Introduction
In his work titled The Great Escape, Princeton professor of economics Angus Deaton describes a world in which both incredible material progress and incredible inequality coexist. The escape that he refers to in his book involves the markedly improved life spans and standards of living that most people around the globe now enjoy. But the author also cautions that many inequalities still exist and are in fact growing. (1) This unit will examine the inequalities that exist in and between schools and school districts in the United States, giving students the opportunity to focus on an inequality that directly affects them – their own schools.
Deaton notes that in our current world more children are attending school and more people are literate (2), yet at the same time evidence exists that many, if not most, schools in the United States remain unequal and have in fact, resegregated to a great extent. This unit will center on an investigation into the data about equality of schools and the government and societal issues that allow schools to continue to remain unequal decades after Brown v. Board of Education.
A unit that allows students to research and compare their own school and district will increase engagement (students are essentially studying their own society) and build critical historical thinking skills including research skills, practice evaluating and comparing different types of sources, and evaluating interactions within society. I will teach this unit in both 10th and 11th grade History classes, though it could be adapted for other classes in 7th through 12th grade and potentially lower grade levels as well.
Students participating will make connections between past and present events using multiple historical thinking skills. These will include: Historical Significance (how and why do we decide to focus on certain events), Change and Continuity (how issues, events, and details change over time and yet remain similar and relevant), and the Ethical Dimension (how does a study of history help us to live and operate in the present). All of these historical thinking skills will be practiced throughout this unit as students interact with both primary and secondary sources.
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