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This past week in class we viewed a slide show of different map projections of the earth, and watched a clip from the film Bowling for Columbine called "A Brief History of the United States." We discussed in class that both of these are examples of the use or emphasis of multiple (or at least non-traditional) perspectives, and I emphasized how important I think it is to bring various perspectives into your social studies classroom.
Do you agree that this is one of the foundations of good social studies teaching? Why or why not? What are some specific ways you might introduce multiple perspectives or points of view to students in the grade level you hope to teach? Are these concepts only appropriate for older (4th-8th grade) students, or for primary students as well?
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I definitely agree that it is important to expose students to multiple perspectives. All too often people can get into the mindset that there is only one way of looking at something. However, this really is not the case. We all bring different background knowledge and previous experiences to anything we read or learn about. Even when two people are present to watch the same event, their retelling of the event will not be the exact same. This holds true with the Social Studies texts that are used in the classroom. Many kids are taught that what they read in the book is exactly how things took place. For example, many kids learn that Christopher Columbus discovered America and that the Native Americans were very unruly and violent people. However, if you look at it from the Native American’s point of view, these strange people were pushing them out of their territory. They were just trying to protect their homes, as many of us would do if we felt our area was being taken over. It is important to see many different perspectives of an event in order to get a clearer picture of what actually was occurring—not just one side of things.
I think that it would be appropriate to present fifth graders for example, with two different perspectives of an event (ex: the perspective of the pilgrims and the perspective of the Native Americans when the pilgrims came to settle in America). They could see both points of view and compare and contrast the different versions. There also could be a discussion about just how accurate both accounts were. I think that older students could have a much more in depth conversation about multiple perspectives than the primary grades, however I think it could still be done. Instead of asking young students compare the perspectives of two groups in history, they could be asked to share their points of view/perspectives on a certain topic. It can be emphasized that each person does not have the same opinions or ideas about the same topic, and that there can be different points of view about the same things. I think if they are introduced to the idea in this way it would help because they are first making a connection to their own lives that there are different ways of looking at things.
I agree with Jessica in saying that it is good to bring multiple perspectives to the table. No two people are the same, therefore, in this world different people come from different places.
Some specific ways I could introduce the multiple perspectives in the classroom is studying both sides of Civil Rights Movement. Many times in social studies textbooks you may hear little about the specific treatment of African Americans all over of the country during this time, or a very bias one in that. Essentially history books will present the calendar events that occurred, but it never shows to what degree. It would be interesting to show intermediate, middle, or high school students an account, story, journal, diary, etc., of an African American's individual account of discrimination, hatred, prejudice, etc. I think that reading those type of "memoirs" will hit harder into the students.
I think the theme behind the Civil Rights Movement is one that could be brought up in a primary classroom. I do not think the brutal details are appropriate, but using equality and inequality as a classroom discussion for the younger kids.
I believe that it is very important to show children different perspectives. I don't think students are often shown multiple perspectives in the classroom and I think that is a shame. In History textbooks children are exposed to one person's point of view. But what about the other viewpoints? If children continue to read material that is one sided they believe them to be true when really the perspective may be skewed. One example we talked about in class was Christopher Columbus and discovering America. Up until this class I thought he was a great explorer and should be treated as a hero because that is the viewpoint I was taught in social studies class. However, when presented with multiple texts I was able to make my own conclusion about Christopher Columbus. I learned many other things about him to the point where I don't believe he is a hero, and far from it. I found that to be very interesting. I would have gone on believing him to be a hero and never would have had the opportunity to form my own opinion. I believe as teachers it is our responsibility to provide our students with multiple perspectives so they can form their opinions on a particular topic rather than believing what they read is true. We want our students to think critically and one way to do that is by providing different perspectives.
I will bring in materials for my students from many different perspectives. Such items would be children's books and articles from other countries. I think I would present this material to intermediate elementary students. For younger students, I think it would be essential to just know the facts of the events. As they get older I would introduce the multiple perspectives because we could have richer discussions. I like Jessica's idea of having the students put in their point of view and teaching a lesson about how we all view events differently.
Lots of good ideas here, and I'm glad you're seeing this as a broader issue than just the story of Christopher Columbus. Almost any event has more than one perspective, and we do a greater service to our students when we try to help them see events through different lenses. It's particularly important to keep this in mind, I think, when the one perspective that's presented is that of the government, the ruling powers, or the "winners" -- which is often the case with school text books.
I also hear several of you saying that presenting multiple perspectives may be more effective with 4-8 grades than with primary. So what, then, do we do with primary students? If we are to just "present the facts," what does that mean? Columbus and his men murdered lots of Indians -- that's a fact, but is that what we'll teach 1st graders? My fear is that a "just the facts" approach can easily become the sanitized version of history, which leads to the sort of mis-education we discussed last class. Are there other possiblities?
I don't think "just the facts" would work very well in first grade. To begin with, the students would go home and tell their parents "Columbus is a murderer and a mean guy. I don't like him." That's not how I want my students to learn and it certainly won't help them apply understanding to new ideas.
What we want is for them to understand the concepts behind injustice, discrimination, etc. and then be able to apply it later when they learn specific examples. The book we saw in class, I believe it is called "Encounter" is a great example. That is something I could read to my students to give a general sense of what can happen when people try to live somewhere people already live. Then, when they move on to learning about Columbus, they can apply their prior conceptual knowledge.
I tried this in my classroom with a diversity lesson about "The Sneetches." Half the students received privileges (stickers, bathroom break, and so on) and the other half did not. Then the groups switched. It let the students, most of which probably have never heard the word "no," understand that it does not feel good to be treated differently because someone looks different (groups with privileges wore stars). After, we talked about the feelings each student had and how it feels as a grown up (e.g. not getting a job). Although this is not the only lesson that will teach my students the concept of equality, it starts a foundation that will hopefully be continued. By the time they reach the civil rights unit in upper elementary grades, students will be able to empathize and take personal interest in the specific facts.
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