Making History Relevant to the Lives of Young People
The Context
I currently teach at a small alternative high school in Lapeer, Michigan. I teach US History (post Civil War), Civics, Economics, and electives such as Street Law and Current Issues. My students have a wide range of abilities and personalities. An alternative high school provides an approach to learning that students were not able to find at the traditional high schools. Students come to us for a number of reasons. Many come because they are "kicked out" of other schools for behavioral or attendance issues. Some just do not have success learning in the type of environment that exists in a traditional program.
Students receive a high school diploma and we have the same content expectations and standardized tests as the traditional school. Our school is small and much more personal. Class sizes are less than 25 students, and most days there are less than that present. Attendance is one of the issues we have to address at my school. It can be extremely difficult to try to "catch up" a student who has fallen behind because of attendance. A benefit of the smaller classes, however, is that I can work more closely with students, particularly those who need a lot of help. I am also very fortunate that I have built a strong rapport with many of my students who act as extensions of me when working on assignments or activities. They help the struggling students around them so I am not running around like a crazy person!
An even bigger issue than attendance (or lack thereof!) is that of laziness and lack of personal work ethic among my students. Part of this is because education is not always valued at home. My students come from "broken" families where one or both parents are absent and aunts or uncles or grandparents are raising them. Often their guardians barely have a high school education and work in fields that do not require higher education. A teen may think, "If my mom (or dad, or uncle, etc.) didn't need school, why do I?" If they actually want to graduate, they often would rather take the shortest, easiest route to doing so. Many of our students come to school simply because they "have to." They might be receiving Social Security benefits from a disabled or deceased parent, which only requires them to be enrolled in school. These students typically only show up once or twice every couple of weeks just to avoid being dropped from the program. Some see school as a place to hang out with friends or worse, make connections for drug deals or other inappropriate activities. Their laziness and desire for the shortest, simplest route possible affects their grades.
One of the reasons many students have such poor grades at the traditional schools before they come to us is because they do not do homework. We rarely give any homework because we know they will not do it. It is as if once they exit our building, their brains shut off and learning takes a break until the next morning. Every once in a while I will assign something to take home, and my usual rate of return is around 30-40% of the class. The majority of learning has to occur during the school day because otherwise it just will not happen. Even when they are in my class, under my direct supervision, they will typically do the bare minimum to pass the assignment or course. It is difficult to engage them in the content I am teaching.
As for technology access, I am fortunate in that I have a teacher computer, document camera, projector, and screen. There is one computer lab in our building but it is often being used by other teachers, including an online class one hour a day (so the lab is totally off limits for that hour for the whole term). Most students do not have computers or internet at home, and those who do have poor connections. This requires some creativity on my part!
Click on the links here or at the top of the page to read more about the content, pedagogy, and technology I will use to address these problems in my context.
Students receive a high school diploma and we have the same content expectations and standardized tests as the traditional school. Our school is small and much more personal. Class sizes are less than 25 students, and most days there are less than that present. Attendance is one of the issues we have to address at my school. It can be extremely difficult to try to "catch up" a student who has fallen behind because of attendance. A benefit of the smaller classes, however, is that I can work more closely with students, particularly those who need a lot of help. I am also very fortunate that I have built a strong rapport with many of my students who act as extensions of me when working on assignments or activities. They help the struggling students around them so I am not running around like a crazy person!
An even bigger issue than attendance (or lack thereof!) is that of laziness and lack of personal work ethic among my students. Part of this is because education is not always valued at home. My students come from "broken" families where one or both parents are absent and aunts or uncles or grandparents are raising them. Often their guardians barely have a high school education and work in fields that do not require higher education. A teen may think, "If my mom (or dad, or uncle, etc.) didn't need school, why do I?" If they actually want to graduate, they often would rather take the shortest, easiest route to doing so. Many of our students come to school simply because they "have to." They might be receiving Social Security benefits from a disabled or deceased parent, which only requires them to be enrolled in school. These students typically only show up once or twice every couple of weeks just to avoid being dropped from the program. Some see school as a place to hang out with friends or worse, make connections for drug deals or other inappropriate activities. Their laziness and desire for the shortest, simplest route possible affects their grades.
One of the reasons many students have such poor grades at the traditional schools before they come to us is because they do not do homework. We rarely give any homework because we know they will not do it. It is as if once they exit our building, their brains shut off and learning takes a break until the next morning. Every once in a while I will assign something to take home, and my usual rate of return is around 30-40% of the class. The majority of learning has to occur during the school day because otherwise it just will not happen. Even when they are in my class, under my direct supervision, they will typically do the bare minimum to pass the assignment or course. It is difficult to engage them in the content I am teaching.
As for technology access, I am fortunate in that I have a teacher computer, document camera, projector, and screen. There is one computer lab in our building but it is often being used by other teachers, including an online class one hour a day (so the lab is totally off limits for that hour for the whole term). Most students do not have computers or internet at home, and those who do have poor connections. This requires some creativity on my part!
Click on the links here or at the top of the page to read more about the content, pedagogy, and technology I will use to address these problems in my context.
