Joseph O'Brien

What is a Hero? An exploratory study of students' conceptions of heroes

This article examines the responses given by 590 kindergarten to 12th-Grade students when they were asked about their conception of heroes. The sequence of questions asked students to define, describe, name, and justify their response about heroes. Students, regardless of age level, appear to use an operational definition of hero, but when asked to identify a hero, most students named a person with whom they have had personal experiences. Responses given over the age spans move from a specific behaviour to that of a sustained behaviour over a period of time. The change in responses demonstrates developmental changes in conceptual, cognitive, and social growth.

Leadership: Part of the Civic Mission of School?.

i\ic education once again stands C at the forefront in debates over public education. A diverse range of effort

Recapturing the History Standards: Historical Inquiry in the Middle Grades

in the past five years illustrates this renewed interest. The Pew Charitable ‘l‘ruct initiated the Youth E n g q e meiii grant program, which is part of an initiatiLe to engage about four to five million fifteen to twenty-two year olds “in at lcast one civic act.” The Carnegie Foundation published The Civic Missiori i!f Schools. The National Association of Secretaries of State and the Center for Excellence in Government conimi~sioned surveys of young people’s ertgagement in civic and political life. Organizations such as the National Alliance for Civic Education and the Center for Information and Research in Civic Ixarning and Engagement were formed. Such efforts rest on the assumption that “to sustain a society where democratic governance and civil discourse thrive . . . opportunities to engage in civil society and in the political syctem should be widely avail-

To War or Not? Engaging Middle School Students in an Ongoing Online Discussion

One of the ironies within history and social studies teaching is that the curricular area most devoted to preparing young people for life in their community and civic society relies so heavily upon the textbook as the major instructional tool. Many other areas of the curriculum focus not only on learning the knowledge unique to that subject, but also on demonstrating how to use that knowledge in relevant settings. In music class, students play an instrument in a band. In a physical education class, students engage in exercise routines and sports. In a science course, students conduct laboratory experiments. In history why can students not recreate the past by turning their classroom into a history laboratory? Why not transform the class room into an interactive museum devoted to

How Will the U.S. Supreme Court Decide

In seeking to prepare students to be “citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world,” teachers engage students in live, online discussions about what justifies war, while at the same time grappling with the requirements to teach the memorization of people, places and isolated events. Teachers and a university professor worked to teach students to think inductively about the justification of war, a theme found in most history curricula.

Statewide Social Studies Performance Assessment: Threat or Treat?

he US. Supreme Court is less visiT ble to students than either Congress or the president. The Court’s rulings on cases, however, are as influential on everyday life and on the political system as any bill passed by Congress or signed into law by the president. Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, and Bush v. Gore testify to that statement. When studying Congress and the presidency, students often follow such current events as elections, the use of military forces abroad, and significant pieces of legislation, yet they typically investigate the U.S. Supreme Court only after the judges decide a case. Why wait until the Court issues a ruling before studying a case? Why not enhance students’ understanding of the judicial process and the issues addressed by tracking Court cases? In