CH. 6- Lies My Teacher Told Me

I believe that John Brown is a very important character in US History. It is important that students learn the truth about this individual. One of the biggest issues with teaching John Brown is that people are not sure how to present some of his actions such as the killing of 5 pro-racism men. I think the best way to do this in class is to present the facts on John Brown while keeping opinion out of it. After this, I think it is important to start a discussion about this person. Doing this, you are able to keep opinionated descriptions of this individual to yourself while your students are able to create their own opinions.

The big question: What are some ways teachers can lead an affective and appropriate discussion about John Brown and events linked with his life, or any other topic, without showing bias in the subject?

Weblink: http://www.history.com/topics/john-brown

Cantu- Ch. 6-7

Technology integration into the classroom is a key component to a teachers plan. As a Social Studies teacher, there are many ways to use technology in the classroom. As we head into the future, education focuses more and more on technology and moves away from traditional practices. The days of teaching young students cursive are all but over. Earlier and earlier these kids must learn the art of typing and using different software such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.

As a teacher, I need to be aware of technologies usefulness in my classroom. Not only can I use the web to search and use different sources such as LOC or other interactive sites, but I can also have students learn and use technology in certain ways. They can search the Internet for different sources. They can perfect making effective and visually attractive PowerPoint or Prezi presentations. Students can learn how to use different pieces of technology such as camcorders during group projects. I will try to incorporate assignments that are based around different types of software as well as finding sources not on big search engines such as google.

Big question: How do we keep technology from being too big of a distraction in the classroom? How do we adapt lessons effectively for students who may not have to privilege of technology at home?

Weblink: http://prezi.com

Lies My Teacher Told Me- Ch 5

Racism is an obsession throughout American history. As stated in this book, it has been a factor since the first Spaniards colonized in North Carolina. All textbooks that I have encountered have always portrayed slavery as an evil that these settlers, and later plantation owners, endorsed and took advantage of. I think that it is important to show students, not that slavery was a good thing (because it certainly is not), but why these slave owners did it. It is important to show students how this helped them and why it has been so hard to break away from slavery.

Moving forward in time, we come to the time period of Civil Rights and all of the issues that arose during this. Again, I do not endorse what happened to victims during this time, but it is important as a teacher to show why incidents such as the various race riots and beatings occurred. This is a good way to start a discussion in class. You can ask why you think whites acted in hostile ways towards African- Americans? You can also talk about why they did not go with more peaceful solutions. This forces students to critically think about it.

Big question: How can you effectively show each side of the argument on racism while staying accurate and appropriate, especially when teaching in an urban area?

Weblink: http://users.humboldt.edu/mstephens/hate/hate_map.html

Cantu- Ch. 4

One of the big things that helped me from this chapter is in the Strategies to Extend Student Learning section. The idea here that helped me was the "Wait I and II." This was helpful because I have trouble, on occasion, not giving students adequate time to think about a question. This rule is very helpful to me because I now have a base time limit for allowing students time to think about a question or answer.

One thing that I saw in this section that I do not agree with is further down the page where it says to "Allow for student calling." I do not think that this is necessary. I have seen students take advantage of this and use it as a way to target kids who are not as smart. It can lead to bullying and lower student self- esteem.

Another thing that I will incorporate is the Agree- Disagree Matrix. I think this is important because students need to be able to voice their opinions and have an effective discussion. They also need to learn to support their opinion with fact.

Big Question: Are using all of these teaching strategies essential for optimum student development?

Interactive website: http://www.readingquest.org/strat/

Lies my teacher told me- Ch 4

This chapter is about Native Americans and the lies that history textbooks tell us about how they came to this country and how their society and culture functioned. As a history teacher, I believe that it is important to share the correct ideas with the students. Taking out opinions in textbooks that call these people "savages" or anything similar is very important. What I find tricky is trying to find the right facts to share with students. Taking out bias is the easy bit. The problem is there is still disputable evidence about these people. An example of this is that there is debate about whether the natives walked over the Beringia Land Bridge or that boats brought them. The answer that people except is the land bridge, however, Lowen states that there is gaining proof that there may have been boats that brought over early explorers. Situations like these are where problems with how to teach can occur. What do you tell your students? What do you say after they have learned about the land bridge in previous years and classes? I think the best solution for issues such as this is to tell about both ways that it is being suggested about how they came to North America. You can create a debate about this after students do some independent research.

Big question: How do we stop authors from writing from a more European and conqueror based perspective?

Weblink: http://mrnussbaum.com/nativeamericans/

Cantu- Ch 3

I think the section that helped me the most is the one which focuses on developing good lesson plans. I think it is important to be very well organized in the classroom and always plan out what you need to get done and what is gonna help you accomplish your goal. Organization has always been more of a struggle for me. I need to look at the way that I teach in Novice teaching and review, among other things, my organization. If it lacks, as I suspect it may, then I need to look into ways of becoming more organized. I think that will help me become a better teacher.

Also, something that I never have thought of much as a teacher is tutoring of students outside of class hours. I think it is important for a teacher to make themselves available during the day outside of class to help students who need it. This may be during a planning period, lunch, or before or after school. I think that I should try to accomplish this when I teach.

Question: If standards are only guides to help benefit educators, why do some teachers feel like they restrict their classrooms in negative ways?

weblink: http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html

Lies My Teacher Told Me- Ch. 2

This chapter is very interesting. It talks about how many of the facts textbooks tell students about Columbus are false. Reading this changes how I teach a unit on Columbus because I will try to avoid a textbook for this unit in particular. I think that using more primary and secondary sources is necessary for students to understand what really happened during this time period. I think it is a good topic to do a discussion on. You can ask students what story they prefer (the textbook version or more accurate version) and why they think these facts have been changed or told in a certain way. With this, it is also important, even in a U.S. History class, to talk about happenings in Europe of this time briefly. This includes talking about the Crusades and Renaissance. I would also try to talk about earlier Europeans that discovered North America. This includes the Vikings and fishermen near Canada.

A big question not answered is: Do we want students to learn the real story of a person that America has created into a hero? Will that have negative effects on a students viewpoints towards this country and our history? Can it be counterproductive?

weblink: http://www.tripline.net/trip/Columbus's_First_Voyage-524426755021100398BBC307AA573874

Cantu Ch.2

The biggest thing in this chapter that has relevance to me is the standards at the end. I selected the standards from Oregon. I eventually want to move back out west either to Colorado or Oregon and this was the link that worked. This website seemed harder to navigate compared to the Illinois one but it was important for me to see what standards they want to have in the classroom. For history, the first one was to analyze and apply cause and effect relationships. You can create many lesson plans that work with this standard. An example would be to read or learn about a historical event such as the Revolutionary War or a more specific event inside the Rev War. You can ask, what major factors caused this war to break out and what are some effects from this war. This was a simple example but seeing the standards help you design lesson plans that are effective and involve student- centered learning.

One big question not answered is: I have heard several teachers complain about standards since I have been observing at Bradley. At what point do standards get in the way of a teacher doing their job in the classroom?

interactive website: http://www.history.com/interactives/civil-war-150#/home

Dr. Cantu- Ch. 1

This chapter had several things that I believe will help me be a better teacher and be more affective in my classroom. The most influential one to me is, "Gardner's Multiple Intelligence" As a teacher, I must be aware of the different ways students learn in my classroom. Having all the students do one task to get an idea across will not be enough, in some cases. I must be able to make sure the idea is covered in several ways of learning.

I think a method I think is very good is the "Jurisprudential Inquiry." This seems like it is similar to a debate where students pick a side of an issue that they have feelings for and find facts to support their viewpoints. This teaches how to correctly cite and present sources as well as counter and intelligently argue with a peer. I think the evaluation portion of this is very good. It forces students to think of consequences that may happen if their viewpoint is acted upon. I think this is a good method to take into a classroom and I must make sure to use it as long as the topic I present is controversial and appropriate.

A big question that I think is unanswered is: When and how is it appropriate to use direct instruction in a classroom effectively?

Link: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

Lies My Teacher Told Me- Ch.1

Chapter 1 was very interesting to me. I was never aware of what textbooks are leaving out about famous figures in our countries history. The more interesting case in this chapter, to me, was Woodrow Wilson. I was aware of several things mentioned about him that many students may not know. This includes his support of The Birth of a Nation as well as his anti-black viewpoints. I was more interested to find out that he invaded Latin America and the Caribbean on numerous occasions and also had a "secret" war with Russia during the time of their revolution.

This has a major significance on how I approach teaching. Know that I am more aware of what many textbooks are leaving out, I must be prepared to add more information in different ways. It was never a goal of mine, as a teacher, to use a textbook often in my class. Having said that, there are times when it is important and now I must be prepared with alternative sources to help my students take all the information they can about a person such as Woodrow Wilson.

One question that sticks in my mind after reading this chapter is: Is making these figures into heroes worth not sharing the important details of their lives and how they negatively or positively affected the people around them as well as their country?

helen-keller-socialist3a_sally.jpg

Interactive website: http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/presidents-day/woodrow-wilson/