Theme Presentation - Looking back.

Based on the textbook and intended curriculum, many different parts based upon the three different perspectives can be seen, but the perspective which seems to be dominant is that of the Personally Responsible Citizen.

The core assumptions of this perspective are,

“To solve social problems and improve society, citizens must have good character; they must be honest, responsible, and law-abiding members of the community” (Westheimer and Kahne, 2004)

The textbook seems to tell us that citizens have to do their part to ensure that problems do not arise, and that many issues can be prevented/corrected once a correct behaviour has been established.

Examples:

In Theme 3 on Multi-Ethnic Conflict, it seems to tell readers that if citizens practiced tolerance and understanding/acceptance towards each other, many problems could have been avoided. It seeks to tell that although there were historical issues brought forward, the citizens had the power to choose their decisions in pressing situations. As the group which presented this theme had shown, their key takeaway messages seemed to be focusing heavily upon character development, and thus the personal responsibility of citizens to maintain racial harmony.

In Theme 6 of Venice, the key concepts of adaptability and challenges could also be seen as being directed to that of the citizens, as the rise of rich merchants led to a great disparity between social classes and other problems which eventually involved the ruling of Venice. If personally, citizens are unable to understand their individual roles in maintaining responsibility, problems could arise.

I do not see many links to that of community-service, community-oriented activities that might help Singapore progress. This would fall under the Participatory Citizen perspective.

I also do not see the “seeking out and addressing areas of injustice” portion of the Justice-oriented citizen. It seems like the intended curriculum seems to treat readers/students very passively, and their sole purpose is to just ingest the information and not repeat mistakes/toe the line.

With reference to Theme 6, it seems there could possibly be too much emphasis on Singapore being the second Venice should we follow certain strategies which Venice followed at their peak. There seemed to be a 1 to 1 (Venice to Singapore) kind of lesson which the syllabus seems to want us to impart to students. I felt that instead of framing the lesson as such, we could raise the students’ awareness on why certain strategies failed with Venice, and if Singapore had followed certain paths, what would be the possible outcomes. Whether or not the outcomes would be beneficial for Singapore, I would leave that for my students to decide and ponder upon it. It would allow them to understand the ramifications of problems associated with Venice’s decline independently.

The idea here for the students to take home is that, following the footsteps of Venice need not necessarily means that Singapore will decline in the exact same way. The world is now different, but it does not mean that we are immune to the key takeaways like Challenges, Adaptation and Leadership. Following in Venice’s footsteps brings us at a greater risk of decline rather than making it a certainty.

Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

As the title suggests, this post will be about Rules/Regulations that I intend to implement during my practicum.
I firmly believe in not having hard and fast rules, but instead teaching students principles which will have a lasting impact upon them.
But, this might not only apply to students who have the ability to reflect upon their own actions, thus a set of guidelines would still have to be created as a baseline to be adhered to. 

 

My 5 Rules of the Classroom.

1. Showing Respect to one another. 

- This will help to ensure that the class learns correct social behaviour, and mutual respect between each other.

-Not speaking when someone is presenting, paying attention to the Teacher, respect everyone's right to their needs, do not impose your will upon others, do not distract one another, do not stand up and walk about etc.

 This is always important.

2. Be kind.

- To allow students to learn how to treat each other genuinely, and to start them off on a lifelong process of caring for others/less fortunate/each other.

- Helping someone when they are in need (can be teachers as well), Not judging someone before understanding their situation, trying your best to make the class/school a better for everyone.

 This is a moral value that is essential.

3. To be accountable.

- To learn that every decision is a conscious one and that they have the ability to make the most appropriate decision. To know that everyone has the same amount of time, and that what they do with it is up is their responsibility

- .Examples could be, knowing how to manage their own workload, knowing when and what homework is due and when, knowing when exams are nearing and preparing for it, knowing when to tell their peers that they are ill, knowing when to tell their teachers when they have problems regarding school/family that clashes with their workload, knowing when to ask for extensions/help with proper reasons etc.

 Good as it helps students to keep tabs on themselves 

Bad as they might not have developed the necessary planning skills to plan so far ahead.

4. Keep the classroom neat and tidy.

- A clean and tidy environment makes students and teachers feel good, and when they do, there are fewer roadblocks to teaching as compared to an untidy classroom. A cleaner classroom also decreases the chances of students falling ill.

- Duty Roster for cleaning the classroom, everyone has their own roles and carries it out responsibly. If everyone exercises personal responsibility, it will make it a lot easier to maintain classroom cleanliness.

 Good. This gives them ownership of their home class.

5. UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Social Studies: At first glance.

What are your beliefs about citizenship?

Citizenship denotes the link between a person and his country, and I believe that it details our own self-belief of being proud to be part of the country. This link helps us to understand the direction that the country is undertaking, as well as putting faith in each other to pave a path for future generations in the country. I believe that although citizenship is interchangeable, we will always relate back to our country of birth in some way.

What was the impact of reading Westheimer & Kahne (2004) on these beliefs?

The reading has shown me that my idea of Citizenship has no real democratic value, something which the article mentions over and over again. My beliefs that as long every citizen is helpful towards one another, society might progress, but I had not emphasized on the collective decision making which makes the bulk of what democracy is about.

What is Social Studies?

To me, as I have been teaching (an attempt to) SS for about 9 months, it feels like a blend of History, Geography and Politics. It allows students to understand certain key events that carry important lessons, and also teaches them certain hard skills (for SBQ and SEQ) which are beneficial for their future as it opens their mindset to concepts like irony, sarcasm etc.

Who controls the Social Studies Curriculum?

Though the materials for the curriculum comes from MOE, teachers are also afforded the freedom to explore more examples in relation to the topics if they are relevant and can bring more perspectives to students. There is probably more control in the hands of schools and teachers.

What is your role in relation to the Social Studies Curriculum?

My role is to bring the hard skills, as well as to content knowledge across to students in a way which will not bore them. My role is to at least ensure that they leave my lessons knowing a little more about the world and how to look critically at sources.