Elementary Teachers Collaborate for Change (Professional Services )

This past  summer,  as  it does  every  year,  ETFO provided a wide range  of Summer  Academy courses  for its  members.  This year,  funding from the  province  once  again  allowed for a larger than usual  number  of courses  and participants. ETFO’s  Summer  Academy  courses  are  designed  to appeal  to members  at all stages  of their careers. There  are  courses  for specialist  teachers – such  as  arts,  music,  and drama  – and courses  for generalists, all of  whom want to enhance  their classroom  practice. In this  article,  workshop presenter  Stanley  Hallman-Chong  describes a Summer  Academy course  with a  unique  perspective and a unique  goal:  to bring together  a group passionate about teaching  social  studies  and form a subject  association for elementary  teachers. The group’s  achievement  is  a unique  example  of the  change  that can  happen  when elementary teachers, supported  by their federation,  join together  with a common  purpose.  

Focusing on the Needs of Social Studies Teachers

The Summer Academy course Becoming a Junior Social Studies Leader was the most exhilarating three days of my career as an instructional leader. It reminded me of what is most meaningful about being in the classroom. As one participant said, “It’s the opportunity to discover with the students and to have them teach me.” Our group ranged from 20-year veterans to teachers just beginning their careers. They had a wide range of professional knowledge and experience. The occasion offered a wonderful opportunity, “to share the interest and experience of colleagues,” as one teacher put it. Another remarked, “This was the most empowering professional development I had ever had. I not only had my values confirmed, but  I learned that teaching is wide open.” We began with activities devised by education researchers Keith Barton and Linda Levstik of the U.S. and Peter Seixas and Carla Peck from the University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta. Working in groups, the participants sequenced pictures of a village as it changed through time. In this manner, we discovered a misconception that children often apply to early “always progresses from worse to better.” One group said, “That’s why we have to help children see multiple perspectives, that things did not always get better and that there were groups whose lives got worse as time went on.” When asked to sort through cards representing key events in Canadian history, the teachers identified certain themes as  significant and worth teaching. These included the concept of moral judgment, told through the stories of people wronged by  different agencies of the government and the concept of continuity, investigated through unresolved conflicts One group articulated the need to understand the concept of agency as applied to marginalized people so that they are not categorized merely as passive victims. A critical understanding of environmental impact was an other key concept that people agreed should be integral to social studies. How apparent are these concepts in the expectations of the Ontario curriculum? One teacher pointed out that they seem  obscurely hidden in the specific expectations. Should they not be out front in the overall expectations; that is, should they not be stated as the main goals of the various social studies units? Throughout the three days, we developed a new concept of evidence Using primary sources such as documents, music, artefacts, and even skeletal remains, teachers were challenged to reconstruct life in the remote past. At first a few balked and felt uneasy teaching about people of whom civilizations and medieval societies: that history “always progresses from worse to better.” One group said, “That’s why we have to help children see multiple perspectives, that things did not always get better and that there were groups whose lives got worse as time went on.” When asked to sort through cards representing key events in Canadian history, the teachers identified certain  themes as significant and worth teaching. These included the concept of moral judgment, told through the  stories of people wronged by different agencies of the government, and the concept of continuity, investigated through unresolved conflicts. One group articulated the need to understand the concept of agency as applied to marginalized people so that they are not categorized merely as passive victims. A critical understanding of environmental impact was another key concept that people agreed should be integral to social studies. Participants used every opportunity to confirm Jerome Bruner’s maxim that “children can be taught any subject given the appropriate methodology and challenges.” Unanimously, they also agreed that the traditional assessments of social studies that often test no more than “the facts” need to be replaced by assessments that develop critical thinking. Open-ended challenges that demand criteria-based judgments should be the foundation of teaching social studies. For example, after learning about different Aboriginal groups, students might be given a “critical challenge.” Presented with masks from diverse Aboriginal cultures, they could try to identify the community of origin. They would be assessed according to how well they used their knowledge and how well they corroborated their judgments by using evidence. For example, one group of participants speculated that students might respond to the challenge by saying: “This mask must have been made by the Iroquois, because it is made from corn husks and corn was a staple of their culture.” Throughout the Summer Academy, it became increasingly clear that no  one has better insight into the capabilities of students – their emotional readiness and their intellectual potential – than practising teachers. One teacher was particularly moved by a drama and music activity exploring the experience of Richard Pierpoint, the first Black settler of Upper Canada. She noted that “children can handle the most highly charged story if we pay attention to their emotional needs.” Others said, “Children deal with the death of loved ones and parental separation. If we are sensitive, we can help them come to an understanding of practically anything.” Many participants said that their “brains ached from the new ideas” and that their “emotions were shaken by the challenges and introspections” of the three days. They also said that they were more eager to  teach social studies now than ever before. The subject of social studies was originally conceived a century ago as a way to cultivate citizenship through  developing national pride. Is this purpose compatible or in conflict with the critical edge of contemporary social justice education? In   the   end,   we   agreed   that   Ontario’s elementary teachers of  social studies need to form  an  association to  clarify  big  ideas  and promote  new  strategies  in  this  area  of  the curriculum. We resolved to lobby the ministry and other institutions for the official recognition and resources it provides to other subjects. In the next two years, when the ministry reviews this subject’s curriculum, we want the voice and perspective of elementary teachers to be heard. Sources _{Barton,  K.c.,  and  l.  Slevstik.  “'they  still  Use some  of their  Past':  historical  salience  in  Elementary  children's chronological  thinking”  in  Journal  of  Curriculum Studies  28(5), 531–76. Bruner,  Jerome. Toward  a Theory  of Instruction.  cambridge: harvard  University  Press, 2004.  Case,  Roland,  and  Penney  clark.  The  Anthology  of  Social  Studies;  Volume  1:  Issues  and  Strategies  for Elementary  Teachers.  Vancouver:  Pacific  Educational Press,  2008. Seixas,  Peter.  Benchmarks  of Historical  Thinking: A Framework  for Assessment   in Canada. Available  athistori.ca/benchmarks.}    The Ontario Teachers’  Federation  has  recognized  the Ontario Elementary  Social  Studies  Teachers’  Association. The group is reviewing Primary and Junior Social  Studies  Additional Qualifications courses  proposed  by the Ontario College  of Teachers.  The association  currently  has  representatives from 14  Ontario school boards.  A web  page  and a curriculum  renewal  survey  is  available  on the group’s  blog at www.oessta.blogspot.com