Planning Freedom in the Course

Planning Freedom In the course of executing their duties, secondary school social studies teachers from time to time encounter some topics that are largely controversial. For many, avoiding the said topics seems the easiest way out. In addition to proposing how teachers can handle these controversial topics and issues, this text also discusses the amount of freedom teachers in secondary schools should have with regard to social studies instruction, materials, and lessons.

Social Studies in Secondary School Settings: Teaching Controversial Issues How Much Freedom Should Teachers Have? For reasons that I will highlight herein, a social studies teacher in a secondary school setting should be permitted to freely discuss the various issues that fall within the purview of the subject. Limiting the freedom of teachers to use instructional methods and resources of their choice in this case would in the final analysis deny students the opportunity to have a broader view of the world in which they live.

In that regard, whatever teachers choose to discuss in the classroom setting should be left to their own informed judgment and wisdom.

According to the National Council for the Social Studies (2007), "academic freedom for social studies teachers includes the right and responsibility to study, investigate, present, interpret, discuss, and debate relevant facts, issues, and ideas in fields of the teacher's professional competence." For many teachers, some topics in social studies are too hot to handle due to possible reprisals from various quarters including but not limited to the community (Levstik and Tyson, 2008). It is for this reason that some teachers choose to skip topics which seem contentious.

It should however be noted that any attempt to conceal content deemed controversial and/or inappropriate gets in the way of meaningful learning and in such a case, students are denied the opportunity to comfortably dissect multiple perspectives -- a skill they might require later in life.

Social studies and its constituent subjects including but not limited to sociology, anthropology, and history as the National Council for the Social Studies (2007) observes "are the central school subjects in the development of civic knowledge and skills." Therefore, limiting the ability of teachers to teach controversial issues in a way that they deem fit prevents students from developing the skills they require to effectively undertake not only their civic but also their citizenship duties.

In the light of this discussion, my submission is that social studies teachers in the secondary school setting should be given a free hand when it comes to the investigation, probing, as well as presentation of controversial issues in the classroom. It should however be noted that the freedom proposed herein should not (and cannot) be regarded absolute. To prevent abuse, the said freedom should ideally be subject to fair, just, and reasonable limitations.

Contentious Areas All social studies teachers in the secondary school setting have at some point found themselves having to deal with a controversial topic. In a study conducted two years ago, teachers defined controversial issues as sensitive subjects that required learners to take a position (Philpott, Clabough, McConkey, and Turner, 2011). In that regard, controversial issues in this case could range from global or regional resource distribution issues to immigration issues to equality and fairness in democratic settings.

Topics on the death penalty and abortion have also proven contentions for social studies teachers in secondary school settings. Other controversial issues social studies teachers have to contend with in classroom settings include but they are not limited to topics touching on religion (especially with regard to creationism), politics, racial relations, etc. (Philpott, Clabough, McConkey, and Turner, 2011). Handling controversial social studies topics in the classroom setting is often not an easy undertaking.

In the words of Philpott, Clabough, McConkey, and Turner (2011), "even though controversial issues are included in the curriculum, teachers face uncertainty on how to best teach the content" (42). As Byford, Lennon, and Russell (as cited in Russell, 2009) observe, teachers avoid controversial subjects in social studies because of lack of the relevant classroom management skills, discomfort when discussing some issues, restrictive district or school policies, and job security. To handle controversial subjects and topics appropriately, teachers can make use of a number of strategies and approaches.

To begin with, it helps to ensure that while at the same time seeking to ensure that one does not veer off the topic, learners are exposed to multiple perspectives with regard to the issue at hand. When there is a need to take a stand on an issue, teachers must ensure that students have been involved in the exploration of all the existing alternatives. In the words of High (1962) "the teacher's job is not to indoctrinate but to equip students to make decisions based on sound and objective knowledge" (125).

This way, learners are not denied an opportunity to develop their own thinking and reasoning capabilities. This approach could especially be useful on questions that do not have "one correct answer," i.e. The dropping of atomic bombs in Hiroshima. Prior to class discussions, teachers also need to ensure that students are adequately prepared for the discussion. This they could do by ensuring that students have access to informational resources that contain background knowledge on the issues to be discussed in class.

Case studies could come in handy on this front. Next, teachers can also embrace new learning tools as well as.