Action Plan Principles for a Better Social Studies Classroom

Action Plan Principles for a Better Social Studies Classroom

    A major theme in today's educational world is to promote change that will make students feel safe, engaged and included.  Ours is a really diverse country, but it seems that social studies can be quite unpopular with students.  In the well-known text Lies My Teacher Told Me, James Loewen mentions that history is regularly a content area that students find boring.  It seems to me that a not inconsiderable part of this is that textbooks themselves don't portray the same diversity we see in America's classrooms and at large.  Why should students care if they don't have people they can relate to who are involved?  What's there to be interested in if events, topics and curriculum in general are just presented as 'things that happened' with no room for interpretation or difference of opinion?  In this entry I'll try to propose the basics of a plan which might help remedy the problem of social studies, in particular history, that  is boring, hidebound and stuck with traditional misconceptions.

     One important factor is to both recognize diversity and respect it through cultural responsiveness.  How can we do this?  How is it possible to include so many different groups when you also have set content (topics, periods of history, etc) that have to be covered in the course of the year?  I think a simple way to do so would be to ensure that anything we're discussing in the classroom should be able to consider the experiences of multiple groups.  Try to find documents or sources which allow for voices that aren't white, mid-to-upper class men to speak!  Everyone experiences things differently, so providing another side of the story will not only make the story more engaging but also tell that story more fully.  For example if you're teaching history and the topic is, say, the Great Depression, there are ample opportunities for more perspectives.  Adding the migrations of African Americans during this period could help make the experience more meaningful; tying the Depression's effects on families to today's economic difficulties could make it relevant as well.  Another idea I've had is to place images of prominent people of diverse backgrounds in my classroom to demonstrate the importance of our diverse world.  People like Percy Julian, Sylvia Rivera, Lyudmilla Pavlichenko and so many others could take places of prominence rather than those like Andrew Jackson who tend to be whitewashed in history textbooks.

     We as teachers need to be sure that we're checking value judgments based on perceptions of diverse populations at the door.  This is really hard to do, not in the least because we really like to think that we're not biased and are very open minded.  I'll admit to being defensive about such things as well.  If it's not something that we can consciously check at the door, we should at least be ready to take a step back and question our motivations for thoughts.  Do a double-check to see if we're assuming a student is doing something based on our perceptions or based on evidence.  Rather than deny that differences exist, we should recognize them but treat them respectfully.  Discussing how this will look in the classroom is a whole separate discussion.  

     The big problem with our content is finding ways to make students engaged with content, to make it meaningful to them.  In short, to make it interesting when it seems as if it could be boring.  Making connections with present day events and basing assessments and activities off of this is, generally speaking, a great idea for how to do this.  Another thing I want to touch on is inclusion as the third pillar of this action plan.  Educational theory speaks to the benefits of allowing students choice and voice in their education.  Student engagement and achievement is said to grow when they have a stake in their learning.  Again the question arises: what does this look like in social studies?

     As teachers we know that social studies isn't actually boring.  It's how the content has traditionally been taught that's really boring.  What I'm proposing is what others have already championed - ask students what they want to learn about.  This is going to be easier in some parts of social studies such as civics or economics than in history, but it's worth the effort.  If you include what students are genuinely curious about in units, they'll likely be more interested in what you want them to learn.  Pairing standards with content students are eager to explore could definitely improve motivation, achievement and differentiate things so that different types of learners can achieve the same goal.