Our Wildwood, Volume 50

“” WHAT I REALLY HOPE TO DO IS HAVE STUDENTS OWN THEIR OWN LEARNING. THAT’S PART OF WHY WE TALK ABOUT STRENGTHS AND STRETCHES.

CHLOE: What is the essential question and how does it drive the curriculum?

CHLOE: Which unit of the year is your favorite to teach and why?

DEB: The essential question is: “How does the past influence the present?” When we discuss the Cold War, or the Korean War, for example, I’ll often bring up the “then and now.” For instance, what’s the “now” of the Korean War? “Oh, well, we never really settled the Korean War, there’s a DMZ there, and there’s only one president that’s crossed the DMZ and has met the North Korean leader…” So with each unit, there’s the essential question for students to answer—what’s the then and now.

DEB: I don’t know that I can answer this—I really do love them all! If forced, I would say that the last unit on social history is a lot of fun. Social history means that we’re really looking at society, and particularly, at social movements. The final project for students is to produce a video documentary. I’ve had students look at music (East Coast rap vs. West Coast rap), car culture in the Hispanic community, skateboarding—all of which are a part of social history. It’s also really part of what it means to be a young person in Los Angeles right now.

OWW WINTER 2024

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