Individual Development and Identity
4) Social Studies teachers should possess the knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions to organize and provide instruction at the appropriate school level for the study of Individual Development and Identity.
Not being in sociology, psychology, or anthropology incorporating Individual Development and Identity was a bit of an uphill battle. In spring we mostly worked with groups and institutions and did not focus on the individual. One individual that we did focus on was Andrew Johnson. We also focused on the Individual Development of each student when we talked about political parties. What party did they belong to and was it different than what they thought they were.
Andrew Johnson was one of the only individuals that we talked about in class. I used him as an example of impeachment. We were looking at the process of impeachment and that was the information I had students take away from, but we also talked about the circumstances and the development of Andrew Johnson. We talked about whom he was and what in his past made him stay loyal to the Union. We then looked at his actions while in office. Students pointed out that he was carrying out Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction; however he was not the hero that Lincoln was and could not control the Radical Republicans. We looked at how Johnson developed over the course of his life and presidency.
After a lecture that I knew would end early, I decided that the students should take a quiz to see whether they tended to be liberal or conservative. The results were generally right where the students thought they would be, but they did point out that they could tell which answers were which. So they were smarter than I gave them credit, but this allowed me to have a teaching moment. I was able to point out in each class how we are all individuals. There were people all the way to the left, all the way to the right, and right down the middle. Each person has their own specific set of ideals and we should all respect everyone else’s ideals.
Along with Themes 6, 7, and 10, I feel like this theme is focused specifically on one genre of the social sciences. Theme 4 specifically deals with psychology, sociology, and anthropology. While it will creep into things like history, government, and economics, it is not a main focus of these subjects. With this said I think the examples I gave above were good examples of this theme naturally showing itself in a government class. Unless it is forced into the material these natural examples are what you are going to get in a government classroom. A good example of a forced lesson is linked below. It is an interesting lesson and important for students to know but does not necessarily correspond with a standard.
In the future I will attempt to keep this theme in mind for the students, more so than the material. I think that students should be able to examine an influence on their own personal development, and make decisions that will lead to the most beneficial outcomes based on their own personal identity. This is a skill that I will try to teach through my curriculum and how I will try to incorporate this theme in my teaching.