The term "banquets and bayonets" was from Catherine Epstein's The Last Revolutionaries: German Communists and Their Century. With dramatic flair, Epstein wrote that the communists who joined the KPD lived at a militaristic time of Prussia, "at a time when the Kaiser ruled and Prussian militarism held sway. Imperial Germany, however, was not all banquets and bayonets." Many communists were part of a rising working class and were very distinct from the German soldiers.
I choose "banquets and bayonets" because its invokes a very vivid picture of wealth and war which has prevailed in the modern age. It is also a great example of how a modern historian has chosen to describe an unprecedented age of expansion, wealth, interconnection and change which are all cornerstones of the broad subject which we call "social studies." These are topics that we must engage with our honed critical thinking skills as citizens of a modern democratic government.
To become a certified as a social studies teacher in K-12 education in the United States, you must take a standardized test called Praxis II. This test covers several subjects to test an aspiring teacher's knowledge of "social studies." The subjects covered in the test are: United States History, World History, Government/Civics/Political Science, Geography, Economics, and Behavioral Sciences (Psychology). The articles, postings and musings made on this blog will fall under these broad categories, and will be the parameters of "social studies."
I am in this blog to engage my creative capacities to figure out how we can teach critical thinking skills to our students.
Critical thinking is defined as: "the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment."
Therefore the goals for this blog are to:
1. Identifying methods to teach the concept of "objective analysis"
2. Identifying methods to teach students how to evaluate an issue to form a judgment
3. How can we differentiate these methods to diverse learning styles?
I also will write book reviews to practice and hone my own critical thinking skills.
If you wish to use any materials from this blog, please contact the blog author. Thanks for reading!
I choose "banquets and bayonets" because its invokes a very vivid picture of wealth and war which has prevailed in the modern age. It is also a great example of how a modern historian has chosen to describe an unprecedented age of expansion, wealth, interconnection and change which are all cornerstones of the broad subject which we call "social studies." These are topics that we must engage with our honed critical thinking skills as citizens of a modern democratic government.
To become a certified as a social studies teacher in K-12 education in the United States, you must take a standardized test called Praxis II. This test covers several subjects to test an aspiring teacher's knowledge of "social studies." The subjects covered in the test are: United States History, World History, Government/Civics/Political Science, Geography, Economics, and Behavioral Sciences (Psychology). The articles, postings and musings made on this blog will fall under these broad categories, and will be the parameters of "social studies."
I am in this blog to engage my creative capacities to figure out how we can teach critical thinking skills to our students.
Critical thinking is defined as: "the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment."
Therefore the goals for this blog are to:
1. Identifying methods to teach the concept of "objective analysis"
2. Identifying methods to teach students how to evaluate an issue to form a judgment
3. How can we differentiate these methods to diverse learning styles?
I also will write book reviews to practice and hone my own critical thinking skills.
If you wish to use any materials from this blog, please contact the blog author. Thanks for reading!
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