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Full-Text Articles in Education
Playing Slavery In First Grade: When “Developmental Appropriateness” Goes Awry In The Progressive Classroom, Debbie Sonu
Playing Slavery In First Grade: When “Developmental Appropriateness” Goes Awry In The Progressive Classroom, Debbie Sonu
Publications and Research
This article unfurls in the aftermath of an event where three first grade children at a reputable progressive elementary school were found playing slavery during school recess. As word caught on, parents ignited into a frenzy: some railed against the teacher, others demanded an answer, while still others believed this was precisely the meaning of progressive schooling. In swift response, school administrators sent a conciliatory email apologizing for their misjudgment. Slavery, they declared, was too difficult a topic and developmentally inappropriate for such a young age. Guided by critical childhood studies and concepts of difficult knowledge, this reflective article explores …
Teaching World Communities As Cultural Translation: A Third Grade Unit Of Study, Hanadi Shatara, Debbie Sonu
Teaching World Communities As Cultural Translation: A Third Grade Unit Of Study, Hanadi Shatara, Debbie Sonu
Publications and Research
This article bridges scholarship in global education with ele-mentary classroom teaching by presenting a series of lessons that challenge the idea of national culture as fixed and stable. The land we share is most certainly affected by its political borders, but it is also constructed out of the multiplicity of social relations that exist both within and on either side of a border. Yet very often, when teaching about another country, we tend to rely on misappropriated generalizations around food, holidays, and folktales that do not honor how culture moves, changes, and becomes translated by its unique and varied peoples.