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Case: Patriotic/Unpatriotic Facts
After teaching middle school Social Studies for many years, I decided to go back to school to get my graduate degree. In one of my classes, we studied James Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me. I was so influenced by this book and the idea that we have been presenting students inaccurate information that I have been thoroughly researching the content I teach before presenting it to my students. Recently we have been studying international affairs of the US government. Some of the information I presented revealed actions the US government engaged in other countries that resulted in killings and disturbances. My students were interested in the materials and some of the issues we discussed in class made dinner-time discussions at home. One of the parents who is a retired army officer came to the school to talk to my principal. He told the principal that I was indoctrinating students. When my principal told me about this, I explained to her that all the information I presented was factual and that I researched the information from multiple resources. Her suggestion to me was that I should focus more on teaching patriotic materials. I am so frustrated that I do not have the support of my principal. Also, I disagree that what I teach is unpatriotic. I am simply trying to teach accurate information. If I continue doing what I do, I may lose my job. However, I do not want to give up teaching my students the truth. How should I go about this issue?
Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!)
Perhaps if it is difficult to teach your students some hard-to-accept realities without being called in to the principal's office, you could use the approach of asking your students questions which would enable them to think critically and discover these truths on their own. How about assigning a short essay on the consequences of a war on the civilians of the country in which it was fought? A carefully-led discussion about differing viewpoints between world leaders or cultures could lead the students to come to their own conclusions and encourage them to view issues from angles other than those professed by the text. I think that, more important than teaching our students what the facts are is teaching them to read and absorb information critically. Anyone can write a post on the internet or even publish a book, so our students need to develop the skills to be discerning readers. |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: January 31, 2013 7:58 pm |
| Rated By: Jennifer Spitko |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Yes I agree. Since it may not be possible to teach the students directly, the next best thing would be to present some of the information and lead the child to discover the rest on their own. |
| Rated On: October 19, 2014 1:45 am |
| Rated By: uZyvaP |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: I agree with your solution to this issue. This would allow the students analyze and discover realities on their own through questions and carefully-led discussions. |
| Rated On: February 26, 2015 2:24 am |
| Rated By: uVataS |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: I like this solution, and I do think this would be a good way to follow up with all of the touchniess that has happened. |
| Rated On: October 17, 2016 3:03 am |
| Rated By: Raven B |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: I agree, and maybe even ask administration about it too. |
| Rated On: March 5, 2017 9:45 pm |
| Rated By: avenyB |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Very good points! |
| Rated On: March 5, 2017 11:47 pm |
| Rated By: atugym |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: :) |
| Rated On: March 18, 2018 1:23 am |
| Rated By: aJaTyb |
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