Fall 2020      Volume 48, Number 4

The “Bates” Shop: Fishing for Primary Source Documents: Pandemics, Then and Now
By David Bates

Document: Column

Introductory Paragraph:  Well, I certainly picked quite a time to bring this column back, didn’t I? I hope you and yours are safe, healthy, and adjusting (as best you can) to our new normal. When considering what topic to cover for the return of “The ‘Bates’ Shop,” my mind raced through any number of possibilities but kept snagging on the coronavirus and the havoc it has wreaked on all aspects of our lives. As educators, it is incumbent on us to help our students make sense of the pandemic however we can. But where to start?  First and foremost, it is important to note that bringing current events into the classroom can foster a variety of higher-order thinking skills. Teachers who engage students in examinations of current events can foster critical literacy, a key skill that can be translated into other subjects (such as social studies) and empower students to seek social transformation (Pescatore, 2007, pp. 326, 330). Similarly, Marshall and Klein (2009) assert that teachers have a duty to “prepare students to be more thoughtful and reflective so that they learn to make informed decisions for the common good” (p. 218). Gardner (2003) found that in the Canadian school where he teaches, students became much more interested in the United States as a topic of discussion and debate, and formulated strong ideas about it. Though facilitating these debates is challenging, he claims it also presented “an extraordinary opportunity” for him to form “partnership[s]” with students of diverse backgrounds and views whereby they can take ownership of their learning and make it meaningful to their own lives. Combined with the Common Core’s focus on interpreting diverse forms of informational text, this research buttresses the idea that current events are a vital addition to any classroom.

DOI:     https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.48.4.2020.62

Page Numbers:   62-67