Teaching in a Consumerocracy

The latest English Journal issue is about the role of English teachers in our age of consumerocracy. Most of the good articles in this issue are not about specific teaching strategies, but more about teaching stances and the choices we make about what to teach and how to frame the conversation. Additionally, some of these articles have implications for our teaching of social studies content. In short, it is effectively a very "humanities" issue. Articles that stood out and worth a read:

• "The Ebay-ification of Education: Critical Literacy in a Consumerocracy" by 5 authors... This is a broad-view look at schools as conforming to the consumerocracy and makes its point by mixing argument, theory, and memoir. It rouses the college student within.
• "From the Editor" by Ken Lindlom... Lindblom's introduction to the issue provides a rationale for teaching about our culture of consumption as English teachers and provides an example of a good lesson plan called "Who are you wearing?"
• "The Story of Stuff: Reading Advertisements through Critical Eyes" by Shannon Cuf and Heather Statz begins by retelling the story of the trampled Black Friday shopper in 2008 and asking what happens to us in our "quest for stuff". The authors suggest a number of good resources, including documentaries and print ads.

Two other articles deviate from the issue's theme, but deal with the issue of writing and how much structure we should or should not impose on our teaching of writing to students:

• "Rethinking a Writing Teacher's Expertise: Following Students under the Kitchen Table" by Maja Wilson uses the extended metaphor of a nurse "going with the mother" to deliver a baby rather than forcing the baby out on the nurse's terms. Yes, even Wilson acknowledges that this is amusing... However, she is an advocate of a holistic and authentic approach to assessing writing and meeting kids where they are. Not into rubrics.
• "Persistence of the Five-Paragraph Essay" by Jeanetta Miller... Miller wonders why this kind of writing, which "does not exist in the real world" still holds so much sway in our schools.
  

Useful DOE Curriculum Resources

The Department of Education released a short manual to complement the new middle school library we received one copy of at the beginning of the year. After thumbing through it I think that it can provide solid support for developing the ELA side of our curriculum. The "core texts" identified in the guide come with a wealth of teaching ideas, essential questions, and strategies, and in some cases complement historical units we are studying. This may be something you want to take a look at and something we can discuss as a team for our future planning.

In addition, the DOE has posted sample units of study based on "trade book units" for Social Studies. Schools had the option of purchasing textbooks or trade books a few years back as the basis for SS curriculum. Here you can find examples of units, which may be helpful for thinking about how you plan a unit and the considerations you make when planning. These units also offer various templates that may help you get started.

Some other helpful resources from the DOE will be archived on the right sidebar.