Tag: history

Who made your smartphone? Globalization, raw materials, and slave labor from Potosi to Silicon Valley

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Globalization is nothing new – the indigenous peoples slaving away in the Potosi mines 500 years ago could tell you all about it, while Europeans cracked the whip in order to buy Asian-made goods at affordable prices. Add in the fact that the mines were supplied with food and coca by African slaves laboring away in the low lands, and you have a template for the modern integrated global economy – exploitation, unequal rewards, and all. Continue reading “Who made your smartphone? Globalization, raw materials, and slave labor from Potosi to Silicon Valley” →

Empathy in Action Bingo: A Different Kind of Social Studies

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Continue reading “Empathy in Action Bingo: A Different Kind of Social Studies” →

Now More Than Ever: Lesson Plans on the Basics of Islam and the Modern Middle East

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Some of these girls are refugees from Syria and Iraq.  Now, through the mercy and compassion of others, they are safe, fortunate enough to attend school in Bahrain.  But there are many more just like them still hoping to escape the conflict and war that continues unabated in their homeland. 

If only the United States – self-proclaimed greatest nation on Earth  – could hold itself to the same standard as Bahrain.

The President of the United States – acting from fear, ignorance, and prejudice, in defiance of the America’s best virtues, of tolerance, inclusion, and mercy – has unilaterally decided that Islam is the enemy.

Educators, do your part! Teach the next generation of American students that Islam is not the enemy. The enemy is extremism, whether it comes from Aleppo or Washington.
 
Find time in your class for one of these lessons on the history, beliefs, culture, and humane values of Islam.

Continue reading “Now More Than Ever: Lesson Plans on the Basics of Islam and the Modern Middle East” →

The Basics of Islam

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Continue reading “The Basics of Islam” →

Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam

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Who was Muhammad, and how did the Arab world of the seventh century shape his teachings? Continue reading “Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam” →

Mapping Our Human Story: A Mini-Doc on Openendedsocialstudies in Action!

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Here’s a short documentary featuring an Open Ended Social Studies lesson on The Silk Road playing out in a sixth grade world history classroom:

November 15, 2016: Bon Voyage, Bahrain!

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It’s been a wild whirlwind through Bahrain, a country of 1.3 million, half of whom are guest workers and not really Bahraini at all.  This is a country that is at its core a conservative, traditional Muslim country – at once eager and willing to accommodate its many resident aliens, who range from American and British expats to Filipino nannies and Indian laborers.   Continue reading “November 15, 2016: Bon Voyage, Bahrain!” →

November 14, 2016: Big Buildings and Bigger Ideas in Bahrain

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What is the purpose of education?  Is it solely for the individual’s benefit – so that he or she can get a good job and have a successful career?  Or is it to produce a socially conscious citizen, someone who is curious and compassionate about the world and the people in it? Continue reading “November 14, 2016: Big Buildings and Bigger Ideas in Bahrain” →

Open Ended Social Studies on YouTube: The Inca

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Check out the inaugural episode of the Open Ended Social Studies YouTube series on the Inca.  It’s a great supplement to our featured lesson on the Inca.  Continue reading “Open Ended Social Studies on YouTube: The Inca” →

Upcoming Research Trip to the Middle East

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This November, I will have the pleasure of participating in the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber’s Teachers Educating Across Cultures in Harmony (TEACH) Fellowship.  This fellowship will take me to UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain and provide the basis for new lessons focusing on Islam and the Middle East here at Open Ended Social Studies. Continue reading “Upcoming Research Trip to the Middle East” →