The goals of this course begins with students gaining broader knowledge and deeper understandings of systems of government, U.S. history and government, world geography, and issues of economic, environmental, and social justice. As students grapple with the content, they will analyze history and current events using critical thinking skills to arrive at their own conclusions while more deeply exploring their own cultures and identities and growing appreciation, knowledge, understanding, and empathy with people of different groups and cultures around the world. Students will learn to analyze and contextualize primary and secondary sources, and will practice critical thinking, analytical, writing, and communication skills. Students will also learn and practice research paper writing skills. 

I have a master of arts degree in American history, and bachelor of arts degrees in political science, English, and communications with a journalism emphasis. I am lead teacher at The Foster Woods Folk School, which focuses on humanities education within an ecosocial justice framework aimed at celebrating and improving our connections as a global community of humans and non-humans living on Planet Earth. In this role, I work with learners of all ages with a primary focus of working with learners in grades three through 12. I was the director of a social justice center for three years during which time I routinely taught about and facilitated conversations about historical and current political events for both teen and adults participants. Before that, I was a newspaper editor and reporter for 15 years. I have been teaching history, social studies, and English Language Arts classes for several years. 

숙제 제공
Learners will have reading assignments following each class as well as two journal writing assignments per week that will be used to assess their comprehension and analysis of lecture and reading content. There are scaffold research writing assignments each week, and individual, partner, and small group projects assigned throughout the course. 
수업 외 주당 2 - 4 시간
제공되는 평가
Learners will be assessed on weekly homework, participation in live classes, journal entries, projects, and the research paper. 

Unit 1, 2, and 4 weekly grades are calculated on the following rubric: 
Journals: 60 Points
Speaking/Listening-Participation: 20 Points
Research Paper Scaffold: 20 Points

Unit 3 week grades are calculated on the following rubric: 
Journals: 30 Points
Projects: 30 Points
Speaking/Listening-Participation: 20 Points
Research Paper Scaffold: 20 Points

The final grade is calculated on the following: 
Weekly Grades: 60 Points
Research Paper: 30 Points
Research Paper Presentation: 10 Points

Students receiving a final grade of C (70 percent) or greater will be issued a letter of completion reflecting the final grade. 
제공되는 성적
All student workbooks are graded throughout the course. 

NewsELA, Zinn Education Project, Learning for Justice, BlackPast.org, Amnesty International: Climate Change and Human Rights: A Global Crisis" course, PeaceLearner.org, George Orwell's "Animal Farm," Bruce Watson's "Freedom Summer for Young People" adapted by Rebecca Stefoff, History.com, "To Have Power Over Others" by Francis Duggan, "I Dream a World" by Langston Hughes, FacingHistory.org, Stanford University's "Climate Change Education" Curriculum, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Articles of Confederation, the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Bill of Rights, "The Lorax" 1972 film, World Music Network, Learning to Give, "A People's Curriculum for the Earth" by Bill Bigelow and Tim Swinehart, UNICEF's "World's Largest Lesson," Teaching Tolerance, "Teen Vogue," "Chicago Tribune," RespectAbility, PBS NewsHour, – A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski, A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen, An African American and Latinix History of the United States by Paul Ortiz, A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross, A True History of the United States by Daniel A. Sjursen, We Were There, Too! Young People in U.S. History by Phillip Hoose