Purpose of Teaching Social Studies
Although I did not think of the framework myself, I find a strong affiliation with the purpose of teaching social studies as a way for individuals to develop skills to enable citizens to fully participate in their local region, as well as the 'global village'. While participatory citizenry aligns with both theories of multi-cultural and general social justice, I view social studies more as a function of overall social justice. In a best-case scenario, becoming a participatory citizen means becoming an active citizen, and taking responsibility or initiative in a role as a contributing community member. Participatory does not necessarily mean that action has to be political. Participation means being able to understand and be critically aware of the discourse surrounding one's interactions with the environment. Participation also means having the skills to find tools or information needed to support life-long learning to facilitate and enhance participation.
In the context of curriculum and instructional design, I apply a social justice framework when working with re-constructions of the historical narrative, and look for topics of popular cultural which are otherwise ignored. In terms of the narrative of Canadian history, I am interested in whether including more recent events in 'living memory' of local residents can facilitate a feeling of inclusion, and combat participatory apathy in students today.
In this area I turn to the subject of democratic participation and examine the political climate of BC for the larger markers of narrative in the 'living memory' of residents in order to encourage youth to feel 'caught up to the story' and actively participate among the adult community in the post-graduation years. Typically, youth are noted to have low turnouts at the polls, and are chalked up to being simply apathetic. This creates a few questions: 1. Does including recent political stories in the social studies curriculum create a feeling of inclusion, which can allow students to increase participation? 2. Do cases of scandal and corruption encourage apathy among constituents, including youth?
In the context of curriculum and instructional design, I apply a social justice framework when working with re-constructions of the historical narrative, and look for topics of popular cultural which are otherwise ignored. In terms of the narrative of Canadian history, I am interested in whether including more recent events in 'living memory' of local residents can facilitate a feeling of inclusion, and combat participatory apathy in students today.
In this area I turn to the subject of democratic participation and examine the political climate of BC for the larger markers of narrative in the 'living memory' of residents in order to encourage youth to feel 'caught up to the story' and actively participate among the adult community in the post-graduation years. Typically, youth are noted to have low turnouts at the polls, and are chalked up to being simply apathetic. This creates a few questions: 1. Does including recent political stories in the social studies curriculum create a feeling of inclusion, which can allow students to increase participation? 2. Do cases of scandal and corruption encourage apathy among constituents, including youth?
The Case of BC Rail: will we ever know the truth?
Should teachers include the BC Rail Scandal in a curriculum of modern Canadian and BC government?
While building a complete topography of scandal and corruption in Canada was my original critical Q for this assignment, due to time constraints I have thought of a local scandal which may be evaluated for use in the classroom.
Some scandals and corruptions are more (historically) significant than others, and may come and go in our classrooms as daily points of discussion, such as the current attention given to the Mayor of Montreal's ties to the syndicate crime-based construction cartel.
In my living history and experience of BC politics, a few scandals have stuck with me today, in 2013. One of them is the "Fast Ferries" scandal by the Glen Clark NDP Government in the 1990s. Another one is 'Fantasy Gardens' scandal So-Cred Premier Bill VanDerZalm was directly involved with. But perhaps the most recent offense in BC (and arguably most damning) is the unknown amounts of corrupting surrounding the sale of a public (crown) asset, BC Rail. The narrative and mystery of BC Rail garners enough historical significance and living memory to warrant being a key event to highlight in the continuum of scandal and corruption throughout Canadian history.
Some scandals and corruptions are more (historically) significant than others, and may come and go in our classrooms as daily points of discussion, such as the current attention given to the Mayor of Montreal's ties to the syndicate crime-based construction cartel.
In my living history and experience of BC politics, a few scandals have stuck with me today, in 2013. One of them is the "Fast Ferries" scandal by the Glen Clark NDP Government in the 1990s. Another one is 'Fantasy Gardens' scandal So-Cred Premier Bill VanDerZalm was directly involved with. But perhaps the most recent offense in BC (and arguably most damning) is the unknown amounts of corrupting surrounding the sale of a public (crown) asset, BC Rail. The narrative and mystery of BC Rail garners enough historical significance and living memory to warrant being a key event to highlight in the continuum of scandal and corruption throughout Canadian history.