Cantu Chapter #12

Cantu Chapter 12 discusses the behavioral sciences; sociology, psychology, and anthropology. These three content areas are the most overlooked and will almost always be semester-long electives. The sad reality is that these areas are extremely important!! What is also sad about this content area is that I have little experience working with it. Through my four years at Bradley I have not been required to take a psychology or anthropology course. I have had three sociology courses, so I am much more familiar with the sub-area than the rest.

I believe the study of sociology is extremely important to the umbrella of social studies. I also believe it should be a requirement for high school students.

I also believe the study of anthropology is an important part of social studies. I do believe it could integrated well into ancient history courses and brought up in geography courses.

Psychology is the sub-area I struggle with the most. As a field I find it extremely interesting and I know if I ever was to teach it I would be very excited to but, I do not think it relates to the rest of the social studies sub-areas.

The Big Question: Do you feel school should offer these sub-area courses or should they be integrated within the core four(Civics, Econ, History, Geography) ?

http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/lessons/index.aspx


http://www.pbs.org/pov/educators/lesson-plans.php?search_type=subject&subject=sociology#.VHOLhPnF9S0

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hotscience/int_anth.html

Loewen Chapter #12

In chapter twelve of Lies That My Teachers Told Me Loewen dives into the controversial issues surrounding textbooks. Textbooks today have many issues and controversy surrounding them and it is the job of the teacher to slowly stray away from the content provided and to bring in those rich primary and secondary sources.

One quote that frustrated me and made me think was right at beginning when Loewen quoted a Holt
Rinehart and Winston representative, " When you're publishing a book, if there's something controversial, it's better to take it out". Why should an educator skip a page or skip an idea because it is controversial? Controversy is where sparks fly and an new ideas are found. Controversy also allows the teacher to bring in many resources surrounding that topic.

This chapter could not have come at  a better time because in ETE 345 we are currently evaluating textbooks from our field. I have learned a lot about how textbook publishing companies are ran and how the process of creating the textbook works and it is pretty disturbing. We read an article about an individual who worked at a publishing company and on her first day everyone was freaking out because the book was finished, but they did not have an author yet. She discussed how textbooks are made from other textbooks and the most important information is grouped together.
Until this unit I did not realize the what I wanted to see in textbooks was really hard to come by.


Here is that article: http://www.edutopia.org/textbook-publishing-controversy

Big Question: Would textbooks be better off being written by an actual author? Such as our textbook written by Loewen.

Cantu Chapter #11

Chapter 11 moves from economics towards Geography in Cantu's digital book! Finally, my favorite subject! I would have never guessed one of my placements for novice or student teaching would be in a geography classroom! On the other hand. I know of teachers and schools who believe geography is lesser than the core social studies courses, especially history, but my argument to those people is that, how can you tell the story of history without knowing about the place or the culture of the people where it took place?  Like I have discussed with civics and economics education, it needs to be integrated in daily lessons! I believe a lesson should always begin with geography, so students can get that visual identification with the topic at hand!  Geography is extremely important to learn at an early age because our students need to be spatially aware of the world and how it has changed over time. As soon as your AP European history begins, there will not be much time spent dissecting the countries geography, students will need to have that prior knowledge.

The National Council for Geographic Education has their five themes which include: location, place, relationships, movement, and region. Cantu's book make sure its readers understand that Geography is not just focused on one aspect, like maps, but it looks at more in depth topics like weather and natural disasters. Many aspects of geography are happen around our students every day and it is easy to make those kinds of connections on a daily basis. It is extremely important for students to recognize their interactions with geography and the environment they live in and eventually have the make connections to other places around the globe!  In the geography class I am teaching now is currently writing letters to a middle school in Costa Rica and it is helping them make connections to others on a global scale!

Big Question: Should geography be its own course and be taught in different levels of schooling or should it just be integrated within other subject areas?










My favorite geography games website!!
http://world-geography-games.com/

Cantu Chapter #10

For chapter 10 of Cantu's book we continue dissecting the core areas of social studies, and for chapter 10 it is economics. There were many standards presented in this chapter that offer very unique perspectives. I think the standards help make economics seem simple and less scary to someone who does not have particularly the best skill set within economics. I know when myself and others hear the word economics they think politics, numbers, and scary terminology, but it really does not have to be that way!

I believe economics is an extremely important core of social studies, and unfortunately is often overlooked when high school students chose a social studies elective. There was always a joke between my friends and I that, "I may know the biological make-up of a cell, but I do not know how to do my taxes or make an investment". The frustrating part of economics for me is that I think it is very interesting, but I struggle with it. I was not given a proper economic education growing up and I believe that is to blame. I believe an economic education should begin as young as possible, so when graduation comes along teens can make positive economic decisions and have a great understanding of how the Global and U.S economy works.

My big question for this Monday is: even you are teaching in a school without an economic course, how will you integrate it into the classes you teach?

An unfortunate yet great tool we have as future history teachers is living through a recession. In most cases we will not be able to reach that far into history, we do have the Great Depression. A wonderful lesson you could teach would be to do an assignment or some kind of  project comparing and contrasting the two.

Some funny cartoons (:
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This link provides unique lesson plans and interesting information on economic education.
http://www.econedlink.org/

Loewen Chapter #11

Unlike the chapters we have uncovered this far, Chapter 11 of Loewen's book focuses on the end of the textbook. Loewen makes several points about the sugar-coating of the end of a textbook and how most textbooks end is way too positive.  He discusses that students leave the course with a false sense of hope and students leave believing that we have learned all of the mistakes and troubles of the past up until now, and since this last chapter is on the positive future, that means everything is going to be okay! Students need to be aware of the constant struggles Americans and the rest of the world face every single day, and even though we have made progress since the beginning of history that does not mean history can not repeat itself. Textbooks need to have progress incorporated, but also incorporate the negatives. There is climate change, poverty, crime, inequality, war, disease, and terrorism that affects lives globally today and will affect lives in the future, and students should be aware of it. On the other hand there needs to be plenty of optimism and progress incorporated such as technological advances or continuous human rights improvements. Students will be able to see a positive future but also understand to get there we must face challenges.


One of my favorite shows is the Newsroom, and this video sparked social media and my interest. Though it is a fictional show the main character brings out a lot of emotion with the audience. Check the link out below!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMqcLUqYqrs


Big Question: What is a great lesson plan idea to end the course/textbook with?

Cantu Chapter #9

Chapter nine of Cantu's book covers civics education and discusses the standards for civics education. This is the first chapter that dives into a specific field of the social studies umbrella. There were also goals outlined in the chapter that can help me form civic based lesson plans. The goal that stood out to me the most was, "students develop understanding and skill to critique and transform society."Our students need to be able to be able to recognize the issues that their communities, their state, the U.S and the world is facing today. 

I absolutely hate that civics and government courses only last a semester over a four year period, at least that's all I got in high school. It is so imperative to educate our students on controversial topics and crucial issues our country is dealing with.Civics is not about teaching our students to pick a side or focus on the content, but to teach the values and purpose of being an American citizen. Functioning citizens of the U.S need to be aware of these kinds of issues and it is so important that we give them that basic knowledge to take with them after high school and into the real world. When our students turn 18 and if they chose to register to vote, they should be fully aware and educated on candidates and their platforms as well as issues currently being processed by the House and Senate. Even if civics only last a semester or it is not even offered it is the job of all social studies teachers to make sure these civic values are represented in the classroom. This is why my big question today asks the class, if there was no civic/ government course offered in your school and you were teaching another social studies course, how would you incorporate civic values into that course.

http://www.civicyouth.org/

CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) 

conducts research on the civic and political engagement of young Americans

Unit 1: Central America & The Caribbean

Prezi Presentation