Appendix
My school follows the International Baccalaureate guidelines for instruction in History. The focus of our classes includes “a strong focus on inquiry and investigation.” History students in the IB programs are encouraged to “develop their identities as individuals and as responsible members of local and global communities.” The goal of history classes in this program is to develop empathy and international-mindedness “including the idea that “other people, with their differences, can also be right” (IB mission statement). Additionally, California State Standard 10.4.3 for World History says: “Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule”.
By combining these two sets of academic standards and goals, this unit gives students the opportunity to synthesize their understanding of the Philippines as a colony of the U.S., and to understand the perspectives of the different groups of people involved without judging one or another group as “right” or “wrong” in its perspective.
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