Thanks for all of you who wrote in with ideas for Mike Lach about how he can reinvigorate Chicago's social sciences curriculum. Many pointed to Core Knowledge--at least for grades K-8--and others highlighted the problems with Illinois's social studies standards. But none went into as much depth as Mia Munn from Chatham County, North Carolina, who wrote:
Mike,
Why reinvent the wheel? Use what already exists:
For K-8, use the Core Knowledge curriculum. There are specific standards for each grade level for US History, World History and Geography. There is a set of textbooks available (from Pearson Learning) but the curriculum can be taught without the textbooks. There are several sets on lesson plans available from the Core Knowledge Teacher Handbooks, the Baltimore Curriculum Project),??Colorado teachers,??and from the national Core Knowledge conventions over the past decade. There is an anthology of African-American literature and culture (Grace Abounding) to be used as a supplement in grades 4-10, as well as other teacher, student, and classroom materials. I believe Core Knowledge also has standardized tests.
For high school, Illinois requires a year of US History and a year of US government. Also offer a standard World History course and the entire range of AP courses in history, government and economics. Use the best state curriculum in the nation, Indiana, for the standard courses and use the curriculum guidance provided by the College Board for the AP courses.
For US History, the Thomas Fordham Foundation ranks Indiana number one. Adopt Indiana's standard course requirements for US History.??Use the best of the US History textbooks (as recommended by A Consumer's Guide to High School History Textbooks), Joyce Appleby, Alan Brinkley, and James M. McPherson, The American Journey: Building a Nation (Glencoe, 2003), and Joyce Appleby, Alan Brinkley, Albert S. Broussard, James M. McPherson, and Donald A. Ritchie, The American Republic Since 1877 (Glencoe, 2003). (This pair of books was treated as a single entry.) or Paul Boyer, The American Nation, (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 2003).
For US Government, there hasn't been a ranking of state standards, but Indiana has good state standards overall. Adopt Indiana's standard course requirements for US History.
For World History, the Thomas Fordham Foundation ranks California and Indiana number one. Adopt Indiana's standard course requirements for World History. Use the best of the World History textbooks (as recommended by A Consumer's Guide to High School History Textbooks), Sue Miller, ed., World History: People & Nations (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 2000) or William Travis Hines III, ed., World History: Continuity and Change (Holt Rinehart & Winston, 1999).
One benefit of using the same curriculum and books in all the schools in Chicago is students who move from school to school during the school year or in subsequent years will all have been taught the same things, so they will have the same (or at least closer) background knowledge, so that it will be easier for them to learn.
I look forward to reading your suggestions on Flypaper.
Mia Munn
Great suggestions, all, Mia. You are now the proud owner of David Whitman's Sweating the Small Stuff: Inner-City Schools and the New Paternalism. Congratulations!
