Curriculum: The Things I Choose to Teach

Problem: White, male history of war and politics has turned countless students away from the true value of history as informing us of our present.

There are actually two issues regarding curriculum that I must address as a teacher for social justice: the actual content of history the class explores and the skills that are used and developed in the classroom.

The content we explore is, in part, outlined by state/district expectations. There are, however, different ways in which the content of the civil war could be examined. I might focus simply on the history of war issues between north and south, slavery as a political debate, and state vs. federal power. Or, the class could take a different focus that is built on the three principles below:

1. As discussed in the planning entry, every lesson should build on student prior knowledge and experience.
2. The purpose of studying history is to understand more about our present experience. It is pointless to study history as just a series of names, dates, and events that have no bearing on our present experience (a class with that focus would better be labeled 'Trivia', not history, as it is unconnected with any of our present stories).
3. Concepts exist through time.

A unit on the civil war, then, should not be about covering dates, events, and names unless those dates, events, and names are informing students about concepts in their present existence. Concepts found in studying the civil war and ways they relate to present existence are below:

• Slavery: it still exists in an underground world market
• Racism: the basis for racial oppression (and race-based slavery) - how is it still present? What can we do about it?
• Power: States' rights vs. federal (then and now), also connect with individual rights vs. under parent supervision as minors, or worker-boss and teacher-student relationships of power
• Personal and Political action for change: abolitionists and amendments (activism then and now), how do you work for change? How can you speak out against common practices that are oppressive?

There are probably many more. The point is, when I enter into planning what content to teach, it needs to be with a purpose to connect with real-life issues of students now. Content then has a purpose, students gain a need-to-know about the content that will help them more deeply understand their own lives today. Content is no longer trivia, it becomes transformative and connected with, and revealing of the present.

The second aspect of my curriculum in the classroom relates to the skills embedded in the study of the content. Delpit pointed out the danger progressive teachers face when they only attend to the interests of students. Students can be left without the necessary skills and knowledge that would allow access to power in society around them. She called these skills and knowledge the 'codes of power.' Lewis outlined a similar concern regarding the concept of 'cultural capital.' Capital, as outlined by Bourdieu, takes into account the economic, social, cultural, and symbolic 'capitals' that people have from different communities. The cultural capital relates to the specific knowledge and educational credentials one needs to gain access to more resources in society. All cultures have cultural resources (Funds of Knowledge, FoK), but not all are equally valued within larger society as a means to access further opportunities. Lewis indicates that teachers should use and value all students' cultural resources (FoK) as a basis for learning, but also teach the knowledge that is valued by larger society as access to further resources. The ideas of cultural capital or codes of power become more concrete with an example: Colleges still use students' SAT scores as a piece of the puzzle in determining acceptance. Specific types of knowledge are embedded and normalized in the SAT (including particular test-taking skills). Teachers who want to give students access to further opportunity must teach the skills that will enable that.

Within the social studies classroom, there are many skills that will facilitate further opportunity and access to power for students. I will use two examples: public speaking and higher-order thinking skills. Social studies offers opportunity for students to practice public speaking through discussions, presenting projects, or working in a group. It also offers opportunity for students to develop higher-order thinking skills, including comparing and contrasting two viewpoints, summarizing a reading/video, or evaluating the value of a particular type of government. These skills are essential to have for essay writing on tests, for participation in a democracy, and even for everyday media literacy. I will use media literacy as an example for a moment. A student who does not know how to evaluate the value, based on reason, of an advertisement may succumb to every television ad that catches the eye. The student who cannot compare or contrast will never know whether to believe Coke's commercials or Pepsi's.

Osborne argued that content taught should address three things: relevance to student prior knowledge, it should foster a positive identity development for students, and it should empower them to function in society. I have addressed two of these explicitly. The third, fostering identity development, is embedded in the other two. Content should connect with the histories of all students (not just white students). Every exploration of every concept in social studies should include the social histories of all groups involved, not just those in power. Skills used in class should also build on students' present identities (FoK), while at the same time also developing the skills needed to function in society.

Sources:

Osborne, Practice into Theory into Practice: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for Students we Have Marginalized and Normalized

Delpit, Other People's Children: Cultural Conflicts in the Classroom

Lewis, Race in the Schoolyard: Negotiating the Color Line in Classrooms and Communities

Bourdieu, 'Capital' as cited in Lewis and Nieto

My self-assessment Rubric: Do I teach what is real and needed?

Problematic

• I teach the textbook.

Working on it

• I teach my students
• I hope to connect the text with their interests
• I teach the skills needed for success in society or I teach development of skills that my students have

Transformative

• I teach my students
• We explore concepts that relate history to our present experience, using the text as one resource of many
• I teach skills needed for success in society and development of skills my students have