video, articles, and photos for kids to interact with current and recent events.

Prezi

Part of preparation in teacher education is learning how to prepare teaching units and lesson plans utilizing various frameworks. I am currently preparing a unit on the achievements of the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas that I hope to be able to teach in my classroom this semester. One of the assignment requirements is to use four different lesson plan frameworks: Trumph's Eclectic, Hunter's Mastery Learning, Left and Right Brain Format, and Four F's (no, not a reference to this semesters mid-term grades!) Here is the URL to the digital unit outline I created in Prezi. http://prezi.com/mbekjg41xjof/unit-outline-mayas-aztecs-incas/

Cantù: Chapter 8

Reflection:

“History, like theology or natural science, is a special form of thought.”
                                                                                     –– R.G. Collingwood

     Cantù proclaims in this chapter, "Before we ask students to investigate past human activities, however, we need to frame or limit their investigation. In other words, we need to determine how best to approach a particular issue." The approach is going to be tailored to our assessment of our students': prior knowledge, learning intelligence, skills, and self-efficacy. From this assessment, as a teacher it is our job to create lesson plans that scaffold students understanding and ability to answer the three basic questions of historical inquiry: what happened, how did it happen, and why did it happen?
     Included in this weeks material were a series of Biography video vignettes. I learned a lot and really enjoyed them. Being that they are concise, short-3-5 minutes in length, and well produced, I can see myself using these in my class from time to time. Following is an example of one about Michelle Obama.
     I singled out the quote in the beginning of my reflection because I feel it best describes the purpose of the rest of the material in this chapter. I will not regurgitate the content of the chapter. Suffice it to say, Collingwood, a philosopher of history, plants his feet on the side of history as a science because he sees it as having a special form of thought. It is not only looking at evidence: it is looking at the evidence and using our historical thinking to interpret it. Hence, as an educator, the form of historical inquiry and content standards are the guides leading us and our students into the science of history. As I see it, this is the science historical thinking, though the outcomes are not aways measurable and repeatable. Therefore, more than merely a science, I also believe history is an art.

Big Question: Given the short period of time we will have with our students and the reality that we will not likely be able to implement every good resource, tool, and standard, what is the most critical historical thinking skill and content standard that we cannot afford to miss?

Source: http://gcsehistory.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/cold-war-cartoon.jpg

Link: http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/timeline.html

     This site links to an interactive timeline of education in the U.S. for a little twist on education.

     

Loewen: Chapter 6

Reflection:

"The insanity with which historians have charged John Brown was never psychological. It was ideological."                                                   – Loewen

"Ideas are more important than battles."
                                                                       – Charles Sumner, 1865, abolitionist senator

        In chapter six, Loewen continues his analysis of history in school textbooks. This chapter specifically looks at the typical historical treatment of John Brown and Abraham Lincoln. John Brown is generally portrayed as a fanatic, "deranged," "gaunt," "grim," and "terrible." Loewen purports that historians charge of his "insanity" is not psychological, but ideological. (Loewen, 177) To the degree that John Brown is controversial, Abraham Lincoln is unchallengeable. Lincoln's words and actions are  portrayed as sound and pure.
     Let's reconsider some of the words used to describe John Brown the "extremist" and run them through what Loewen calls the "Walt Disney interpretation" to describe "Honest Abe". If people say that Brown was a fanatic, they might say that Lincoln was passionate. He would not be deranged, but single-minded for his cause. Lincoln was very thin, perhaps gaunt, but let's call him bony. If Brown was grim, Lincoln was steely. Not terrible, but shocking. What are they really describing here, these mens emotional constitution or their ideology? The author argues it is their ideology.
     My biggest take-away from this chapter is that ideas are more important than actions. Yet, typically, history has been stripped down to actions not ideas. What happened in 1492? Columbus set sail, but why? What was his ideological motivation? I applied this line of thinking to Loewen's argument that a majority of textbooks do not include the text of the Gettysburg address, or they do ever so briefly. One of the most important speeches in American history and students cannot read it. If they do read parts of it, the ideology of the one who spoke it is not discussed. Here we are, stranded, looking "at the battle" and not the idea. The battle here is the what. The idea is the why. Once again we see it is much cleaner to share bland, non-arguable facts rather than to pollute the stream of content with messy ideologies and questionable convictions!
 
Big Question: How has historical content been influenced by: political correctness, racism, and bias? As a secondary teacher, how can we make anti-racism visible in our classrooms?

Source: http://knowgoodwhitepeople.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/calling-a-few-adventurous-anti-racists/#comments

Link: http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm

     This interactive site is about the topic of race. My intention in visiting this site is that students would better comprehend racism and anti racism to gain a greater understanding of the ideological motivations in race relations.

Cantù: Chapter 6 & 7

Reflection:

     "Creativity is as important as literacy"                       –– Sir Ken Robinson

     "It is important to realize how much technology has dramatically changed the learning environment over the past generation alone."                                          –– Cantù

     My head and heart were swimming after these two chapters! At the beginning of chapter six it was inspiring and interesting. Near the end of the chapter six I was feeling oppressed and overwhelmed. What is ISTE, and who gave them the right to attempt to foist their standards upon today's educators!!How are we as teachers supposed to attend to so many competing standards and methods?! Content–primary, secondary, engaging, standards focused, Lesson Plans–simple, sequential, brain-based, social, metacognitive, Standards–state, national, ISTE, Common Core, all while incorporating technology, student-centered, collaborative, creative, 21st-Century methods that are culturally diverse, socially sensitive, differentiated, inclusive, challenging and relevant!! For the sake of focus, let me reflect on this weeks topics of creativity and technology integration.
     The speakers who talked about creativity sparked my imagination and stretched my paradigm of public education. I have heard of the idea that public education was implemented to create and train people to be good citizens and employees. I had never heard someone in an educational capacity clearly lay it out. yet, here I am nearing the end of my preparatory training to become a professional teacher, what am I supposed to do with this knowledge? Sir Ken Robinson asked the question, "Do schools kill creativity?" I think a fair assessment is general is yes, they do. School curricula is not created to cultivate creative thinking near as much as it it to create a common understanding and base of knowledge. The argument that is not taken up is whether this is wrong or not, it is assumed to be.
     The chapter on integrating technology was less frustrating for me content-wise. Yet, it was  a bit overwhelming for me because of the sheer volume of digital platforms available for the modern educator. I am still working on proficiency in my content domain and delivery method. Now I am having to think about how to use technology. Following is a list of a few digital platforms that I think I will actually use regularly as a teacher:
     • Timetoast Timeline Creator- This can be real handy for creating an heuristic
     • Netvibes- Very cool. I am going to set-up an account very soon, helpful professionally and personally
     • Google Docs
     • Educational Wiki- I have used wetpaint before
     • Wurdle Wordcloud- Another good way to identify key themes in passages in a visual way
     • Jing- Looks like a great way to pull info off the internet, and put it into a format that can be used in other platforms, i.e.: Ppt, Prezi, blog, wiki, etc.
     • Prezi- Already use it now
     • Rubistar- With a greater need to do formative and summative assessments, rubistar appears to be a great resource 

Big Question: As teachers, and only beginners at that, with there being a greater stress than ever on standards and student achievement, and less public monies for programs, how can we affect educational reform that focuses on incorporating less "important" subjects and encouraging creativity ? As a theory it sounds grand, as a reality is it even possible?

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/fleep513/opensim-a-new-alternative-to-second-life

Link: http://www.drawastickman.com/#

     This is an interactive link to stir up student creativity.

Loewen: Chapter 5

Reflection:

"Race is our 'American obsession'"                                   – Studs Terkel

"Mr. Jefferson's remarks respecting us have sunk deep into the hearts of millions of whites, and never will be removed this side of eternity."
                                                                                          – David Walker, 1829

"What is identified as the problem determines the frame of rhetoric and solutions sought."
                                                                                         – James Loewen


    Gone With the Wind, we watched that film in our 7th grade history class. It was long, but we thought it was great, perhaps not because of the content but the freedom from class lecture. We got to eat snacks to boot! Little did we know while eating Cheese-its and Handy-Snaks we were also ingesting the Magnolia myth, and the Confederate myth of Reconstruction. I think Loewen does not overstate when he writes, "The struggle over racial slavery may be the predominant theme in American history."(Loewen, 137) Slavery may be finished in our land, but what of the mindset that allowed and even approved of slavery?
     The terms 'social structure' and 'superstructure' are introduced in chapter five. Slavery as the social structure has been abolished, but the superstructure of white superiority and black inferiority is still alive and well in many places! Racism still manacles the 'inferior' black person politically, socially, economically, and mentally. How will racism be abolished? How do we dismantle the superstructure of white superiority in America?
     The author of the book proclaims that in his survey of modern history textbooks, not one of them connected history and racism. Instead of exposing racism, textbooks model it! (Loewen, 145) In this point, Loewen is really starting to hit close to home. The issue of Columbus and the discovery of America is important, but not in people's daily lives. The issues concerning our treatment of and history with native Americans hits closer, yet most Americans are still not confronted with American indians on a regular basis. But, this last issue of black/white history and race relations hits home for almost all Americans. If we are not in contact with African Americans in some way, it is most likely because of our own choosing, precipitated by racist thinking.
     As a white American, I have had African American friends tell me that they still feel prejudice and oppression. At first, I thought they were being oversensitive. They told me that I could not see it because I was in the majority, and was not experiencing prejudice. Over time, I have become more aware and begun to notice at times the manner and ways in which I have been received by people and the way my African American friends have been treated by the same people. Yet, I also noticed that my friends were not always themselves around certain people either. It's as if the prejudice of some people causes others to react in the way they expected.
     I am a product of mainstream American education, and I did not see my own prejudice. Because racism is made invisible in history, those in the majority don't notice it, or worse, believe that it exists today. We, white Americans, only see the social structure and say, "Hey man, slavery is abolished, get over it!" Yet, the African American population and other minorities are still experiencing and feeling the affects of the superstructure which is still in place. What a mess we have inherited! :(
   
   

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Freedman's_bureau.jpg

Big Question: In what ways has the superstructure of American culture been formed by Thomas Jefferson and other early founder's words and actions? If what is identified as the problem determines the frame of rhetoric and thought, how do we teach our students and ourselves to identify the correct problems?

Link: http://teachingamericanhistory.org/neh/interactives/reconstruction/

     This site is an interactive page split into two parts, the South before Reconstruction and the South after Reconstruction.

Cantù: Chapter 4

Reflection:

"Integration of graphic organizers into the teaching and learning process is one of the most effective instructional strategies available to social studies teachers."
                                                                                                              –– Dr Cantù

     This chapter is focused on mental scaffolding, effectively blending the instructional phase of the teaching and learning process in order to establish a strong foundation of knowledge for students to build upon and to further develop their skill sets (Cantù, Chapter 4, Section 1).  Seven learning theories and teaching strategies are listed and defined: experiential learning, direct instruction, social learning, problem-based learning, constructivist instruction, thematic instruction, and multiple intelligences. Section three gives twelve examples of strategies to extend student thinking. Next, there are a glossary and table of teaching strategies. Next in the chapter are listed thinking skills and reasoning processes that we as teachers are asked to learn and add to our pedagogy. The end of the chapter defines and discusses "habits of mind" and graphic organizers.

     I am a visual learner; the graphic organizers that are shown are just the types of things that most helped me in school. Teachers just lecturing on, like the one in the video clip in the introduction, tend to lose me quick. Even if we are doing hands-on activities but I have not been given a visual representation and ordering of what we are doing I get lost. Thankfully for me and my students, according to the author, integration of graphic organizers into teaching and learning is one of the most effective instructional strategies! I plan to use them a lot! I found a useful thought in not only learning and teaching by way of graphic organizer, but also assessing and evaluating. In my novice class last week, my cooperating teacher had the students write out the vocabulary words and definitions, and then their partner drew a picture to represent the definition. I think this is brilliant. Why not have this as an option on tests as well. I could draw together multiple intelligences in test assessment if I offered several ways to complete a question: write an essay, outline key themes, or draw a picture to demonstrate understanding.

Big Question: How can educators who are not visual learners, or good with graphic organizers, grow in this area? As well, with so many learning theories and teaching strategies, how can I grow and implement those which I am weak in, or should I capitalize upon the few I am strong in?

Link: http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm

     This is not interactive, but an excellent resource for teachers. Downloadable graphic organizers!

Loewen: Chapter 4

Reflection:

"Old myths never die––they just become embedded in textbooks"
                                                                                    –– Thomas Bailey

"In the fateful year 1492, probably no more than 4 million Native Americans padded through the whispering, primeval forests and paddled across the sparkling virgin waters of North America."
                                                                                     –– Excerpt from The American Pageant

     In this chapter, Loewen turns a corner in his argument. Not only are textbooks telling half-truths and misinformation, many times they are continuing the mis-history even when it has been clearly shown to be wrong. The excerpt I quoted above is a clear case of this; the author states that this information was shown to be false when it was first written in 1956. He estimates that there were well over 20 million Indians in North America alone. As well, most Indians in the time of Columbus were farmers. So, why are these stories continued? Upon reflection, I believe Loewen hits on several key reasons. I will share on two of them.
     First, the author wrote, "Textbook authors still write history to comfort descendants of the "settlers" (Loewen, 95). I think this is an interesting idea that seems true from my experience with textbooks. I will keep this in mind as I review textbooks in the future. What he means by this is that the way stories and "history" is presented is with a view to make white Americans feel better about themselves. I feel bad to say, but when I read the escaped slave notice on page 103, I felt sympathy for the slave-owner and a twinge of annoyance with the enslaved Indian. When the slave owner wrote that his slave had a guilty countenance, I immediately had a visual of a typical indian from many older movies. Yet, what would an American Indian feel if he read this in a textbook. How would he/she feel if this topic were coldly and unemotionally discussed in a school classroom. Most likely, the American Indian would go away red-eyed, and the white American would go away cross-eyed!
     Second, Loewen wrote, "All of the textbooks are locked into the old savage-to barbaric-to-civilized schools of anthology dating back to L.H. Morgan and Karl Marx." This has been something I have noticed and been frustrated about for several years. I was surprised to find out that this is Marxist thinking; and equally surprised to see how modern this view is yet how pervasive it is in academia. In America we have historically resisted Communism and Marxist thought, yet this way of thought does not seem to have been challenged in American education.
     I feel that this kind of thought is strongly influenced by evolutionary theory. If evolution is true, than it would make sense that earlier people were ignorant, crude, and less humane than today. In this case, the savage-to barbaric-to-civilized model makes perfect sense. Yet, if there is another explanation, such as humans having been created by God, then it could be possible to think that in the distant past people might have been smarter and more advanced than today. Without making a definitive statement on this issue, I believe as educators we need to offer up more than one viewpoint and let the students work through them. This leads to my final thought of not making history so neat and clean with THE right answer given.
     I really like Loewen's call for giving students multiple theories, and letting them do the research to seek out truth. This is a perfect intersection between this book and teaching history! We need to spark the fires of interest in our students for ferreting out answers for themselves. So, in the case of American Indians, I would like to start with the present and work backwards, seeking to understand real historical Indians. I would like to have the class pick one modern Indian tribe, research about them, then work backwards: how did they arrive where they are, what is their history, what has been their historical interaction with the U.S. government, what is the earliest known story in their culture, etc. If possible, I would want my students to be able to talk with real Native Americans and hear their story. We could use Skype, e-mail, video, or a field trip. Why do this? I believe that the only way to truly know and understand another is to talk with them.

Big Question: How can we as social study teachers effectively remove old myths and promote real history in the short amount of time that we have with our students?

                                     http://media.photobucket.com/image/Native+Americans+/chitownladyj/Native%20American%20Indian/Native%20American%20Political/native-americans-fighting-terrorism.gif

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg310/Mayberry_08/COLONELHARVEY.jpg

Link:http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/multimedia/series/VideoStories/joseph-bruchac.aspx

     This site is an interactive way to learn more about Native Americans through video, story, and music.

   

Cantù: Chapter 3

Reflection:

"The curriculum should utilize relatively large quantities of data from a variety of sources to study a relatively small number of topics."

"The topics of episodes to be selected should be those with the greatest potential for encouraging thinking, or even controversy, about matters or fact, or about matters of historical interpretation of events in the past, or about alternative resolutions to social problems in the present."

                                                             ––Extracted from Engle and Ochoa’s Guidelines for Social Studies Curriculum Development

     Chapter 3 of Cantù's book discusses lesson and unit planning in the social studies classroom. For me, as a teacher in the modern digital age, it is imperative that I understand my classroom goals and objectives, have them aligned with state and national standards, and plan my lessons to include the three domains of learning: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. The author simplified these three domains as: head, hands, and heart. 

     At first, this sounded complex and difficult to understand, but reflecting at the end of the unit, it's really quite simple and natural. I would also define these domains as: what, how, and why. (What) For example, the term cognitive, or head, merely means that students are receiving and processing information, knowledge. (How) Cognitive is the lower ordered thinking, the first two tiers of Blooms Taxonomy, which is merely the receiving and understanding of information. Psychomotor, or hands, merely means that students get hands-on learning. (Why) Affective is the upper four tiers of Bloom's taxonomy concerned with higher ordered thinking such as: interests, values, emotions and biases. In this domain the question is: Why does this matter to me?

     Andrew Church has revised Bloom's Taxonomy for the digital-age, and it is quite brilliant. I think his adaptation is practical, useful, and will help those who employ it to use technology in a way that moves beyond novelty into real meaningful learning. Many times I feel that technology in the classrooms is more of a gimmick, a way to try to capture students interest and respect. Yet, in my opinion if we seek to incorporate the educational research and strategies in the digital milieu, we will see technology used in such a way as to promote mastery learning and ensure that we advance students knowledge AND digital savvy. Instead of using technology to teach and learn the information and methods of the 20th century, we will be pushing our students into 21st century education.

     Mind Maps. Why was this included in this chapter? It was interesting, and I really enjoyed Bach's cello suite by Yo Yo Ma, but I failed to make the connection. How do mind maps help me incorporate Bloom's Taxonomy, or write a dynamic lesson plan? To tie things together, let's return to my opening quotations and the topic of unit and lesson plans.

     Cantù wrote in chapter 3, section 3, "A unit plan is a set of related lessons centered or clustered around a coherent theme/focus, and focused on all three learning domains: cognitive, process, and affective." On top of this I really resonate with Engle and Ochoa's guideline that, "curriculum should utilize relatively large quantities of data from a variety of sources to study a relatively small number of topics." I think we try to cover too much material in our history classes. In my class, I hope to narrow down what is necessary, add a bit more of what I find interesting, and then go deep. Dr. David McMullen drew an analogy in ETE 371 regarding summative assessments. He said that multiple choice and true/false questions are like skipping a rock across a pond to judge the width while essay questions are like dropping a rock into the pond to determine it's depth. I will tailor this analogy to unit and lesson planning: covering many topics in social studies is like skipping the stone, but focusing on several key events and going deep with primary sources and higher order thinking is like dropping the stone. 

Big Question: In reality, how can I utilize technology in my unit/lesson plans to increase learning and higher order thinking without it becoming a distraction to students due to: advertisements, other links, and/or student inactivity?

   
Link: http://www.res.rcs.k12.tn.us/teachers/leonardl/blooms_pyramid.html

     This is a great page; it lists different sites that demonstrates different levels of Blooms Taxonomy. Added bonus, merely clicking on the icon takes you to the site!