[Free PDF Download] "TEACHING ABOUT THE WARS," edited by Jody Sokolower in Rethinking Schools

Friends,

I am an author and fan of RETHINKING SCHOOLS.  Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, they produce a lot of first-rate research, content, and classroom curriculum and instructional approaches to the teaching of a number important and timely topics—like Ethnic Studies, the environment, and war.  These materials are great for the college classroom, as well.  

In any case, they are generously making available a book titled, "Teaching About the Wars," appropriate to these days of violence and turmoil.  Read the write-up below and consider downloading this volume for free.  

Also consider making a donation so that the important work of this organization can continue.

-Angela Valenzuela

Dear Rethinking Schools friends,

The Trump nightmare continues – this last week with the immoral, illegal, and reckless assassination of the Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani. As educators, we are left to help our students make sense of a world that just became more dangerous.

Seven years ago, we published Teaching About the Wars, a collection of Rethinking Schools teaching articles, lesson plans, and essays to help teachers make sense of the conflicts roiling the Middle East. Today, in recognition of how urgent it is to help students come to grips with the history of U.S. military intervention in that region, we offer Rethinking Schools readers a free PDF download of Teaching About the Wars. 

Teaching About the Wars offers age-appropriate ways to discuss topics of war in the Middle East with upper elementary through high school and college students.

Because the 45th president is so hateful and has such contempt for human decency, it is tempting to regard his presidency as uniquely awful. It is not. As materials inTeaching About the Wars show, the history of U.S. militarism and imperialism stretches through the decades. See, for example, Howard Zinn's essay, "Empire or Humanity: What the Classroom Didn't Teach Me About the American Empire."

Although the articles in Teaching About the Wars grow out of the "war on terrorism" following the September 11 attacks, the war in Afghanistan, and then the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the teaching strategies, the history, and many of the resources highlighted in the volume are still relevant today. For example, lesson suggestions encourage students to read and evaluate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "A Revolution of Values," in which he denounces the "giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism." A lesson, "Whose Terrorism?" asks students to define "terrorism," and then to apply their definitions to world events. Their conclusions about their own government are often startling. "The U.S. and Iraq: Choices and Predictions" looks at U.S. policy toward Iraq going back to the 1980s -- a history that also sheds light on today's relations with Iran.

What happens in the coming days in the Middle East may be largely beyond our control, but what happens in the long run will be shaped by how people, including our students, understand the broader context of this moment. It is up to us to make sure that our students think critically and historically about what is going on in Iraq, Iran, and the entire region. It is up to us to make sure that students learn to question, and learn that they can make a difference in the world.

Please join us in committing to teach about war and peace. And if you have teaching experiences you would like to share with other Rethinking Schools readers, please let us know. Our submission guidelines are here.

In the struggle for peace and justice,

Rethinking Schools editors and staff

Rethinking Schools · 6737 W. Washington St. · Suite 3249 · Milwaukee · Wisconsin · 53214

TEACHING ABOUT THE WARS

Edited By Jody Sokolower

Table of Contents

As President Trump pushes the United States toward war with Iran, it is more important than ever to equip students to think deeply and critically about U.S. military interventions around the world.

Teaching About the Wars breaks the curricular silence on the U.S. military engagement in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Even though the United States has been at war continuously since just after 9/11, sometimes it seems that our schools have forgotten. This collection of articles and hands-on lessons shows how teachers prompt their students to think critically about big issues. Here is the best writing from Rethinking Schools magazine on war and peace in the 21st century.

We offer Teaching About the Wars free to Rethinking Schools readers. We hope that you will share it with colleagues and use it to generate curriculum about this latest crisis.

Also see our books Rethinking Globalization: Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World and A People’s Curriculum for the Earth: Teaching Climate Change and the Environmental Crisis , which offer resources to teach about the colonial and environmental roots of today’s global crises.

Teaching About the Wars is divided into five chapters:

1. Introduction: Breaking the Silence on War
2. The Road to War
3. The Human Face of War
4. Military Recruitment
5. Anti-War Resistance

Contributing authors include Bill Bigelow, Ann Pelo, Margot Pepper, Bob Peterson, Özlem Sensoy, and Howard Zinn.

Listen to an interview with editor Jody Sokolower about the book and why it's important we continue to discuss and teach about the wars.

• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION

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