Post-Sept. 11 curriculums include diverse viewpoints
By Ji Hyun Lim
Asian Week Staff Writer
As adults have struggled to make sense of what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, they must also answer the questions of their children. Schools and progressive teachers across the country vow to tackle larger questions of U.S. foreign policy and international relations that perhaps would not have been discussed in an elementary or even middle-school setting before last year. In light of this anniversary, some teachers and educators of grades K-12 have designed a classroom discussion and forum to introduce their students to the complexity of war by creating a unique curriculum designed to respond to students’ questions about the incident.
Beyond Blame
The Education Development Center (EDC), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit education organization that brings researchers and practioners together to create tools and conditions for learning, recently developed a 30-page curriculum for middle and high school students called Beyond Blame: Reacting to the Terrorist Attack. This curriculum, written by EDC Vice President Eric Jolly and his colleagues Marilyn Felt and Stephanie Malloy, have been endorsed by more than 200 national profession associations and websites.
Beyond Blame includes the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII as an example of the consequences of misplaced blame. The Fresno, Calif., School District — the fourth largest in the state — used the curriculum to increase cultural awareness and prevent racial tensions after the attacks. In addition, Fresno Mayor Alan Autry and superintendents Santiago Wood, Peter Mehans and Waler Buster brought together 1,000 teen leaders from 41 schools for a Youth Peace Summit.
“Obviously, we couldn’t do anything about the violence that had already taken place, but we thought we could prevent attacks against new groups of innocent victims — including Arab Americans.” Jolly said.
Similarly Teachers College at Columbia University, which is the largest education graduate school in the nation with over 160 students, hosted a teach-in this past January.
Some 500 educators discussed issues related to cultural conflict, diversity and the role of the media. Due to the success of the teach-in, Teachers College constructed a curriculum tailored to teach students in grades K - 12 about Sept. 11 as well.
“We feel strongly that 9-11 was a seminal time in American history, impacting the nature of how we think of the world, the impact on our economy, the nature of the security of the state and the diversity within our country,” Barry Rosen, executive director of external affairs at Teachers College, said. “Teachers need to have a handle on this.”
Putting it into Context
Romeo Ponseron, a sixth-grade teacher at Claremont Middle School in Oakland, Calif., agrees that as an educator, it is important to discuss the impact of Sept. 11 in the context of how it effects students’ perspectives. According to Ponseron, it’s important for students to create a framework and to have the ability to choose and develop their own opinions based on facts — separate from their parents or media influences.
“The world around them is changing,” Ponseron said. “If they’re not equipped, when they become teens, they’re going to accept the world for what it is. We need to separate the need to grieve and the political issues. We want to see both sides and know they’re both OK.”
He adds, “As an Asian teacher, a person of color, [I’m] going to have a different perspective. This is an institution that is more than 51 percent minority. By having the politics I do, it’s part of being a teacher who is concerned about these issues.”
Keiko Suda, who teaches seventh grade at Ascend K8 in Oakland, Calif., plans to use materials from the media such as newspaper clippings from a periodical called War Times, which is written for a middle-school level. She points out the importance of being conscious of the messages portrayed in the media and how it targets certain ethnic groups. Suda hopes that her students will be aware of alternatives to war and retaliation.
“I’m definitely more sensitive to the profiling that has been happening,” Suda said. “My students will really identify with that. The kids have a really acute sense of justice. They know what is and isn’t fair. It’s a matter of breaking it down in language they understand.”
Rosen points out that teachers will have to contextualize difficult issues such as terrorism, trauma, differences and ethnicities to their students. He hopes Teachers College will provide a better understanding and education in light of this global situation and conflict. Diversity, cultural difference and economic issues don’t often find a natural place in standard curriculum and he hopes Teachers College will provide a space for dialogue.
Providing Tools
Teachers College will launch a website with resources for teachers who are seeking ways to bring a more global approach to their teaching starting Sept. 4. It will include lesson plans, video presentations and other materials from leaders in curriculum development and diversity issues. On Sept. 9, visitors will have the opportunity to reflect on ideas in a web-mediated discussion forum.
Teachers College will also provide materials such as lesson plans and other website resources that provide a broader understanding of the events of Sept. 11. Social studies instructors at Teachers College will provide a one-day seminar Oct. 26 to discuss how to discuss the Sept. 11 event in the context of their classroom environment.
Said Dr. Robert Steiner, director of programming in online education at Teachers College: “We’re trying to provide tools and resources to help teach [graduate students about] diversity, [but] a website is accessible and openly available to any educator. We want to encourage a vibrant discussion and encourage people to participate in an online forum.”
For more information on the Teachers College curriculum, go to www.tc.edu/centers/teach-in.
Reach Ji Hyun Lim at jlim@asianweek.com.
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