CONNECTICUT COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES

YANKEE POSTJOHN TULLY, President MARCH, 2011 DAN COUGHLIN CCSU TIM WEINLAND Editors

President’s Message

(continued on page 2)

Editors’ NoteHmmmm. Shootings in Arizona. Charges and counter-charges over irresponsible statements by public figures that some claimed contributed to the tragedy. Revolutions in the Middle East may reconfigure alliances and petro-politics. And they say that social studies doesn’t matter!? It sounds like a familiar tune as increasing numbers of middle school social studies teachers meet students with minimal exposure to geography, history government or economics during their elementary years. As this is written, Congress is reviewing budgets with an eye to slashing programs such as the Teaching American History grants and other social studies related programs. What irony that while we talk of a shrinking world, we cut back time and money for programs that will open a window to that world.

Short of wringing your hands, what can you do? Start by casting your ballot for Steve Armstrong for NCSS vice president (an office that leads to NCSS president in two years) and for Elyse Poller for Middle School representative on the NCSS Board of Directors. There is still time to vote but you need to hurry. See information and directions for voting on page 3. Letters to congressional representatives concerning the budget can also help. Rest assured there are plenty of people out there who want to cut anything that doesn’t say “military”. We teach this stuff – it’s called civics. Let’s get in the game.

This issue includes a reminder about this year’s NERC – to be held in Sturbridge in April 11-13. It’s an easy drive with an opportunity to review the latest materials as well as meet old friends and make new ones. Since Connecticut will host NERC in 2012, we are starting to beat the drum early. Dave Bosso and Elyse Poller are the NERC chairs and encourage

We’ve Gone Green !!!!! Yankee Post will be available only online.

To receive Yankee Post via email, or notification of a new issueplease send your email address to:

ctsocialstudies@yahoo.com Check Us Out at http://www.ctsocialstudies.org/ and Bookmark the Site.

We do not live in a cultural moment that values the power of history, reason, or argument. I realize the ahistorical aspects of claiming that one’s own space in time is somehow unique or important, but I also sense that despite the vast amount of data available that can form the backbone of reasoned debate on the

issues of the day, our society is still debating the future using the techniques of the past. I am not concerned that we hear arguments that are poorly constructed, deliberately misleading, or factually wrong. Every generation has given rise to them. What concerns me is that there seems to be an unwillingness or inability to use the information revolution, which has been growing at an exponential rate and putting more of the world at our fingertips than ever before, to improve the quality of our civic debate.

If this is true, then what we do in our classrooms is even more important now than it was ten years ago. We are the only people systematically preparing young people to understand the complexities of the world, to seek out and evaluate evidence, and to produce high quality arguments about the past, and by extension, the present and the future. What do we get in return for our investment in the future of our civilization? Often it is the false accusation that all we are doing is practically stealing our pay from fellow citizens. We will always fight the good fight for our students, but (continued on page 2)

CCSS Officers and Board 2008-2009

Alan Marcus, President UConn Beth Deluco, President- elect CCLCE

John Tully CCSU Lea McCabe, Secretary Bristol Central HS

Charles Moakley, Treasurer Masuk HSLouise Uchaczyk, Membership Joseph Foran HSEd Dorgan,, Past President Region #10 District

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CCSS Officers and Board 2010-2011

John Tully, President CCSU Lea McCabe, Secretary Bristol Central HS

Charles Moakley, Treasurer Louise Uchaczyk, Membership Joseph Foran HSBeth DeLuco Past President CCLCE

Max AmohStephen ArmstrongDavid BossoRobert CottoDaniel CoughlinVictoria CromptonKeith DauerEd DorganNick GelbarDaniel GreggPam HamadMark MishrikyCarol Moakley

Maurice NelsonElyse PollerSandy Senior-Dauer Jean ShortliffeMary SkellyWilliam SilvaCaryn StedmanAnn Marie WardMatt Warschauer

Honorary MembersThomas WeinlandTedd Levy

(Editors’ Note continued from page 1) your participation on committees and/or as presenters - page 6.We also include some information about summer programs (pages 8-10) and an interesting review of the American History components of Connecticut’s draft social studies framework by two authors who find fault with Connecticut’s approach. The authors propose that top-grade state standards lay out explicit recommendations for American History content to be covered – in effect an American History curriculum. Connecticut’s Framework rates an “F”; neighboring Massachusetts gets a “B”. Our obviously biased view (as co-chairs of the CT Frameworks committee) is that a framework is not a curriculum but a scaffold on which individual school districts can build a curriculum. That said, we thought you ought to hear an opposing opinion – see pages 4-5. Certainly our State Board of Education will read this review; the extent to which the board will be swayed by these ratings is anyone’s guess. Whoever said “May you live in interesting times” certainly defined our times!We have sprinkled this issue with some interesting quotes and a fascinating story about the game Monopoly. Don’t miss some of our announcements – reminders about the annual dinner and the opportunity to nominate one or more of your outstanding colleagues for an award at the dinner.

Dan Danielcoughlin@charter.net Tim Thomas.weinland@uconn.edu

(President’s Message continued from page 1) now more than ever, we also need to fight for ourselves and our role in the future.

On a happier note: Two of our own (Elyse and Steve) are running for NCSS positions. If you haven’t already done so, be sure you VOTE! The election runs until the end of March. Go to the NCSS website (www.socialstudies.org) to find the voting link.

John Tully, President, CCSS

Don’t Forget: April 11-13 !

NERC 2011Sturbridge, Mass

“Just Up the Road”

See the Mass Council Website for Information and Forms

http://www.masscouncil.org/

Save the DateWednesday, May 18th

CCSS Annual Awards Dinner

Yale Peabody MuseumNew Haven

All Members WelcomeDetails to Follow

Two Connecticut Teachers Up for National Posts

Connecticut has two social studies teachers in the running for positions on the National Council for the Social Studies Board of Directors.

Steve Armstrong, a social studies chairman in West Hartford is seeking a position as Vice President of NCSS. Election to this position leads in two years to the Presidency. Anyone who has been active in CCSS knows

the range of Steve’s efforts on behalf of social studies and the degree of his commitment to our field. One can also recognize his politi-cal savey in his picture: standing close to Mark Twain with the American flag as a backdrop.

Elyse Poller, a candidate for the Middle Grade position on the NCSS board appears to lack Mark Twain’s endorsement but that is her only political deficit. Her talents and experience as a teacher in Mansfield Middle School and world traveler, as well as extensive service on the CCSS board, have prepared her well for moving on to the national stage.

2011 NCSS Board of Directors Election Reminder--The 2011 National Council for the Social Studies Board of Directors election is now open through March 31, 2011, 11:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Please note: the 2011 election is being conducted online. You will not receive a separate ballot mailing. You can access the ballot at https://www.directvote.net/NCSS/ All individual NCSS members in good standing as of December 31, 2010 are eligible to vote, and were sent an email on February 1 with unique login credentials--your member number and election passcode. Please check your inbox or spam folder for this message if you have not already voted. If you do not have a copy of your email, you may request that your login credentials be emailed to you using the link provided on the ballot login page. Once you have logged in, a welcome letter will appear on your screen. At the bottom of the welcome letter, click on “Go To Ballot”. Follow the instructions to access information about candidates and to vote. For technical support, please call 952-974-2339 or send an e-mail tomailto:support@directvote.net.

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Report Gives a Majority of States Poor Grades on History Standards By Michelle D. Anderson

A majority of states received failing or near-failing grades on the quality of their standards for teaching history in K-12 schools, according to the latest review http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2011/20110216_SOSHS/SOSS_History_FINAL.pdf from the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

In “The State of State U.S. History Standards 2011,” the research and advocacy group says the average grade across all states was barely a D. The majority—28 states—received scores of D or lower and only one state, South Carolina, earned a straight-A score. “If students are not going to get the history in K-12, they’re not going to get it at all,” said Sheldon M. Stern, a historian formerly with the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston and one of the study’s co-authors. “The irony in the whole thing is that it’s not very difficult to improve state standards.”

Since Fordham’s last such review in 2003, 45 states have changed their history standards. While some states improved, others worsened. Delaware, for instance, tumbled from a B to an F, while the District of Columbia jumped from an F to an A-minus. Besides the District of Columbia, five states earned an A-minus rating: Alabama, California, Indiana, Massachusetts, and New York. Oklahoma, Georgia, and Michigan are the three states that earned ratings in the B range. Because it has not implemented statewide social studies standards, Rhode Island was the only state that did not receive a grade.

Facts First But officials in some of those low-scoring states and other critics of the Fordham study said the poor ratings owe largely to differences between the institute and various states on how American history is best taught, what it should cover, and how detailed the curricula should be in elementary, middle, and high school. “The authors seem to want a prescribed and detailed U.S. history curriculum for every state, and this is constitutionally impossible in Colorado,” said Fritz Fischer, a professor of history at the University of Northern Colorado and the chairman of the National Council for History Education. Under the state’s constitution, Colorado officials are prohibited from dictating curricula to school districts, he said. Colorado was one of the states given a failing grade in the report. “The biggest problem reflected in the study is that it ignores historical thinking and understanding in favor of weakly defined ‘specific substance,’ ” said Mr. Fischer, who has also advised Colorado on developing social studies standards. “The authors appear to be attracted to lists of names, dates, and events at the expense of standards that require students to develop an in-depth understanding of historical concepts and ideas.” However, Fordham’s president said its analysis is about making sure students have a firm grasp of historical facts before developing historical concepts and ideas. “You have to get the bricks before you can get the mortar,” Chester E. Finn, Jr. said.

Lack of Emphasis The study’s authors looked at multiple factors to determine which states they deemed had high-quality standards. They favored, for instance, states that offered chronological overviews of historical content rather than “ahistoric themes” and those that recognized both the nation’s European origins and the roles and contributions of non-Western people. The ratings come at a time when schools are allotting less time to history instruction, according to figures released by the National Center for Education Statistics, and some states do not require testing in that subject. Critics often cite the federal No Child Left Behind Act, for instance, for contributing to de-emphasizing the subject because of its initial focus on mathematics and reading. It does not require schools to test student proficiency in U.S. history. Mr. Finn said that the lack of testing, even in states with favorable history standards, reflects a lack of accountability. The study also reviews the framework for the National Assessment of Education Progress in U.S. history, giving it an A-minus. The authors suggest that the NAEP model could be a source of inspiration for states that want better ratings from the Fordham Institute.

State Responses While Illinois’ State Board of Education did not comment specifically on its D score, it said it will be reviewing history standards this year, according to the education department’s spokesman, Matthew Vanover. The state’s Standards and Assessments Division has already begun planning to identify and bring together a group to look at its current history standards and will most likely look at the Fordham report as part of the process, Mr. Vanover said.

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The State of State U.S. History Standards 2011

Editors’ Note: The following is a selection from the evaluation of the Connecticut Framework by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. The full report can be found at http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2011/20110216_SOSHS/SOSS_History_FINAL.pdf

Overview

Connecticut’s unofficially adopted social studies standards, insofar as they cover U.S. history at all, offer isolated historical scraps which are devoid of context, explanation, or meaning. And even these arbitrary thematic shards are merely “suggested” to teachers, not required.

Goals and Organization

Connecticut’s framework is divided into three standards: content knowledge, history/ social studies literacy, and application. Each standard is subdivided into strands that are common across all grade levels. The content knowledge standard is divided into thirteen strands, includ-ing U.S. history, Connecticut history, world history, geography, and various aspects of environment, migration, government, citizenship, and economics. The other two standards are divided into eight more strands between them, focused on research, writing, and presentation skills.

A chart supplies each strand with grade-level expectations for individual grades from pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade, and for high school (grades 9–12) as a block. Specific historical examples are offered for some expectations, but these are merely “suggested,” showing “possible approaches” for classroom use.

The Connecticut framework offers “Suggestions for Content to Address Grade-Level Expectations by Grade,” which lays out a proposed grade-by-grade sequence. Pre-Kindergarten through second grade focus on concepts of community, chronology, and human interdepen-dence; third grade focuses on the local town, and fourth grade on Connecticut history.

Fifth grade turns to U.S. history, covering the period through the American Revolution and the Constitution. Eighth grade deals with the period from the Constitution “through the 19th century,” and high school covers the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with “review of earlier events where necessary to provide appropriate background and context.” Only the high school course is listed as “required.” At other grade levels, teachers need only ensure “that social studies instruction is an integral component of instruction.”

Evaluation

Connecticut’s social studies framework claims to enable “teachers to understand what students should know and be able to do from prekin-dergarten through high school.” The emphasis throughout, however, is on social studies skills and concepts rather than on specific historical content.

The framework also aims to help “students build empathetic awareness” about historical and contemporary issues: Classes are to integrate “current events” in order “to provide opportunities for responsible student engagement with real problems in the school, community, and the world around them.” Connecticut students, as a result, will learn to make “connections between past and present and between their social studies curriculum and the everyday world.”

Thus, from the start, social studies theory and personal, present-day relevance are stressed over specific historical knowledge. And, indeed, specific historical content appears in the standards almost as an afterthought: History is presented as a tool for understanding social studies, rather than vice versa.

Teachers are asked to emphasize “local history” and to make progressively more “extensive” use of primary sources. But what those pri-mary sources might be, or what content each course should address, is left essentially undefined. Since Connecticut’s grade-level topics are merely “suggested” before the “required” modern U.S. history course in high school, teachers may even decide to focus on different content altogether, creating little confidence that students across the state will be exposed to a consistent, comprehensive, and rigorous U.S. history curriculum.

The meager U.S. history content that does appear is mostly placed in the first strand of the content knowledge standard—for example, “demonstrate an understanding of significant events and themes in U.S. history.” But, overall, the content knowledge standard is inappropri-ately named; it includes no historical events or concepts, no chronology or interconnection—just overbroad concepts and random examples divorced from any context or coherence.

Content and Rigor Conclusion

Connecticut’s social studies frameworks are relentlessly focused on social studies concepts and priorities. Historical content is, at best, an afterthought. There is no meaningful outline, explanation, or guideline explaining what teachers are to teach or students are to learn. . . . . Key concepts and events receive no coverage or emphasis. Personal and contemporary “relevance” are constantly stressed over historical understanding.

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Join us at the 43rd N rtheast Regional Conference on the Social Studies

21st Century Learning: The Role and Future of the Social Studies

April 3rd – April 5th, 2012Sturbridge Host Hotel and Conference Center, Sturbridge, MA

The teaching of social studies is at risk, especially at the elementary school level, as the emphasis on reading, writing and math test scores absorbs more energy and time during the school day. Ironically, it is the very skills that are the focus of reforms and test preparation that are at the heart of social studies instruction. It is essential that social studies professionals have tools and support to demonstrate the relevance of social studies in today’s students’ education. The Northeast Regional Conference on the Social Studies (NERC) provides these.

For a number of reasons, the very nature of teaching and learning in today’s schools is changing. In addition to an emphasis on test scores, many commentators – critics and advocates of education reform alike – have been calling for an emphasis on 21st century learning, including the knowledge and skills that will better prepare our students for a different world. Social studies educators, given their tremendous ability to develop literacy skills, encourage critical thinking, incorporate technology into lessons, and promote awareness of global issues, cultural awareness and social activism, have the capacity to further cultivate 21st century learning for our students. NERC 43 – to be held in Sturbridge, MA from April 3-5, 2012 – is an important resource for educators: it provides opportunities to share successful strategies for common challenges, explore educational materials and programs available, discuss methods to support social studies education today, and to create a network of committed, competent professionals. We believe that your involvement in NERC, whether as a workshop presenter, conference participant, exhibitor, or publisher will allow current and prospective teachers, administrators, and other educators to facilitate our students’ success in this rapidly changing world.

Save the date – and save social studies.

CCSS TO HOST NERC 43 - SPRING, 2012

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Monopoly and POW’sStarting in 1940, an increasing number of British Airmen found themselves as the involuntary guests of the Third Reich, and the Crown was casting about for ways and means to facilitate their escape... Now obviously, one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful and accurate map, one showing not only where stuff was, but also showing the locations of ‘safe houses’ where a POW on-the-lam could go for food and shelter. Paper maps had some real drawbacks -- they make a lot of noise when you open and fold them, they wear out rapidly, and if they get wet, they turn into mush. Someone in MI-9 (similar to America ‘s OSS) got the idea of printing escape maps on silk. It’s durable, can be scrunched-up into tiny wads, and unfolded as many times as needed, and makes no noise whatsoever. At that time, there was only one manufacturer in Great Britain that had perfected the technology of printing on silk, and that was John Waddington, Ltd. When approached by the government, the firm was only too happy to do its bit for the war effort. By pure coincidence, Waddington was also the U.K. Licensee for the popular American board game, Monopoly. As it happened, ‘games and pastimes’ was a category of item qualified for insertion into ‘CARE packages’, dispatched by the International Red Cross to prisoners of war. Under the strictest of secrecy, in a securely guarded and inaccessible old workshop on the grounds of Waddington’s, a group of sworn-to-secrecy employees began mass-producing escape maps, keyed to each region of Germany or Italy where Allied POW camps were located. When processed, these maps could be folded into such tiny dots that they would actually fit inside a Monopoly playing piece. As long as they were at it, the clever workmen at Waddington’s also managed to add: 1. A playing token, containing a small magnetic compass 2. A two-part metal file that could easily be screwed together 3. Useful amounts of genuine high-denomination German, Italian, and French currency, hidden within the piles of Monopoly money! British and American air crews were advised, before taking off on their first mission, how to identify a ‘rigged’ Monopoly set -- by means of a tiny red dot, one cleverly rigged to look like an ordinary printing glitch, located in the corner of the Free Parking square. Of the estimated 35,000 Allied POWS who successfully escaped, an estimated one-third were aided in their flight by the rigged Monopoly sets. Everyone who did so was sworn to secrecy indefinitely, since the British Government might want to use this highly successful ruse in still another, future war. The story wasn’t declassified until 2007, when the surviving craftsmen from Waddington’s, as well as the firm itself, were finally honored in a public ceremony. It’s always nice when you can play that ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card! Some of you are probably too young to have any personal connection to WWII (Sep. ‘39 to Aug. ‘45), but this is still interesting.

“Speakers’ Corner on the Nile” Referring to Egypt’s backward public education system that depends so much on repetition, one young girl was wearing a sign urging Mubarak to leave quickly. It said: “Make it short. This is history, and we will have to memorize it at school.”

www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/opinion/08friedman.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - 2011 CCSS AWARDSExcellence in Social Studies Education

Friend of CCSSCCSS Service Award

The John H. Stedman Passion for the Social Studies Teaching Award

Please review award criteria at http://ctsocialstudies.org/awards.htmTake the time to nominate a deserving colleague.

Send nominations to ctsocialstudies@yahoo.com by March 20, 2011.

Special Opportunities for Teachers and Students

U.S. in Afghanistan Summer InstituteJuly 11-15, 2011

Brown University, Providence, RIOpen to all high school social studies educators.

Don’t miss the March 18 deadline!

www.choices.eduThe Choices Program invites applicants for its 2011 Summer Leadership Institute on The United States in Afghanistan.Participants will receive an academically rigorous introduction to the foreign policy debates and historical underpinnings of the complex situation in Afghanistan today. Using Choices curriculum, participants will explore effective instructional strategies for engaging adolescents in the study of this important region of the world.

Themes covered at the institute are likely to include:The Culture and History of AfghanistanRegional Politics in Southwest AsiaWhat’s at Stake in Afghanistan?The Longest War? Terrorism, Warfare, and the U.S. Military

Benefits include:•The chance to work with other innovative and dedicated teachers to develop and test teaching strategies for using the new Choices unit on Afghanistan and Pakistan•A certificate of completion•The opportunity to become a Choices “Teaching Fellow” and the right to apply for a Summer Fellowship at Choices•Meals, housing and reading materials throughout the Institute

Requirements:•Attend the Institute in its entirety•Submit and carry out a final “Action Plan” which documents how you will play a role in introducing Choices to other educators•Contribute to an on line discussion of the progress of your Action Plan

Applications must be received by Friday, March 18, 2011. Mimi Stephens | Director of Professional Development

The Choices Program, Brown UniversityPhone: 401.863.3155 | Fax: 401.863.1247

http://www.choices.edu

AFSA’s 12th Annual High School Essay Contest

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) will be conducting the 12th annual National High School Essay Contest. The contest is open to all United States high school students enrolled in an American high school curriculum program whose parents are not in the American Foreign Service. Students submit an original research essay of 1000 words. The deadline is April 15, 2011. First prize will receive a check for $2500 and a trip to Washington to meet the Secretary with their family. For more information go to our website: http://www.afsa.org/essaycontest/

2011 Essay Contest Topic In 1,000-1,250 words, discuss the following topic: You are the U.S. Ambassador to one of the nations listed below. Explain what you would do, using the resources available to you as Ambassador as well as to the Foreign Service employees at your post, to improve the relations between the U.S. and your country of choice, and how the major foreign policy differences between the nations might best be handled in our national interest. The nations on which you may choose to focus are:

China -Russia –Pakistan- Turkey- Zimbabwe- Mexico

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Professional Opportunities

“That the Generations to Come Might Know Them”

Dear Civil War Enthusiast,

Welcome to our new email blast! As we all know, the Commemoration Kick-Off is quickly approaching. Only weeks away, which is truly amazing considering how long so many of us have been collaborating on this project.

Please take a moment to check out the updated webpage – www.ccsu.edu/civilwar. It now includes everything that people need to know about the coming Commemoration (master calendar is still in the work, but will be up soon.) Please note the following things on the site: * Full conference information is now available, including online registration. Please register now. This is going to fill up fast and we don’t want anyone to miss out. * Full Commemoration Kick-Off information is now available, including the April 12 Cannon firing and the Commemoration weekend. Full agenda and timeline is up. * Speakers Bureau Database is now online and listed by topic and speaker. Organizations can go to the site and choose whatever speaker they want and make contact. * The special Civil War issue of Connecticut Explored is out, and it looks amazing. You can go to the CTE website and order it, or attend the conference and get a copy as part of your registration. Link to CTE is on our webpage. * My book, Connecticut in the American Civil War: Slavery, Sacrifice, and Survival, is now out and available on the Wesleyan University Press website – link is on our webpage.

As always, thanks to everyone for your interest. This is going to be a great Commemoration.

Matt Warshauer Professor of History, Central Connecticut State University Co-Chair, Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission

Holocaust Documents Available on LineThe world’s largest collection of Holocaust documents is digital: Israel’s Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, teamed up with Google to make its photographs and documents interactive and searchable on the internet. [ Read More <http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/02/02/holocaust-historical-data-goes-digital-2/> ] Link for photo archives and search by name, location etc.:http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive/ In addition: Teacher’s Guide Using Prewar Holocaust Photographs: To Remember Their Faceshttp://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/learning_

environments/remember_faces.asp

Census Data MapUse this link for an interactive map showing census data since 1910.

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/index.php

We have seen tax-and-tax spend-and-spend reach a fan-tastic total greater than in all the previous 170 years of our Republic.

Behind this plush curtain of tax and spend, three sinis-ter spooks or ghosts are mixing poison for the American people. They are the shades of Mussolini, with his bu-reaucratic fascism; of Karl Marx, and his socialism; and of Lord Keynes, with his perpetual government spending, deficits, and inflation. And we added a new ideology of our own. That is government give-away programs....

If you want to see pure socialism mixed with give-away programs, take a look at socialized medicine Herbert Hoover at the Republican National Convention

in Chicago on July 8, 1952.

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NCSS Summer Professional Development WorkshopsDetails and registration information are available at www.socialstudies.org/workshops

It’s not too early for you to think about summer, too! NCSS is offering a selection of professional development workshops that

feature in-depth, hands on information that will strengthen your classroom teaching.

Using Film and Television to Teach 21st Century Social Skills

July 20-22, 2011 Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT

Powerful and Authentic Social Studies (PASS): A Teacher Training Institute

July 25-29, 2011 Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA

Teaching with Documents and Works of Art: An Integrated ApproachFocus on the Development of the Industrial United States

July 27-29, 2011 National Archives and Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC

Strengthening Your Social Studies Instruction Using Practical, Engaging, Thoughtful Teaching Strategies

July 27-29, 2011 Macalester College, St. Paul, MN

CHOICES: The Global Security Matrix

What makes us safe? What threatens us? The Choices Program has just launched its version of The Global Security Matrix. The matrix uses text, images, and video to help students explore a broad range of threats as they play out across the layers of the international system.

Using the Global Security Matrix students will:Explore the concept of security. Consider threats to security and how they affect a range of actors from individuals to global society. Identify and assess media sources’ coverage of security. Rank threats to security and explore how these threats might be addressed. Explore the Global Security Matrix here: http://choices.edu/gsm/index.php The link for the Watson Institute’s original Global Security Matrix is http://www.watsoninstitute.org/globalsecuritymatrix/

Global Security Matrix: Printable definitions: http://www.watsoninstitute.org/globalsecuritymatrix/definitions.html

Professional Opportunities

At some point between the standards movement and high stakes testing, some school districts decided that social studies was an add-on, rather than essential to develop-ing a well-rounded citizen prepared for life and work in the 21st century. Most states have laws which outline what ‘should’ be taught in K-12 social studies. However, what gets measured gets done and some principals even joke that “social studies better not be taught in my school until all students are proficient.” My question is “What is the definition of proficient?” Social Studies may be dead to some people, but we need to reflect on our curriculum priorities before we throw social studies to the curb. In the end, our students and our world will pay a high price for students who have been robbed of the opportunity to learn key skills and concepts that are part of a rigorous K-12 social studies program.

NPR Interview with Fred Risinger, former coordinator of Social Studies Education at the School of Education at Indiana University

CONNECTICUT COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES MEMBERSHIP FORM

Membership in CCSS entitles you to: Reduced Registration for the CCSS Fall Conference•Reduced Registration for the Northeast Regional Conference for the Social Studies (NERC)•Free subscription to the • Yankee Post, the CCSS newsletterOpportunity to apply for “mini-grants’ of up to $500 for innovative curriculum in social studies and •other special projectsOpportunity to meet colleagues and develop a network of professional friends and associates•Ability to keep up-to-date with developments in the social studies. •

If you have always wanted to become a member of NCSS, now is the time to act. New membership subscriptions to NCSS will also give you membership benefits from Connecticut Council for the Social Studies for one year-a $20 savings. This offer applies to only new NCSS Regular or new Comprehensive members only who send in their form to CCSS. Joint member benefits include:

All CCSS benefits•Regular and Comprehensive membership in NCSS includes a subscription to • Social Education or Social Studies and the Young LearnerNCSS Comprehensive membership also includes all bulletins published during the membership year.•

Please complete membership form. Make checks payable to CCSS and mail this form to CCSS, P.O. Box 5031, Milford, CT 06460.

Name_________________________________email______________________________Home Address___________________________City_________State_______Zip______School Name_____________________________________________________________School Address__________________________City__________State_______Zip_____Home Phone___________________________Work Phone________________________Position_____________________Level of Instruction_____________________________Areas of Special Interest_____________________________________________________

CCSS Membership (July 1- June 30)______Regular $20______Student $10______Retiree $10

NEW NCSS Membership_____Regular* $62

_____Comprehensive* $73

*Choose one:___Social Education___Social Studies and the Young Learner

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