Buxton's Education Blog: Choices Units from Brown's Watson Institute

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IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO POST A COMMENT:

1) Find Blog Archive in the right hand column. Click on a particular month and then find a topic you're interested in. Another option is to find "Labels" in the right hand column. (Ex: Homework) Click on the label you're interested in and you'll have choice of posts on that topic appear in the middle column of the Blog.
2) Go to the end of the post where you'll find the word "comments" (or No Comments) highlighted. Click on this.
3) You'll then see a space to "enter your comment." At the bottom of that "page" you'll find a pull down menu asking you to "Comment as." You can pick Name/URL. If you pick Name/URL, then insert your name (or initials) and ignore the URL space. You'll note that most of the comments are submitted by contributors using their initials. This is because almost all of the current contributors are students in a course I teach at Salve.

4) Then, in the next box, click "continue". Then, you should click on the "Publish" button.

5) I'd ask that you refrain from critiquing individuals, unless they are public figures such as Obama, Duncan or Gist. I reserve the right to delete posts which I feel are "over the top." I'd prefer this Blog to involve a "battle of ideas" rather than a bashing of individuals. Also, please feel free to post alternative views or offer amendments to my assertions and/or specifics. I am far from being an expert on these matters, so there should be lots of room for amendments. If you look thru the Blog, you will see that I have included articles on opposite sides of issues (Ex: pro and con on Common Core; pro and con on Portfolio, etc)

You will also notice that I encourage my students to critique my ideas, and to use a "devil's advocate" approach upon occasion.

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Thursday, January 9, 2014

Choices Units from Brown's Watson Institute

If you’re a veteran teacher, I’m sure you’re familiar with the Choices units from Brown’s Watson Institute, and you probably use them. If you’re unaware of this resource, I recommend you access the Choices web site (www.Choices.edu) and check it out. Below you’ll find the topics of Units offered by Choices. The program is called Choices because all of the units end with 3 or 4 possible choices for US policy toward that the issues covered in the unit. It’s great stuff for getting kids involved in debates on these matters.

Current Issues

Afghanistan, Cuba, China, Global Environmental Problems, Foreign Aid, Genocide, Human Rights, Immigration, the Middle East in Transition, N. Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, the UN, Terrorism, International Trade, and more

US History

Slave Trade, American Independence, War of 1812, Westward Expansion, Imperialism, Cold War, Hiroshima, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, Civil Rights, and more

World History

French Revolution, Haitian Revolution, India/Pakistan, Iraq, Russian Revolution, South Africa, Weimar Republic, Mexico, and more

2 comments:

UnknownJanuary 14, 2014 at 9:52 AM
This stuff is probably the most teacher-friendly material out there! Once I learned how to tailor it to my classroom, it has become a staple for group based projects with great graphic organizers and presentation templates that makes the students become creative thinkers that are engaged. Great stuff.
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If you want to know more about this blog......,

The purpose of this Blog is to create dialogue regarding the status of HS Social Studies in RI. It is not designed to discuss elementary or Middle School issues. It is not designed to discuss HS Math issues, and it's not designed to discuss Social Studies issues in Oregon. Although readers are welcome to post on the aforementioned topics, the focus will nonetheless be on HS Social Studies in RI. I have sat through all too many generic Professional Development days, and read far too many pages in K-12 Education texts where they talk about Mrs. Brown's second grade class. Both formats expect me to apply this generic information about teaching to my HS US History class. Frequently, it was and is a stretch! Additionally, it seems to me that we have far too many people with Elementary School backgrounds making educational policy decisions that might be appropriate at the pre-HS level, but not at the HS level.

The idea for this Blog came about after my conversations with numerous HS Social Studies teachers in my capacity of observing Salve Regina student teachers at a wide variety of RI high schools. Additionally, I have many Social Studies colleagues in a variety of high schools inside and outside RI as a result of my attending Model United Nations conferences. I noticed that there were many common concerns that these teachers had in common. My sense is that these Social Studies teachers expressed their concerns and shared best practices with others in their department, but didn't necessarily have a non-NEA forum to discuss common issues with HS Social Studies teachers from other schools.

Lastly, I feel like I'm in a unique position to assist the pendulum in swinging, which I observe many HS teachers are looking forward to. I have 32 years of HS teaching under my belt; I have 5 years of experience teaching at URI, so I have some ability to evaluate how the product of RI HS Social Studies courses fares at the next level. I also have lots of experience in the Salve Regina Education Department where I have gotten a greater sense for educational reforms, some of which I support, and some of which I have serious concerns about. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to speak to many Social Studies teachers, in a wide variety of settings, and hear their concerns. Finally, I feel I'm in a unique position, because I feel like I'm a lot more free to express my opinions regarding these matters than many other teachers are in the state.

In closing, I'd like to admit the following:
1) I like to write, and I like the Blog format. I used it frequently with my URI classes, and I also, for a period of time, managed a Blog that dealt with appropriate youth soccer coaching ideas.
2) I don't like to complain without doing something about the issues. Hence, at 4 different times in my 3 decades of SKHS teaching, I wrote lengthy pieces defending SKHS, which were published in the SK newspapers. My hope is that this Blog may be a forum to express concern, but may also, eventually, lead to action to improve education for our students.
3) I'm semi-retired and have some time on my hands.