Monday, July 11, 2011
Brian's Class Reflection - 7/7
I thinking about our class, I am struck by the initial quote by Dewitt Jones stating "By celebrating what's right with the world we find the energy to fix what's wrong". It is so easy to come into an urban neighborhood, especially coming as a white male from the suburbs and assume problems. In fact it is easier to point out the flaws than the strengths but it is always important as Friere states to reflect. Therefore you need to step back and see how and where the community is thriving and work with that. Don't assume you have the answers, and really unlearn, as difficult as it can be. This is where we come in as Donovans, to support each other as we debunk our past to move to a more understanding tomorrow. It is about realizing we need our neighbors help and not being self sufficient. It is about realizing our racism and confronting it head on. It is about realizing what leverage we have, and using it. It is about realizing there is love past the "rubble" that may cloud your judgement.
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I chose to focus on Massachusetts’s curriculum for World History, placing myself as an 8th grade teacher. The following standards stood out to me as an opportunity where I can have some flexibility:
THE ORIGINS OF EUROPEAN WESTERN EXPANISION AND THE CIVILIZATIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
WHI.12
Explain why European nations sent explorers westward and how overseas expansion led to the growth of commerce and the development of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. (H, E)
WHI.13
Identify the three major pre-Columbian civilizations that existed in Central and South America (Maya, Aztec, and Inca) and their locations. Describe their political structures, religious practices, economies, art and architecture, and use of slaves. (H, G, E)
WHI.14
Identify the major economic, political, and social effects of the European colonial period in South America (H, E)
Source: http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html
Thinking back to my middle school days, I felt I only received a small breath of knowledge concerning the Maya, Aztec and Inca civilizations.Their histories and cultures are glossed over in textbooks—no real depth of really who these groups were. In an urban teaching environment, I’ll be able to make connections with students who may have ancestry close to where Mayas or other civilizations existed—digger a little deeper than what is provided by the standards.
I’ll start by giving my students a map of the U.S. stretching to South America. As we learn about the locations of each group they can color those areas in accordingly to get a sense of where each civilization had their communities. For instance the Maya’s can be traced to parts of what is now Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize. For clarity, I’ll go into detail for each civilization separately.
An example I would like to do for Maya culture: dig into their historic lens before the Spanish conquered the empire in the 16th century—critically explore their economy, calendar, art, and societal practices, etc. Thinking about the many ways we communicate nowadays—text, email, tweets, aim, skype, and the contemporary works of art such as street art, elaborate chalk on boardwalks and paint on canvases—what did the Mayas do? I found a link on PBS that I thought would be a great tool to help students understand the Mayas hieroglyphs!
>>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/decode-stela-3.html <<
Their special script, hieroglyphs were preserved in stones that told stories about their community, culture—significant events and so on—a collection of memories. The link is a pretty interactive tool in which deciphers Maya hieroglyph and introduces Maya vocabulary.
After learning about the Mayas, students can place themselves in the context of the Maya empire, and pretend their village has asked them to engrave a story in “hieroglyphs.” They can pretend they’re apart of the Maya civilization and that their neighborhood in Massachusetts is a “Maya” community. They’ll come up with images and people they wish the “engrave” (drawn), which they’ll explain to the class. Students could get a sense of the amount of thought and community that went into these Maya works and how the hieroglyphs found today provide huge insights, histories, of the complex and diverse Maya civilization.
Michelle