ERIN MCCARTHY
  • Blog
  • A Greek Fulbright Journey
  • How to Include: YouTube
  • 4 i's of Inquiry Model
  • About Me
  • Example Units
  • Anchor Songs/Videos
  • Anchor Texts
  • Inquiring about Race

Collector of Untold Stories

Embrace Complexity - Kids need it & understand it

11/6/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture

While the world around them was boiling over with uncertainty and confusion economically, politically, culturally and socially, my students joined me in a deep dive into antebellum America.

They hear all the time that we are more divided than ever as a country so we put ourselves in the shoes of 8 individuals who lived through a time when the country was more divided - the decade before the Civil War.

Through inquiry, investigation, critical thinking and collaboration, they've constructed an understanding of how complex American identity was 170 years ago. Through hybrid learning and virtual learning they worked together to get the big picture but also to understand the stories of individuals. People make history but historians piece together the story of history. We've long allowed historians to choose which evidence to include but as we grow more diverse as a nation, we must reckon with the reality that we haven't told the whole story. 

Children deserve to hear the complexity of the story. They are just as inspired by a Black woman who ran away from slavery despite every obstacle being in her way and no access to the democratic principles we hold dear as they are any textbook hero whose success was built on unequal opportunity.

This is our website of what we've learned so far Seeds of History. It's a work in progress because education is about feedback and revision and constructing understanding together.

They'd love to hear what you think.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Erin McCarthy is the 2020 Wisconsin Middle School Teacher and Wisconsin's Representative to the National Teacher of the Year Program.

    Archives

    September 2025
    February 2025
    November 2023
    August 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog
  • A Greek Fulbright Journey
  • How to Include: YouTube
  • 4 i's of Inquiry Model
  • About Me
  • Example Units
  • Anchor Songs/Videos
  • Anchor Texts
  • Inquiring about Race