Online July 2009
| Volume 66 | Number 10
Revisiting Social Responsibility
Marge Scherer
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Steven Wolk
Many teachers know that literature for children and young adults can pique students' interest in reading. But, according to Steven Wolk, many of these books can also awake students' social consciences. Books about social issues enable teachers to integrate lessons in social responsibility with their lessons in history, sciences, or the many topics covered in these books. In this article, Wolk provides a list of books, ranging from picture books to young adult literature and graphic novels, which teachers can use to teach students about social issues.
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Elliott Seif
In 2005, Parkway High School (now called Parkway High School for Peace and Social Justice) adopted a schoolwide theme. At the time, the Philadelphia School District was promoting the development of small, themed high schools and a children's advocacy group called Public Citizens for Children and Youth encouraged Parkway to try out this theme. Parkway's transformation shows what is possible in terms of integrating a focus on social justice, personal growth, and conflict resolution into academic life and school culture. Seif details how four dimensions of change, which he believes are necessary for fostering social responsibility in school, play out at Parkway: remaking school culture, guiding students in self-reflection, enriching academic learning experiences, and encouraging service to other.
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Sanford N. McDonnell
Positive peer pressure, according to Sanford N. McDonnell, has the potential to change schools fraught with serious behavior problems. To improve students' attitudes and promote collective responsibility, educators must start by holding every student responsible for helping every fellow student become the best person and learner possible, McDonnell says. Learning to confront one another caringly is an essential part. McDonnell shares five guidelines for confronting another person in a positive way, drawn from the work of David Augsberger. He describes eight practical ways educators can teach caring confrontation—from using constructive criticism in writing class to arranging "concern meetings" at which carefully chosen peers and a school counselor confront a student who is straying behaviorally or academically.
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Maria Sudeck and Theodore Hartman
Service learning offers students the opportunity to master the core curriculum while simultaneously becoming engaged in local, national, and global challenges. This approach is especially powerful for students from historically marginalized groups, helping them learn to think independently and become more aware of the connection between their academic development and their ability to influence social change. In this article, the authors describe two different service learning projects: an elementary unit developed by a student teacher in which 4th graders raised funds to support a foundation that assists sick adolescents; and a high school unit on child welfare issues that differentiated for 10th graders in an honors class and an intervention class.
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Brent Loken and Sheryl Gruber
Through a required two-year Global Ethics course, students at Hsinchu International School explore the effects our choices have on the planet and develop ideas for making a difference in the world. The interdisciplinary course is divided into four expeditions, each of which explores a different topic. The course was designed using principles of Understanding by Design and expeditionary learning, and students participate in assigned readings, blogs, podcasts, Socratic seminars, research projects, and action projects to develop and demonstrate their understanding of the material. At the end of their senior year, students complete a research and "lived experience" project that embodies the ideals of the course. Loken and Gruber suggest that teachers anywhere can implement a course like this at their school, and they provide links to resources and networking groups that they have used to develop the course at Hsinchu International.
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Beth Linnerson-Daly
An innovative arts integration technique engages students in almost any content area. Students create realistic, miniature 3-D backgrounds, objects, and costumes related to an era, culture, or habitat and then insert posed photos of themselves into these tableaus. When they make movies of their display, students become part of the historic setting. Linnerson-Daly has used this technique to spark student motivation and immerse students in learning about a historical period or region. She has seen students blossom personally and watched reluctant learners become eager writers, researchers, and participants in schoolwide creative projects. The article describes one such project: students' recreation of the Colonial-era village that once thrived at their current town site of Lambertville, New Jersey. See also the student-made slide show picturing village-scenes with student costumed figures standing in as Colonial townspeople. Teachers throughout the school taught students pantomime techniques, mapmaking, and other authentic skills.
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EL Volume 66 Article Index 2008–2009
http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/educationalleadership/EL_index_vol66.pdf
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