Social Studies, History, Civics Social Studies, History, Civics Analyze conflicts in history, across geographies, and here and now Study patterns of aggression, conflict escalation and de-escalation, prejudice and anti-discriminatory action: role-play problem scenarios, analyze the needs and wants (interests) of various parties, generate and evaluate alternative solutions. For instance, in Mexico, students studied the reasons for escalation of armaments and violence in World War I, then applied a similar framework to discuss the reasons for escalating gang violence in their neighborhood. Read about a conflict in history, such as how the social movements culminating in the Mexican Revolution challenged patterns of land ownership and social class relations. Then, discern whose voices are missing from that history narrative, for instance people concurrently challenging unequal gender relations, and investigate their stories and perspectives in comparison with the original narrative. Compare people’s viewpoints on particular issues or authority roles in differing historical periods or in differing cultural-geographic contexts. Identify and compare conflicts, common ground, alternative solutions to human problems, and the evidence and points of view presented in texts about these conflict situations. Case studies: Study the roots and consequences of contemporary conflicts — such as pollution and human dependence on the biological environment; policy decisions about housing, transportation, taxation, or regulation; urbanization and preservation of farmland and green space, resource scarcity. For instance, in Mexico, classes divided to debate the merits of urban and rural living. Work as reporters to investigate and report about problems in their community, in text or videos to present to peers (Mexico and Canada). Discern and represent the ways societies change, and how people have changed societies, in multiple modalities Translate words into pictures: Develop visual representations such as charts, graphs, diagrams, photos, films and posters (Mexico). Compare diverse modes and technologies of communication and how these have changed over time —local and long-distance, using text or live voice— and their effects in societies and cultures. Read histories of peacemakers, justice advocates, and individuals who overcame obstacles to achieve excellence or influence. Students create timelines of their lives and their historical contexts and maps of their cultural-geographic contexts. For example, in Canada, students read about Canadians(including civil rights leader Viola Desmond, Indigenous activist Tom Jackson, environmental scientist David Suzuki, whose family was interned during WWII) and about leaders from other parts of the world (including South African anti-apartheid leader and president Nelson Mandela, Pakistani girls’ education leader Malala Yousafzali). Recognize and resist stereotypes, bias, and cultural exclusion Analyze the identities that are (un)represented and debunk stereotypes, for instance in advertisements or textbooks. Study the interactions among people of various cultural identities, narratives, and worldviews —including the relative positions of power and prestige— of various groups in the community and the world. For example, in Mexico, a class read about some companies in their region owned and operated by Japanese workers, and discussed the ways those workers were treated and interacted with local communities. Another Mexican class read about and discussed the case of an indigenous group whose members had worked in the tourist industry for generations, so that currently their children no longer learned their indigenous language and cultural values. Examine cause and effect, social power and exclusion, in difficult histories such as the treatment of the Chinese labourers during the building of the trans-Canada railroad, the policies excluding Chinese women so that Chinese families would not settle in Canada, and the Head Tax applied to exclude most immigrants from China. Students read and deliberate to answer conflict analysis questions: What is the main conflict in this scenario? How were Chinese workers treated when they were building the Trans-Canada Railroad? Why? (Who where the various parties, and what were their interests?) Who is responsible for such treatment? If you were a Chinese worker at that time, how would you have felt? What could be done about that conflict? Take a position: who could have taken action, and how? How does this situation compare with the situation of Again, take a position: who could take action now, and how? Students practice perspective taking, by writing (in role as a Chinese worker) a letter to ‘their’ family back in China, describing how life is for them at the time in Canada. Later, they compare this history with the contemporary treatment of various Asian-Canadian communities, and of immigrant newcomers from elsewhere, in Canada today, in current events and students’ own experience. Understand and practice governance Rights and the roles/responsibilities of citizens: Students work together to name rights depicted in pictures, analyze their relationship to human needs and citizen responsibilities, examine how each right is framed in a political document such as the United Nations International Declaration of Human Rights, the Mexican Constitution, or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and examine approaches citizens have taken to resist and redress human rights violations. Students then create their own illustrations for each right. Develop role-play simulations of international or intercultural justice hearings, truth and reconciliation commissions, or treaty negotiations – current and in history. For each conflict scenario, identify the stakeholders and their points of view, and how power relations. Unlike simple debate or dialogue, simulations can engage students in deliberative decision-making, a key capability of peacebuilding and democratic citizenship. Practice democratic governance by collectively developing class policies (Canada and Mexico), or by campaigning or acting as presiding officers in student leader elections (Bangladesh), or by cooperatively organizing community service and environmental action projects (Mexico). Analyze and assess the strengths and limitations of decision-making processes of governance bodies such ascity councils, legislatures, courts, treaties, and United Nations agencies. Examine political structures, election processes, democracy and justice movements and their relationship to social problems, historically and in relation to contemporary problems (Bangladesh). Student teams consult with members of the school community, each on a different topic, then create an action plan, write a formal letter proposing their plan to the school director (principal), and made presentations to all classes in the school, asking them to support their proposal (Mexico).