"History Wars"
The "history wars", or debate that is happening within our schools about social studies is the concern that centers around the role of history and the curriculum. There is debate on the content that should be taught within social studies. Some argue that history and civics should be the main focus for social studies. But others argue that the students should be taught about the influences that made our country what it is. When technology is integrated into the social studies content it helps students understand topics that might otherwise be difficult to comprehend. The book states that it is more meaningful and a dynamic way of learning when technology is incorporated.
There are some positive aspects of technology being integrated along with some negative responses for using the Internet to find information on history. No matter what topic you are researching you must be aware of the sites you visit on the Internet. First you must check the credentials and the accuracy of the site you are viewing. This may be a concern of the social study teacher that the information the students are viewing go along with what the textbook and what the teacher is saying.
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Hi Melissa!
ReplyDeleteI liked that you explained a little further about what the textbook meant on what is the meaning behind "History Wars" which was when you said "..students should be taught about the influences that made our country what it is." I absolutey agree on what you said about the teacher having to check the background "credentials" of the website the students may be viewing. That is definitely a concern. However, I don't know about "information going with the textbook" because many times the textbook is old and needs to be updated. Although it is important to check that the information is accurate regardless if it's new or old information.
I believe that the students should be taught about what influences have made our country what it is today, but we are continuing to make history. I believe that in this area of studies would be a good combination with technology. It would definitely benefit us to use technology more for the mere fact that we can gather it easier now. If I had to eliminate some history from the curriculm,I would not know where to start. I would not want to eliminate any part of the history curriculm for the very reason you stated. Our students need to know from where they came from and to where they are being lead.
ReplyDeleteThis leads me to your comment about the concerns and you are right. The teacher needs to verify the information the students are viewing follows along with the textbook and what the teacher is saying. I am sure some of the information would coincide with the text but it probably won’t be a mirror image due to how much easier it is to keep the internet updated. After all how often do schools purchase books to ensure accuracy in the classroom? I also agree with you about how we all share the same concern, which is creditability. There is too much freedom on the internet.
Melissa, you are right. It is a hard subject to teach. To keep students intrested in things of the past is tough because they don't connect with what is being taught. I had a professor at Palo Alto and he taught the second part of history and he was awesome! It was an online course and I learned so much. He didn't put too much stress on learning dates but he taught the topics. He mixed past from America and past from my neighborhood. I feel I received a well rounded approach to history. I was able to relate to the young Mexican girl from the westside who faught for her neighbohood and the people; compared to some white army. It was interesting but that is what we need to do for students.
ReplyDeleteApril
I agree with you about technology being a good thing if we integrate it while teaching social studies. Maybe we shouldn't expect the children to find the information themselves on the internet, but teachers can use it as a tool to bring multimedia in the classroom to make history and social studies more interesting.
ReplyDeleteBefore we expect the children to turn in a history based assignment we need to set the dos and donts about where they can find their research from that way they dont come across websites that contain harmful information.