SchlagerBlog

One of our favorite periodicals is Social Education, a journal put out by the National Council for the Social Studies. Given that it contains a heavy emphasis on using primary sources to teach history (including a regular “Teaching with Documents” section), it’s probably no surprise that we pore over every issue. The September 2008 issue just arrived, and as always it has lots of good material. The cover story is about the writ of habeas corpus as it has been used (or suspended) over time in the United States. It has been suspended more than once, generally during wartime, and often only as it related to specific communities. The article focuses on the controversy surrounding enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay since 9-11. This leads inevitably to discussion about the use of torture (or “interrogation methods,” in official speak) at that facility. Although I generally try to steer clear of politics on this blog, I can state unequivocally that I am opposed to our use of torture against prisoners since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began. I don’t see that as a Democrat v. Republican or liberal v. conservative issue, but certainly many people would differ. My own parents strongly disagree with me on this issue, so I’m well aware that the country is divided on the issue. I wonder how social studies teachers deal with this matter in the classroom these days?

Another article of interest is on the differing approaches to world history education. Written by Ross E. Dunn, director of World History Projects for the National Center for History in the Schools at UCLA, the article divides the approaches into two broad categories: 1) those who focus on patterns and connections over time, i.e. that transcend particular countries/civilizations, including proponents of so-called big history; and 2)  those who take a civilization-by-civilization approach. Dunn mentions some of the leading publications that have set the tone in both camps, and I was wondering if he would highlight the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History, for which he served on the advisory board and which was clearly conceived under the “big history” banner. Alas, no. Our own upcoming world history publications (Milestone Documents in World History and Milestone Documents of World Leaders) fall somewhat outside this grouping, but the fact that we have aligned our content with the National History Standards (developed by the self-same NCHS at UCLA) perhaps tips our hand. In any case, this is an interesting article about a compelling topic. Educators might be interested in reading This Fleeting World, an introductory “big history” essay that Berkshire published. I’m not sure if it’s available for electronic download, but the print version seems to cost a reasonable $15.

Speaking of educators, we are putting the finishing touches on the October issue of our Milestone Documents newsletter. This issue focuses on the era of “expansion and reform” in American history, which means articles about the Monroe Doctrine, Andrew Jackson, the Second Bank of the U.S., and the Seneca Falls Convention. The issue should be ready by the end of this week; to sign up (it’s free), just visit this link.

Finally, I have to mention a wonderful e-mail exchange I had this week with Ellen Turner, a fifth-grade teacher in a public school in Buffalo, New York. Ellen had requested a copy of our Constitution poster, which I was happy to send her, and she won me over with her enthusiasm and energy. Most of our content is geared toward high school and lower undergraduate students and teachers. However, our posters can certainly be used even by teachers at lower levels, especially if they have the kind of passion that Ellen obviously does. Current events can make one fairly gloomy about the future of our country, but the presence of enthusiastic teachers in our schools certainly does brighten our prospects. Thanks, Ellen!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 2:03 pm and is filed under History news, Publishing News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.