Increasing student's understanding of alternative narratives and personal experiences throughout history.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KHltY8qu8q6d7g4mqBiImcgSmRJid3vYLGywnf35fiA/edit#gid=0
History is so interesting because of its impact on the "truth". Every government, or even group of people for that matter, has attempted to rewrite history in their favor. Because human beings have such imperfect memories, the documentation of what and how events occurred is key if we are going to continue advancing as a species. Otherwise, as the old adage goes, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of our past. Historians have a responsibility to mankind, similar to doctors, lawyers, or mechanics, in looking for the unbiased and true accounting of events, and then documenting those happenings for the rest of humanity to review and understand.
The above rationale was the impetus for my lesson plan on "The Common Man's History" for 11th grade Social Studies. We as educators need to instill in our charges the importance of critical thinking, analysis, synthesis, collaboration, and communication. Even more vital is the need for independence. This is especially true in what we examine from our past, as well as emphasize to be part of our national discourse. Free thinkers developed the ideas that we founded our nation upon. They created progressive programs such as social security, and helped solve polio. College dropouts were the creators of the machine that I am currently writing these words with, and enabled me to post this so that others can review and evaluate. But this autonomy needs to be instilled in the next generation; or else we will slide into conformity and stagnation.
Along with an eye towards independence, educators need to be cognizant of curriculum standards that have served us well in the past and present. Content standard are what enable us to stay centered on the goals of our teaching process. They bring us back to a focus on the reason for establishing schools in the first place. For my Technology Integration Plan I focused on the impact of immigrants on our nation, urbanization that has accompanied the migration of peoples, and the legal standards and worker protections that we value in business practices.
In addition, we need to embrace technology instead of running from the fear that change can arouse. Like it or not our young people are more and more reliant on digital technology, both in their personal life and in the classroom. If we can change with the times we will be able to harness these developments, instead of fighting a losing battle. That being said, the technology itself is not the goal. It is simply another tool in our arsenal in fighting ignorance. For my Integration Plan I kept it relatively simple in terms of equipment, but I hold the teacher responsible for guiding the use of these tools to create high level learning experiences. The Internet, computers, scanners, videos, microphones, and electronic whiteboards can be utilized in the lesson plan, but they are not the be all-end all. If we do not have a certain tool, then the teacher needs to adapt and re-focus on the goal of the exercise. The most crucial apparatus has always been, and always will be, our minds.
The content standards mentioned above can be accompanied by technology specific standards, such as ISTE, officially known as "International Society for Technology in Education Technology Standards for Students (ISTE*S)". For my Integration Plan I highlighted these 5 ISTE standards:
ISTE 1: Creativity and innovation.
ISTE 2: Communication and Collaboration
ISTE 3: Research and information fluency
ISTE 4: Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making and
ISTE 5: Digital Citizenship
Being a teacher is a big responsibility. The success of each and everyone of our students is our duty. Whether we are drawing on the wall of the cave, speaking to a group of students in the Greek sophist school, reading books by candlelight in Italian monasteries, or utilizing an electronic smart-board....we owe it to those who came before us and those who will hopefully come after to educate to the best of our ability. Through adequate knowledge of, as well as instruction in use, modern technology, we can fulfill our obligation.
