Historical Thinking And Other Unnatural Acts - 1047 Words

Kent Robertson HIS 6632 – Ritter Wineburg Book Review March 17, 2017 Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts This week’s topic was the book Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts by Sam Wineburg. There is an old quote that states â€Å"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it† (Santanya, 2006). This has long been the worry of educators and policy makers in the United States, how should history be taught and what parts of history are the best to teach? The focus of Wineburg is not which part of history or which version of history should be taught but he asks why teach history at all. As he states the answer is that history has the potential of humanizing us in ways that are offered sparsely in the other†¦show more content†¦Contextual thinking is a way to organize thoughts that relate to the same time period that a document or text was written, thus giving the student a better understanding of the big picture. He also focuses on teaching students to think like a historian. Some of the ways to guide the student in this way of thinking are s ourcing, contextual thinking, close reading, background information, etc. In guiding students to think how a historian thinks and to fully investigate questions that come up teaches them to tolerate complexity, adapt to new situations and to go deeper than the first answer that pops into their head. Using this approach one can teach students to resist the sources telling them what to think but allow them to take in all of the information, ask the appropriate questions and formulate their own opinions. Wineburg’s approach reminds me of the use of scaffolding in education. Scaffolding is the method of using techniques to move students toward stronger understanding and greater independence in the learning process. In my association with the concept of scaffolding I have used prior knowledge to bolster a lesson, study of the issue from a variety of ways, simplifying the lesson and presenting it in multiple parts and used vocabulary introduced prior to the lesson to ensure comprehension. The method that closely resembles Wineburg’s would be using prior knowledge to bridge knowledge gaps in the lesson at hand. As WineburgShow MoreRelatedChapter Of Historical Thinking And Other Unnatural Acts963 Words   |  4 PagesCOLLAPSE In the second chapter of Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts, Sam Wineburg traces the evolution of educational psychology research on how history is learned and best taught. He reviews literature and studies, from the turn of the 20th century to today, concerning the pedagogy and learning of history. He continues his focus on the question: What can learning about history teach us and how can we best come to learn it? Much of the chapter surrounds the difference between â€Å"declarativeRead MoreSummary Of The Ruminant Animal Essay1259 Words   |  6 Pagesafflictions, specifically caused by instances of racial microaggression. She also brings attention to the preconceived ideas regarding race that stem from the unnatural, but historical events from America’s past. The narrator of Citizen encounters several incidents entailing being treated poorly due misjudgment; misjudgments stemming from the historical self. â€Å"Her house has a side gate that leads to a back entrance she uses for patients. You walk down a path bordered on both sides with deergrass and rosemaryRead MoreThe Connection Between Law And Morality1718 Words   |  7 Pagesclassical lines that of the governance of human being by dictates of pleasure and pain. One familiar way to think about the right thing to do is to ask what will produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. 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The paper historically drawsRead MoreChristianity And Homosexuality : The Way Of Thinking1395 Words   |  6 PagesSimilar to the ancient Greeks’ way of thinking, homosexuality in Christianity was considered taboo because of the way the homosexual acts (specifically sodomy) were considered to degrade one partner to the status of a female. An encyclopedia article in the Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, titled â€Å"Christianity and Homosexuality†, talks about how the way a person interprets the different lessons of the Bible can influence how they view homosexuality. Using the historical-critical way of reading the textRead MoreThe Christianity Of Modern Homosexuality1432 Words   |  6 Pagesthe creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men, and received in their own person the due penalty for their error†¦They were filled with every kind of wickedness† (Pg. 133) These verses from the Bible show whatRead MoreSexual Identity1409 Words   |  6 Pageswas taught that sex before marriage was wrong. However, I did not personally believe this. I was skeptical about what I was taught, and usually examined the actions of others to base my own decisions. I listened to the experiences and opinions of others who had waited to have sex or had sex before marriage. I used critical thinking when making my decisions, but was always cautious about drawing any kind of conclusions on what was right or wrong. I also considered the alternative, not having sex. IRead MoreWhat Is Nature Or What It?1491 Words   |  6 Pagesbasis but also on a person-to-person basis. When many people are confronted with people of different viewpoints or opinions on a particular subject they often have the desire to conform that person’s options to their own. This creates a binary way of thinking. You either agree or disagree. This binary really is not affective however espe cially when discussing the topic of what is nature or what is natural. We all have different connotations attached to the word nature. None of these connotations are wrongRead MoreWhat Is Nature Or What It?1480 Words   |  6 Pagescultural basis but also unique to every person. When many people are confronted with different viewpoints or opinions on a particular subject, they often have the desire to conform that person’s opinions to their own. This creates a binary way of thinking. You either agree or disagree. This binary really is not effective, however, when discussing the topic of what is nature or what is natural because it is not a question that has a clear answer. We all have different connotations attached to the word