Postmodernism and the classroom
My goal as a teacher is not only to impart the information my students need as required by the state in order to achieve success on standardized testing, but to cultivate skilled thinkers who will constantly question the right and the wrong of any situation. This is especially true for my discipline. Over the course of American history much has happened that stirred great controversy and instilled factionalism. We have endured revolution and expansion, slavery, and invasion. At the end of the day, the study of what has happened begs us to make something meaningful from it. Indeed, as the axiom goes, if we do not learn our history we are doomed to repeat it. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to learn what is right and wrong in our past, or at least, make thoughtful arguments that will allow us to come to a conclusion about what seem to be the best and worst of past events.
The students who participate in my Advanced Placement US History class are to involve themselves in that endeavor; indeed, they are to learn the historian's trade. They must learn about the accumulation of facts or the sets of arguments that have been made by historians thus far and from the information make some determinations for themselves. This is where postmodernism is a powerful tool. We must learn what was thought of as truth in historical context with a strong eye to how that truth evolved. And as a matter of course, we must conclude for ourselves what this means in a current context, while questioning the rationale and meaning of arguments past as we cultivate our own sets of arguments present. This unit is designed to meet both the philosophical goals talked about in this section and the practical goals of teaching a US History class in the public school setting. Specifically, I want students to accomplish several important things. I want them to have comprehensive knowledge about periods of war in American history and the influence those times had on American civil liberties. I want them to articulate the arguments made during those times in the context that they were given and understand what reasoning led to their formation. I want them to make some conscious decisions about how those varying interpretations of the Constitution have affected American civil liberties in history and continue to do so in modern times. I want them to develop persuasive writing skills and know the power of building a concise, clear, well-crafted argumentative essay.
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