In a pluralistic society such as the United States, celebrations and holidays present many challenges and opportunities for elementary school teachers. What is at the center of public schools’ position on these issues? Select one issue (perhaps from
current events) to specifically discuss in terms of both the challenges and opportunities for social studies instruction.
What will be an ideal response?
Instructional decisions must be based on the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion- the function of public education is to neither promote nor thwart any particular religious belief. The example in the book is religious holidays. Christmas in the United States is also a Legal holiday. Challenges – how to be inclusive without being disrespectful of religious meanings. Opportunities-Art, drama, literature, and music with religious themes are all permissible if they have a sound educational goal and are not used to encourage or discourage beliefs. Commemorating holidays gives students a chance to reflect on and understand our history and cultures. Debating these issues is also part of our democratic society.
You might also like to view...
Abhilasha, an architect, often drives past a large office complex with a number of distinctively-shaped buildings as well as fountains and other greenspaces. At her office, her employer shows her some of the concept drawings for the complex. First, she examines a drawing of the complex from ground level along the street from which she usually views it. As she sees each successive drawing showing
the complex from progressively different angles, she starts to have difficulty recognizing the building as the town hall. Abhilasha's difficulty is due to the fact that ____. a. as objects are rotated, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify them b. for every decrease in the degree of rotation of an object, there is a corresponding increase in response time c. for every increase in the degree of rotation of an object, there is a corresponding decrease in response time d. large objects seen from different angles are harder to recognize
The high school dropout rate
A. is higher for Black, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islanders than it is for White adolescents. B. has been cut in half since the 1970s, and the largest decline has been for Hispanic students. C. has declined for White and African American students, but continues to increase for Hispanic students. D. has recently begun to increase after years of declining.
Developmentally appropriate practices support the approach that curriculum is based on the needs and interests of the children in the classroom
A. True B. False
Which of the following is the most important grouping-related advantage of the teaming structure?
A. Teams can successfully group students in homogeneous classes. B. On teams, students can be grouped or not. C. Students may be heterogeneously grouped. D. Teaming supports grouping and regrouping as needed.