Using “Selma” to Teach Critical Thinking Skills
“If it’s current and controversial, it’s a lesson plan,” writes Liz Prather, a teacher blogger for the Center for Teaching Quality—what a great quote and certainly one we agree with. We all know engaging students is key to advancing skills, and what better way to engage them than by discussing current controversial topics? The varying opinions about historical inaccuracies in the movie “Selma” provide you with a unique learning opportunity and we encourage you to take advantage. Prather’s blog post provides ideas for classroom discussions and explains how to use “Selma” to teach critical thinking skills.
Ava DuVernay, “Selma’s” director, said it best—“Bottom line is folks should interrogate history. Don’t take my word for it or LBJ rep’s word for it. Let it come alive for yourself.”
If only children ran the world….My own three sons (ages 15, 13, and 12) keep asking me why Americans would want a President who lacks diplomacy, common decency, and good manners. “Isn’t the rest of the world laughing at us?” they ask. They feel as if they’re living in a nation that has no clothes!
Out of the mouths of babes. Why does he still march around? In my younger years I believed I had all the answers; as time went on, I believed I had all the questions; now, in my graying years , i find that the questions and answers are best left to the minds I teach. They ask the questions and reach for answers. I just guide.
“I just guide” — your students are lucky to have you as their teacher Judi. Thank you for sharing your wise insight.