Posts com a Tag ‘Canadian Social Studies (CSS)’
Teacher Evaluation Policy: From Accountability to Professional Development – DUKE (CSS)
DUKE, Daniel L. Ed. Teacher Evaluation Policy: From Accountability to Professional Development. New York: State University of New York Press, 1995. 203p. Resenha de: DOWSETT, Eric. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.4, 2001.
Teacher evaluation policies stand at a crossroads in North America. One road leads to a system created by legislators and special interest groups who push for competitive test score-driven, merit pay and incentive pay alternatives to a single salary scale. The other road leads to a system created collaboratively by educational stakeholders which follows a professional development orientation. Teacher Evaluation Policy is a scholarly work that is of value to members of teams working collaboratively to shape teacher appraisal systems. For those not involved in a collaborative effort, this text presents a clear argument for using collaborative action if the goal of improving instruction or successful school reform is ever to be realized.
The book is organized into nine chapters, with a useful index, which draw on the works of a number of authors through case studies and analysis from Britain and the United States. Duke’s introductory chapter creates the framework for the presentation of the case studies. He presents four central ideas for developing teacher evaluation systems over which policy makers have struggled in the past two decades: Accountability, Professional Development, Professionalism, and Pay for Performance.
Through the case studies, Duke demonstrates that past and future developments of teacher evaluation policies can be best understood in a political framework. Readers need to understand that change is the consequence of conflict and choice along with understanding why particular choices are made in order to make sense of policy formulations. Knowledge of the context is essential to comprehend choices which are made because teacher evaluation policies continue to evolve, even after adoption and implementation. Each of these case studies points to a generalized agreement that teacher evaluation should: 1) serve professional development as well as accountability purposes; 2) differentiate between new and experienced teachers; 3) include training for teacher evaluators; 4) provide extended periods for professional development; 5) be shaped by local school systems; and 6) avoid direct links to pay for performance schemes.
The book concludes with a cross-case analysis of the accounts which presents the conditions for creating new thinking about educational accountability and, with it, new changes in teacher evaluations. It is clear that the dual needs of accountability and improvement are not met through an individually focused accountability system. This new thinking represents an historic shift from a relatively exclusive focus on individual accountability to a combination of individual accountability and professional development. This shift is a result of people’s dissatisfaction with traditional teacher evaluation systems. Duke predicts that the evaluation of individual teachers, especially veteran teachers, will concentrate on professional development. The goal of accountability, on the other hand, will be addressed in ways other than the summative evaluation of individual teachers. Duke uses an analogy of a bomb disposal unit, where self-interest merges with collective interest, as an example of the type of challenge which fosters collective accountability. Successful schools of tomorrow will have a school culture that accepts collective accountability making everyone responsible for teacher development through a community of learners.
As a school administrator who has struggled with teacher evaluation and its role in school improvement, I appreciate the synthesis of research presented in this book. It validates a number of issues and concerns that have been experienced at the site-based level. The case studies afford the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of other’s experiences and draw parallels to one’s own situation. For those who wish a less detailed yet effective approach to the main ideas, one could read Chapters 1, 2, 8 and 9 to obtain a sense of where teacher evaluation policies need to be directed and still have a good grasp of this evolving field of school improvement.
Eric Dowsett – Neelin High School. Brandon, Manitoba.
[IF]City Unique: Montreal Days and Nights in the1940’s and ’50’s – WINTRAUB (CSS)
WINTRAUB, William. City Unique: Montreal Days and Nights in the1940’s and ’50’s. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Inc., 1996. 332p. WILLIAMS, Dorothy. The Road to Now: A History of the Blacks in Montreal. Montreal: Vehicule Press, 1997. 235p. Resenha de: HOSKINS, Ronald G. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.4, 2001.
In City Unique, William Weintraub introduces his readers to the Montreal of the forties and fifties when the Paris of America was a wide-open, swinging metropolis. Practically every facet of life in Montreal is visited by the author in this affectionate, occasionally indignant examination of Montreal in its heyday.
The book begins with the arrival of their majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth who visited Canada in 1939 in an effort to inspire colonial support as war clouds raced across European skies and empire solidarity became very important. The final pages of the book coincide with the death of Maurice Duplessis in 1959. The latter kept Montreal and the Province of Quebec in a kind of political and intellectual bondage during the final fourteen years of his premiership. Indeed the Quiet Revolution was largely a response to the end of the Grande Noirceur of the Duplessis years.
In the two decades between the onset of World War II and the Quiet Revolution, a parade of intriguing characters and events wend their way across the pages as Weintraub uses his novelistic style and reporter’s moxy to unravel Montreal’s fascinating past. Readers are introduced to Marie Klarquist, a.k.a. Lili St. Cyr, who began a seven year reign as Montreal’s femme fatale in 1944 and who, in her autobiography, suggested that Montreal was an enchanted city for her (p. 118). In reminiscing about nightlife in Montreal, the author mentions the famous Oscar Peterson who was born in the impoverished working class district of St. Henri which was home to much of Montreal’s small black community. Typically, Peterson’s father was a sleeping car porter and believed that his son’s musical talents should be encouraged as the best route out of the West End. As it turned out, his father was right and in later years the Oscar Peterson Trio became internationally famous in jazz circles.
Weintraub pays homage to Montreal’s famous writers at a time when they were still in their literary infancy. Literary snapshots are provided of Hugh MacLennan, Gabrielle Roy and Mordecai Richler, whose writing provoked outrage among Montreal’s Jewish establishment because of the exploits of Duddy Kravitz. In addition to individuals, Montreal’s various districts – the Main, the Mountain, St. Henri – are all explored in this eminently readable and entertaining work.
Nor does the author ignore Montreal’s political figures of the period. Perhaps the most flamboyant of Montreal’s mayors was the controversial Camilien Houde whose patronage politics knew no bounds and who was interned by the federal government during the war years for his attempts to dissuade fellow Montrealers from registering for military service. He profiles the activities of Jean Drapeau, a later mayor of Montreal and the latter’s assistant chief of police, Pax Plante who worked zealously to eradicate the kingpins of Montreal’s underworld and the graft and corruption which permeated much of the urban politics of the period.
The one individual for whom Weintraub has obvious contempt is Maurice Duplessis. He argues that the dictatorial, ultra-nationalist politician introduced policies which were very much to the long-term detriment of La Belle Province and the City of Montreal. In a departure from his usual breezy writing style, the author becomes very serious when he dismisses Duplessis as an odious man (p. 286).
As a native son, William Weintraub has a love affair with his subject which is reflected in his lively, vibrant, literary style. Although there are no footnotes in City Unique, the book is
obviously the product of extensive research. There is an impressive selected bibliography and the author has conducted numerous interviews in preparing this monograph. The book has a full index
and several pages of photographs. City Unique is an enjoyable read for individuals who have a knowledge of Montreal and wish to relive the nostalgia of the Montreal of years gone by. The book could also serve as an excellent supplementary reader for senior secondary school students and all
university students who are studying the history of Quebec or perhaps post-confederation Canadian history. To derive maximum benefit from Weintraub’s excellent work the reader should have some similarity with Quebec social and political history.
In contrast to the breezy, light-hearted journalistic style of City Unique, Dorothy Williams’ The Road to Now is a scholarly, serious analysis of the historical experience of Montreal’s black
community. Williams’ study reaffirms what has been common knowledge for some time, that is, that Canada, including Montreal, was not the land of freedom and opportunity for blacks attempting to flee oppression elsewhere.
The author explains too, that Montreal historians have been strangely quiet about their black community. She attributes this in part to an attempt to deny the presence of black slavery in New France; to the fact that black migration patterns were different in Montreal than in other parts of Canada and finally because the relatively small size of Montreal’s black community did not create the intense backlash and hence the attention among whites that took place in other parts of the country.
In The Road to Now the author provides a historic overview of the black experience in Montreal from the days of black slavery in New France to the present. Williams asserts that the period between 1897 and 1930 witnessed the beginning of a genuine black community in Montreal. During this thirty year period, important institutional development took place in the establishment of the Union United Church in 1907, the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1919 and the Negro Community Centre in 1927. As her study progresses, Williams monitors the activities of these three institutions in assessing the changing nature of Montreal’s black community.
For black males, most of whom lived in the city’s West End, the railways were the dominant source of employment and blacks were hired as redcaps, sleeping car porters and cooks. This racially segregated hiring policy had many advantages for the railways. Wage rates for black labor were low and the author maintains that the predominantly white travelling public gained a feeling of superior status when attended to by black personnel, thus enhancing the romance of rail travel. The dominant occupation for black females was domestic service with all the pitfalls associated with that occupation. World War II brought changes to both male and female working blacks. Women found employment in war industries and many of the porters working for the CPR were unionized, giving them added job security and presumably better working conditions.
The decade of the 1960s marked the introduction of French-speaking Haitians into Montreal’s black community. In the 1970s the city’s West End no longer defined the boundaries of Montreal’s blacks as the latter moved into white districts giving rise to increased friction between the two races.
The Road to Now is a history of the rather rueful black experience in Montreal. From their introduction to New France as slaves until the arrival of the well-educated French-speaking Haitians of the 1960s, Williams states that Montreal blacks have been subjected to constant racial discrimination. In earlier periods as porters, redcaps and domestics to more recent years as taxi drivers, they have had to struggle to preserve some semblance of human rights and dignity. During periods of prosperity for white Quebeckers, black Montrealers have failed to prosper equitably because of racial prejudice. The struggle continues in the present-day environment where police-black relations in the city remain problematic.
The Road to Now is a very detailed historical analysis of Montreal’s small black community. There is an extensive bibliography of both primary and secondary sources and unpublished materials. There are extensive end-notes and a full index. Three maps detail the wards in Montreal’s West End which were home to the vast majority of blacks until very recently.
Williams’ readable analysis provides a solid portrait of Montreal’s black community. Individuals in senior high school courses or college courses studying in this limited area will derive great benefits from The Road to Now. To what degree the Montreal experience can be applied to other parts of Canada or North America is open to question, however. Presumably this work could serve as a comparative study to the black experience in other major Canadian cities such as Halifax or Toronto. Beyond this, Williams’ work should be considered as an excellent piece of local historical research with limited application elsewhere.
Ronald G. Hoskins – Associate Professor, University of Windsor. Windsor, Ontario.
[IF]Rioting in America – GILIE (CSS)
GILIE, Paul A. Rioting in America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996. 248p. JAMES, Joy. Resisting State Violence: Radicalism, Gender and Race in U.S. Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. 280p. Resenha de: LEWIS, Magda. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.4, 2001.
I have thought a lot about the two books under examination in this short review: Rioting in America by Paul A. Gilje and Resisting State Violence by Joy James. I have read both of them more than once and have used them in my teaching in graduate courses in Cultural Studies. The critical frameworks by which both Gilje and James approach their topic, the first through a critical historical reading and the second by way of critical race and feminist theory, is essential to the understanding of the possibilities, as well a the impossibilities, of popular movements for social transformation. This is a timely question not only from a global perspective but in the local Canadian context as well.
Both texts are eminently readable and compelling. Although they have significantly different agendas and purposes, I found each text to be an interesting and important contribution toward an understanding of, what I have come to call, the globalization of the impotence of popular political action and what one might do about it.
Rioting in America is a studied and well researched history of popular political action in the United States from its beginnings as a British Colony to the 1990s. Although its attention is focused entirely on the history of the United States, offered sometimes in great detail, I find the book useful in a Canadian context. This is particularly so in regard to my current interest in understanding the dissonance between those who are popularly called the people and those who, as a result of apparently democratic processes, claim to govern on our behalf.
Rioting is not a political form that has a significant history in contemporary Canadian popular politics. For example, when, in the fall of 1996, Mike Harris’ Conservative government began its systematic dismantling of Ontario’s public education system in preparation for what he is hoping, still, to achieve through the privatization of large segments of it, almost 300,000 people, many of them teachers, many of whom voted for Harris, marched on the Ontario Legislature. I was there. Intriguingly, the positively carnivalesque atmosphere of the event, including beclowned entertainers, had the effect of masking the seriousness of the consequences to the public education system of the proposed legislation, Bill 160.
That same fall, there were protests in the streets of Paris for similar reasons: the colonizing forces of economic globalization fuelled by neo-conservative ideologies revealed in the bureaucratic dismantling of public schooling; the pricing out of range, for the children of the disappearing average family, of post secondary education; the undermining of the health care system; and the destruction of the social infrastructure that had heretofore provided at least minimum levels of subsistence for the most economically and socially disadvantaged.
As I reflect on that day of protest and recall a carefully paced walk along the lovely boulevard avenue that leads to the seat of government, where, having arrived, we settled in for a picnic while we heard carefully worded speeches delivered from platforms erected the day before (because this was a planned for event), and which Mike Harris never heard because he wasn’t there that day (equally planned for). Police in riot gear were discreetly out of sight.
That same month, over-turned cars burned in the streets of Paris. University students, my daughter among them, and some of their professors blockaded the university buildings, angry protestors marched with fists clenched and raised, and police in Darth Vadaresque riot gear, forming a human chain complete with one-way-view face shields, blocked every side street for the entire route of the protest. Unlike my day of protest, for these demonstrators, there was no way out. Yet, ironically at the end of the day, whether in Paris or in Toronto, we all quietly went home.
Gilje’s historical accounting within a well analyzed context calls me to think about popular movements: riots, revolutions, demonstrations. What compelled me about this book is the way it raised questions for me, about the effectiveness of popular movements at a time, when, not politics, but the hidden structures of the global economy, drive political decisions and possibilities. Rioting in America makes me question the implications of the dissonance between how individuals in democratically elected governments come to occupy their positions of power, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, how these individuals come to articulate their loyalties (most often, it seems, in these days of the Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI) and global conservatism, not always in the best interests of those who elected them).
In Canada, the peculiarities of Euro-American democratic processes are well demonstrated at the level of the everyday where the hegemony of conservatism, also known as corporate interest, at all levels of public institution, takes precedence over the interests of individuals who, nonetheless, believe themselves to be participating in democratic processes, apparently guaranteed by the vote. Given such a peculiar turn of democratic events, it seems that history has not yet decided at what gruesome cost the fragile gains of American democracy have come (Gilje, p. xi).
In this regard, Resisting State Violence, Joy James’ brilliant, engagingly autobiographical volume, is a perfect companion piece. Through a conceptual examination of the processes of racism and sexism, she uncovers the invisible underside of democracy, as we know it. The transformation of Euro-American democracy into state violence is thus revealed. Drawing on the personal/political engagement of the intellectual/activist, James accomplishes her stated agenda: to draw together, on the one hand, critique of, and on the other hand, confrontation with state violence (James, p. 4). For the former, she provides complex conceptual frames and, for the latter, she offers suggestions for and examples of practice.
As with Gilje, what I value in James’ work is the questions she moves me to ask and the conceptual tools she offers for exploration of these questions. Ultimately I ask, what are the possibilities and impossibilities, at the turn of the millennium, of popular movements aimed at effecting collective/state practices that support the best interests of the people, set against the logic of a democratic process dependant for its success, on the participation of an uninformed or partially informed population? And what are the implications of this for what we are able or allowed to do in schools, Academic Freedom notwithstanding.
For me, as an intellectual in present day Ontario, these are not academic questions even as they are pedagogical ones. How I resolve some sense of these questions will ultimately guide strategies not only for political participation but for what we do with students at all levels of the schooling enterprise. For helping me ask these questions I thank Gilje and James.
Magda Lewis – Associate Professor, Queen’s University. Kingston, Ontario.
[IF]The Mass Media and Canadian Diversity – NANCOO; NANCOO (CSS)
NANCOO, Stephen E.; NANCOO, Robert S. Eds. The Mass Media and Canadian Diversity. Mississauga: Canadian Educator’s Press, 1996. 288p. SCHUDSON, Michael. The Power of News. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995. 288p. Resenha de: SENGER, Elizabeth. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.4, 2001.
The Mass Media and Canadian Diversity offers an insightful and thought provoking look at the role the mass media have played in both forming and perpetuating ideas about Canadian identity. It is a collection of essays and research reports by nineteen writers who look at the issue from varying perspectives. A great deal of attention is given to issues of identity for Native peoples, with a lesser emphasis on the portrayal of women and visible minorities in our society.
The organization of the book follows a logical historical progression to the role of the mass media in the formation of a Canadian identity. This is followed by reports on a number of studies which examine the direct impact of media decisions and actions. Finally, the editors suggest a course of action for the roles the media should play in dealing with identity issues in the future.
The Mass Media and Canadian Diversity concludes that the richness of cultural diversity in Canada has not traditionally been portrayed in an accurate or favorable light, and contends that there is a need, in fact, an obligation, for the media to remedy this situation in the future. More research needs to be done into the impact of media portrayals and a more concerted effort to make positive portrayals is required in order to encourage people to embrace the value of a culturally diverse Canada, to help us build a healthier, more successful society in the future.
The editors have done a fairly good job of choosing material for the book. Various perspectives are presented which provide a valuable cross section of the diverse cultures in Canada and representations of them in the mass media. This book will, unfortunately, have a limited use in the classroom. The reading level would be somewhat difficult for most high school students and the only visuals are charts of research findings. The reports on research were, in places, too reliant upon statistical findings and lacked interesting and useful analyses. Because of this, students would likely lose interest in reading this book. However, The Mass Media and Canadian Diversity would be a useful resource for a higher level course on media relations and the role of media in the formation of Canadian identity.
In The Power of News, Michael Schudson attempts to clarify exactly what the role of the media is and has been in American history. He is clearly an avid historian of the news media and the book is well referenced and footnoted. However, I found myself struggling to determine whether this book was about the power of news or the history of news.
The entire first half of the book is devoted to an interesting account of the role of the news media in American history. While this section is fascinating, I kept asking myself what this had to do with the power of news. The second half of the book is more clear in explaining how the news media has struggled to define the role it can and should play – that of keeping a presumably literate, intelligent, and politically active public informed or that of watch dog over those in power, charged with the responsibility of ensuring authority is used responsibly. Schudson concludes that the media must have a kind of schizophrenic role because they must assume the occurrence of both these situations. Sometimes people are informed and politically active and, at other times, they are less than vigilant. When this happens, the media must be prepared to take up the role of political activists and assure that the abuse of power does not occur.
The Power of News has limited applications for a high school social studies class. Schudson’s writing style make the reading heavy going in places. Also, the material assumes extensive knowledge of American historical contexts. As with The Mass Media and Canadian Diversity, this book is more appropriate for use with a higher level course on media relations.
While both of these books were about the media, and contend that news and the media have power over society and politics, they take different approaches. Nancoo and Nancoo focus on relations between diverse cultures within a society, while Schudson is more concerned about the relationship between the producers of news (the media) and the consumers of it (the general public). Both may have some use as instructor resources, at the high school level, but would not be suitable for use by high school students.
Elizabeth Senger – Calgary, Alberta.
[IF]Canadian Society: A Changing Tapestry – BAIN et al (CSS)
BAIN, Colin; COLYER, Jill; NEWTON, Jacqueline; HAWES, Reg. Canadian Society: A Changing Tapestry. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1994. 284p. Resenha de: MANDZUK, David. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.4, 2001.
Canadian Society: A Changing Tapestry is an appealing textbook that introduces secondary school students to the social sciences, in general, and human behavior and social trends, in particular. The book is comprised of nine chapters that cover the following broad areas: the human species; social behavior; human communication; the impact of culture; social institutions; alienation and conformity; aggression and violence; social issues; and, the future. The authors introduce each of the major issues explored in these chapters with key words and terms and conclude with relevant follow-up activities that involve skills like interpreting, analyzing, communicating, and synthesizing. In addition, each of these chapters concludes with a discussion of careers in the social sciences and active learning opportunities such as debating, observation, and research possibilities.
In my mind, three of the nine chapters are particularly relevant for secondary school students; they are Chapters 5, 6, and 8 on social institutions, alienation and conformity, and social issues respectively. Chapter 5, for example, addresses social institutions such as the Canadian school system, the Canadian justice system, and the Canadian military. Teenagers’ feelings about peer groups and family influences are also explored. Chapter 6 discusses the concepts of alienation and conformity. In this chapter, the authors examine how teenagers experience alienation in school and in the workplace and the social pressures that cause them to conform. In addition, the concepts of obedience and deviance are also examined.
I believe that one of the most engaging and extensive chapters is Chapter 8, which addresses social issues. Some issues that are examined are illegal drug use, family violence, and gun control. Bain, et. al. point out that social issues like these have a variety of solutions which are frequently incompatible with one another; in other words, if one solution is adopted, the others are automatically ruled out. The authors, for example, pose the dilemma of what to do with first-degree murderers. Some people believe that they should be rehabilitated while others believe that they should be executed; therefore, because people who have been executed obviously cannot be reformed, these solutions come into direct contact with one another. The authors use this scenario to argue that, in order to solve the important social issues of the day, we must follow a structured process. They go on to describe a detailed 12-step process for solving such issues.
In step 1, Bain, et. al. explain how to translate general concerns into defined problems. In step 2 students are asked to identify alternative solutions. In step 3 the students are expected to decide among the alternatives and develop criteria for evaluating them; and, in step 4 students are asked to rank the criteria according to importance. For example, criteria such as protection of society, reforming offenders, and financial cost to society are suggested when considering what to do with people who commit serious crimes. Step 5 involves another stage of the problem solving process where students begin to collect data using strategies such as content analysis, anecdotal notes, and focus groups.
Step 6 highlights organizing data using tools such as Venn and tree diagrams, classification charts, and cross-classification charts. Step 7 encourages the predicting of consequences. Step 8 focuses on forming conclusions; and, step 9 moves into assessing conclusions. The final stages of the problem solving process, steps 10 through 12, involve preparing, presenting, and evaluating conclusions.
Although I find this extensive process to be worthwhile, I wonder if it might be too lengthy given the audience for which it is intended. In other words, my hunch as an experienced teacher is that students would still gain an appreciation of the complex nature of social issues if the process were simplified. In spite of this criticism, however, I do believe that the authors are right on the mark with this approach to introduce the social sciences to secondary students. They have tried to make this text as relevant for Canadian readers as possible and they have tried to appeal to a younger audience by integrating cartoons and other visuals such as photographs, tables, and graphs. I strongly recommend this text for secondary schoolteachers who are interested in introducing their students to the social sciences in a balanced and thoughtful manner.
David Mandzuk – Henry G. Izatt Middle School. Winnipeg, Manitoba.
[IF]
Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada’s Leaders – HILMER (CSS)
HILLMER, J. L. Granatstein Norman. Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada’s Leaders. Toronto: Harper Collins, 1999. 234p. COUCILL, Irma. Canada’s Prime Ministers, Governors General and Fathers of Confederation. Markham, Ontario: Pembroke Publishers, 1999. 180p. Resenha de: GLASSFORD, Larry A. Canadian Social Studies, v.36, n.1, 2001.
What makes a great prime minister of Canada? What makes a poor one? What are the key factors that determine success or failure? For that matter, what do we assess, or measure: – length of time in office? – deeds accomplished? – disasters avoided? – popularity with the public? – accolades from political peers? – respect from subsequent historians?
The premise of the book by J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer, two eminent Canadian historians noted for their contributions in the fields of national political, military and diplomatic history, is that the collective judgment of academic scholars is a sound means of determining the success of our country’s prime ministers. In 1997, they conducted a survey of 26 Canadian scholars – political historians mostly, with a couple of narrative political scientists thrown in – to determine a comparative ranking of the 20 individuals who have served as Canada’s prime minister. The respondents were asked to rate the PMs on the familiar scale of 0 (for total failure) to 10 (for enduring greatness). The results of their survey were published as a leading article in the April 21, 1997 issue of Maclean’s magazine. Granatstein and Hillmer then expanded that article into this 200-plus-page book, with individual chapters for each prime minister except the four immediate successors to John A. Macdonald, whose combined service from 1891-1896 is disposed of in one chapter.
Although actual point totals are not produced in either the original Maclean’s piece or this followup book, the authors tell us that the consensus of their panel of experts (which included themselves) pointed to William Lyon Mackenzie King as the top-ranked Canadian prime minister. Apparently 14 respondents placed King either first, or tied for first. The other two leaders earning their Great rating (an A-plus surely) were John A. Macdonald (2nd) and Wilfrid Laurier (3rd). A fourth PM, Louis St. Laurent, was awarded a near-Great grade, perhaps the equivalent of an A-minus. The High-Average (B?) leaders were Pierre Trudeau (5th), Lester Pearson (6th) and Robert Borden (7th) respectively, followed by the average (C?) prime ministers: Brian Mulroney (8th), Jean Chretien (9th), John Thompson (10th), Alexander Mackenzie (11th), R.B. Bennett (12th) and John Diefenbaker (13th). Two prime ministers, Arthur Meighen (14th) and Joe Clark (15th) scraped through with a Low-Average (D?) Rating. Those PMs adjudged to be failures (F for sure) were Charles Tupper, John Abbott, John Turner, Mackenzie Bowell and Kim Campbell.
How did this panel of professorial pundits arrive at their collective judgment? According to the Maclean’s article, they were not given precise criteria, but were asked to consider electoral success, national unity, success in achieving domestic or foreign policy goals, and leadership in cabinet, party and country. (p.35). These ratings, the authors report at the beginning of their book, were then averaged to form a ranked list. In addition to the numerical scores, each scholar was asked to write a commentary, justifying his or her rating (both p. 9). The comments of the academics were utilized throughout the five-page Maclean’s spread to buttress the authors’ own remarks. The book, while adhering to the prime-ministerial ranking of the earlier article, is more clearly the authors’ own creation, although an occasional panelist’s quote finds its way into the chapter-length biographies.
How did the experts do? The absence of actual point-totals tells us that this is not meant to be a scientific survey meeting rigid statistical criteria. Furthermore, upon what basis was the so-called panel of experts chosen? The authors are silent on the point, other than to note that five are relatively younger scholars, and that together, the panelists represent the several geographic regions of the country. An actual list of 25 names was appended to the Maclean’s article, indicating the presence of five female scholars amongst such luminaries as Michael Bliss, Craig Brown, Desmond Morton, Blair Neatby and Peter Waite. Seeing these names, we might ask where are the Greg Kealeys and Veronica Strong-Boags? Were representatives of the new Canadian historical establishment not polled in significant numbers or did they refuse to answer? We are not told. The lesson is clear. This is not rigorous social science analysis. It has been written as much for enjoyment as for enlightenment – and why not? Who said history should be so stuffy anyways? The joy of the reading is augmented by the inclusion of 27 political cartoons – some famous, some not – distributed throughout the book.
Surprisingly, a number of the better chapters are devoted to lesser PMs. Joe Clark and John Turner, frequently savaged in the popular press, merit full-length chapters that are evenhanded, leaning to sympathetic. Pierre Trudeau, still alive at the time of publication, and Jean Chretien, not yet a three-time election winner when the book went to press, receive the back of the authors’ hands, by comparison. Lester Pearson is praised; John Diefenbaker is, if not defamed, certainly panned. The chapter on R.B. Bennett is remarkably positive, given the panel’s low rating, but Robert Borden is, at best, damned with faint praise. Clearly, too, the authors expect Brian Mulroney’s eventual rehabilitation. The panel was harsh on Kim Campbell, but the authors less so – pointing out that the novelty of her gender first helped, then hindered her national political career. The one really bizarre rating by the expert panel was to place John Thompson tenth. He served scarcely more than 2 years in office, and never won an election as leader. Even the co-authors seem dumbfounded. In the Maclean’s article, they attribute his surprising showing to the recent appearance of a fine, modern full-length biography. (P,35). That professional historians could be so easily swayed casts more than a little doubt on the validity of the whole exercise.
One prominent aspect of the ranking must be challenged. William Lyon Mackenzie King was not our greatest prime minister, contrary to the panelists and co-authors. That honour must be reserved for John A. Macdonald. Both had flawed personal characters – King with his seances, ouija boards and crystal balls, Macdonald with his weakness for the bottle. Neither might even have made it to the office of prime minister in the current era of fishbowl journalism. Both built a great political party; Macdonald, however, also built a country – one which King admittedly helped to preserve. It is quite possible, though, to picture Macdonald managing the political crises faced by King. One cannot imagine King managing to pull off Confederation. He lacked the vision, and the personal charisma. King is deservedly among the top three leaders, on a par with his idol, Wilfrid Laurier. But one has only to consider the remarkable accomplishments of King’s successor, Louis St. Laurent, during his first half dozen years in office, to grasp the what- might-have-beens of Mackenzie King’s lengthy time in office. In describing St. Laurent, the authors note his one deficiency – an absence of deviousness. This quality King held in spades. King’s other specialty, as he mentioned once to an apprenticing Lester Pearson, was to focus on avoiding bad actions – no small achievement, but not the full measure of a truly great prime minister. The existence of the Canadian federation itself is John A. Macdonald’s legacy to us. He is still Number One.
The other book under review here, authored by Irma Coucill, is not in the same league as that by Granatstein and Hillmer, judged on the basis of the written content. The author presents one-page thumbnail sketches of Canada’s 20 prime ministers, 25 governors-general since 1867 (excluding Adrienne Clarkson, who had not yet been appointed), and 36 Fathers of Confederation, defined as those colonial politicians from British North America who attended at least one of the formative conferences in Charlottetown, Quebec or London. The first edition of this work appeared in the lead-up to Centennial year, which explains something about the boosterish tone of the mini-biographies. Unfortunately, the pages added for subsequent editions are sometimes marred by inaccuracies. Nunavut is mis-spelled on page 46, for example. However, the great strength of this book is not its print, but its visuals – that is to say, the marvellous full-page, black and white portraits of each leader, all drawn by the author, herself.
Read the first book for the challenge of critiquing Granatstein, Hillmer and friends’ assessments of our prime ministers. Browse the second one for the pleasure of Irma Coucill’s portraits.
Larry A. Glassford – Faculty of Education. University of Windsor. Windsor, Ontario.
[IF]Social Studies | UA | 2000
Canadian Social Studies (2000 – ) is an indexed, refereed journal published quarterly on-line at the University of Alberta. It is a journal of comment and criticism on social education and publishes articles on curricular issues relating to history, geography, social sciences, and social studies.
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Iroquois Corn in a Culture-Based Curriculum: A Framework for Respectfully Teaching About Culture – CORNELIUS (CSS)
CORNELIUS, Carol. Iroquois Corn in a Culture-Based Curriculum: A Framework for Respectfully Teaching About Cultures. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1999. 294.p. Resenha de: BRADLEY, Jon G. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.1, 2000.
“The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism.”
Sir William Osler, 1902, Montreal Medical Journal
As I entered the staff room, I became an unintended participant in a mini-drama that was unfolding with all the fury and vitriol that such heated staff room debates can generate. The two teachers, standing toe to toe, were exchanging what any pupil would recognize as ‘those looks.’ Clearly, my unexpected entry had interrupted their oral exchange. Once determined that I was not of the school or of the Board and, in fact, was an outsider from the university, I became their self-elected referee. A winner and, thereby a loser, had to be determined and I had been chosen to render judgement!
Briefly, the two elementary teachers were arguing philosophies of education and, as we all know, this is in and of itself dangerous to do within school grounds. Teacher 1 had just erected her monthly hallway bulletin board display of grade five student work around the theme of Northland Indians. Teacher 2 had just seen the display and had commented to Teacher 1 that some of the pupils’ written and pictorial perceptions about native peoples were inaccurate. Additionally, Teacher 2 had apparently forcefully indicated that such “insensitive” and “ignorant” depictions had to be immediately removed. Teacher 1, as one might expect, took great personal umbrage to this criticism and had rebutted that pupil opinion was valid and it was not up to Teacher 2 to force her own ‘narrow’ beliefs on others. Enter the innocent university visitor.
“No matter what grade level – kindergarten to college level – whether in history, literature, or social studies, the stereotypes, omissions, and distortions about American Indians continue to pervade educational materials. What is the basis, the underlying assumption behind these images of the noble savage, savage savage, or the vanishing race?” (17).
Cornelius has written a most thought-provoking and, at times, disturbing book. This is not a volume for the faint-hearted! Cornelius asks some terribly important questions and openly challenges what many North Americans might well consider to be ‘truths’ and ‘facts’ about the First Nations peoples. Additionally, several precepts concerning general curriculum foundations and design are challenged by Cornelius. Unlike many other volumes that centrally seek a more literate or a more academically knowledgeable teacher, Cornelius asks the more difficult and deeply fundamental questions related to how minority groups are portrayed within our educational system. To a certain extent, Cornelius suggests that Native studies can only be accomplished with dignity if one operates from an assumption of cultural equality.
Basing her reflections on her own personal-practical knowledge as well as using the Haudenosaunee culture as a touch-stone, Cornelius creatively and delicately strips away imposed curriculum designs to reveal another that is deeply rooted in mystical pasts and cultural depths. Metaphorically centering the cultural dimension upon the power and spirit of corn, she deftly intertwines historical and contemporary issues so as to illustrate a multicultural curriculum in the making. Cornelius does not simply state or attempt to make a case for better, more or nicer native curriculum; rather, she offers the reader a grounded philosophical framework that emanates directly from the culture itself. In a sense, the reader is taken on a winding journey that weaves history and curriculum together in a meaningful entity and, in the process, forces the reader to confront the surfacing contradictions.
Iroquois Corn in a Culture-Based Curriculum provides educators at all levels with a model for curriculum development. This is a model that emphasizes cultural strengths and clearly offers an alternative to schema that suggest there is a dominant culture to which all others must be subservient.
Jon G. Bradley – McGill University, Montreal.
[IF]The Ugly Canadian: The Rise and Fall of a Caring Society – MURPHY (CSS)
MURPHY, Barbara. The Ugly Canadian: The Rise and Fall of a Caring Society. Winnipeg, Manitoba: J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing Inc, 1999. 152p. Resenha de: CLIFTON, Rodney. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.1, 2000.
This book is about the historical development of social welfare programs in Canada. In Barbara Murphy’s view, social activists through a long and tortured struggle have pieced ‘the caring society’ together. The book outlines, rather briefly, the struggle that these activists have had in developing the specific programs: programs to help injured workers, widows, and orphans, old age pensioners, and the unemployed, programs for family allowances, health care, and proposed programs for national pension schemes.
In the final two chapters Barbara Murphy examines the decline in welfare support during the 1990s. These two chapters provide the insight that readers need to understand the title of the book, The Ugly Canadian. She argues that Canadians have turned ugly because the substantial support that was previously given to the increasingly pervasive social welfare programs has been slowing down, leveling off, and in some cases declining.
She derides Canadians for turning against the progressive social welfare policies that were implemented in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. In her mind, Canadians are ugly because they have lost their compassion for their fellow citizens. One could, however, turn the argument around: Canadians are, on the whole, generous and compassionate people who have provided social services to millions of needy and destitute people for many years. Social programs in Canada are better developed and financed than those in most other countries.
Grudgingly, Barbara Murphy recognizes that the expansion of these programs was built on increasing taxes and borrowing money. She does not examine the fact that in the second half of the 20th Century, governments had been taking a growing share of the national income in taxes and using a considerable amount to pay for increasingly expensive welfare programs. She does not seem to recognize that there is a limit to the amount of taxes that can be extracted from citizens.
In addition, Ms. Murphy refuses to acknowledge that the development of these programs probably adversely affected the mediating institutions (such as churches, ethnic organizations, service clubs) that previously provided support to people who were suffering. Likewise, she does not acknowledge that increasing the support for people also, in many cases, increased their dependency on the state. Finally, a telling flaw in Murphy’s argument is that her proposal is anti-democratic. Without going through the normal democratic process, she would, if she had the power, increasingly tax Canadians to finance ever-expanding social welfare programmes.
If you want to read a book by an activist who clearly, but briefly, outlines the history of social programs in Canada, this book is for you. If you want to read a well-balanced assessment of these programs, both their strengths and weaknesses, this book is not for you. If you want to have a basic understanding of the history of social welfare, albeit largely from newspaper reports and editorials, then read chapters 1 through 7. Teachers who are teaching about social welfare programs in Canada could use this book as background reading. High school students could also use it, but they would need substantial guidance in understanding how the welfare programs have expanded over the last 40 years and the costs associated with this expansion. This book is very readable, but it is also very ideological.
Rodney A. Clifton – University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.
[IF]Wild West Shows – REDDIN (CSS)
REDDIN, Paul. Wild West Shows. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999. 314p. Resenha de: GILLIS, Michael J. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.1, 2000.
In this book Paul Reddin examines the evolution of Wild West Shows over a one hundred-year period. The author reviews four different shows beginning with George Catlin’s Wild West show in the 1830s and ending with Tom Mix’s movie career in the 1930s.
The first Wild West show was organized in the 1830s by George Catlin, the world-renowned painter of the Plains Indians. Catlin’s show set the model for all of the following shows by using authentic clothing and objects while recreating life on the Great Plains on a vast scale. The show’s entourage included hundreds of colorfully costumed Indians on horseback and a herd of buffalo. Action scenes included Indian ceremonial dances, a buffalo hunt, warfare, scalping and remarkable feats of horsemanship. Catlin’s purpose in putting together his Wild West show was twofold. First, it was a terrific opportunity for him to make money. Second, and more importantly, he hoped to “rally support for the Great Plains and the Indians and animals who lived there.” Catlin regarded the Plains Indians as noble savages who were victims of Euro-American expansion. His show, whether it was presented to the cheering crowds of New York City or London, was designed to educate the public on the plight of the Indians and “their noble natures and do them justice.”
Fifty years later, Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, unlike Catlin’s, glorified the frontiersmen rather than the Indians. Cody’s shows depicted the courageous and virtuous Americans withstanding repeated Indian attacks until finally the Americans were the clear winners of the west. Indians were portrayed as savages and obstacles to progress. The rattle of gunfire, galloping horses and elaborately staged Indian battles marked Buffalo Bill’s show. Cody often starred in the shows, arriving in just the nick of time to save stagecoaches, settlers and wagon trains from annihilation by ‘bloodthirsty’ Indians. His shows included all manner of horsemanship including racing, roping and riding, and eventually incorporated rodeo-style acts which became the centerpiece of the show. It was Cody, perhaps more than anyone else, who helped popularize the notion of the cowboy. The audiences loved the image of the gun-slinging desperados who rode horses and settled arguments with six-shooters. Like Catlin, Cody brought his show to Europe where crowds cheered the rustic westerners. Even the Pope was swept up in the enthusiasm and offered a papal blessing to mud-splattered cowboys and Indians in full war paint.
In the early 19th Century the Miller brothers, owners of the 101 Ranch in the Oklahoma Territory, formed their own wild west show. Unlike the others, this one was not a traveling road show. Instead, people came to the 101 Ranch to see the show. The Miller’s sought to recreate, on their vast ranch, a working replica of what they perceived to be the American West. The 101 Ranch employed hundreds of cowboys and a thousand Indians. Their acts included horsemanship, men and women in marksmanship competitions, buffalo hunts, Indian camp life, Indian attacks on a wagon train, and rodeo events. Unlike Catlin’s show where the Indians were the heroes, or Cody’s show where the cowboy was king, the Millers sought to elevate the ranch owners as the real founders and heroes of the American West.
The last of the four shows discussed by Reddin starred Tom Mix. Mix bridged the gap between live Wild West shows and silent movies. Employed by the 101 Ranch for a time, the athletic and hard-working Mix became the first true motion picture hero to adopt the cowboy persona. Mix’s show celebrated the victory of white America over the Plains Indians but in a muted fashion. World War I had left America and most of the world in a cynical mood and sick of bloodshed. His shows reflected this attitude by eliminating much of the violence long associated with Wild West shows.
Overall, this is a valuable book on several levels. It offers a succinct review of four Wild West shows by providing insight into important historical figures such as William Cody, Geronimo and Sitting Bull. In addition, it presents a valuable interpretation of how changes in American popular culture were reflected in the Wild West Shows. For teachers and students this book is a wonderful departure point for research and discussion on popular culture and the American West.
Michael J. Gillis – California State University, Chico. Chico, California.
[IF]Khmer American: Identity and Moral Education in a Diasporic Community – SMITH-HEFNER (CSS)
SMITH-HEFNER, Nancy J. Khmer American: Identity and Moral Education in a Diasporic Community. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1999. 237p. Resenha de: HOFFMAN, George. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.1, 2000.
In Khmer American Nancy Smith-Hefner examines the movement of Cambodians, most of whom were refugees, into the United States. She provides a moving portrait of their trials and tribulations as they attempted to adjust and make their way in a new society. She shows that they faced many of the same challenges that earlier immigrant groups, such as the Irish, Germans, Poles, Italians and others, had faced. At the same time, however, because of their cultural background and the circumstances of their arrival, there are also important differences.
Smith-Hefner’s account is not a history of Cambodian Americans. Rather it is an anthropological study of the Khmer (because the overwhelming majority of Cambodians are ethnic Khmer, the terms Khmer and Cambodian are both used in the book in reference to the language and the people of Cambodia) refugees and their families who live in metropolitan Boston and some neighbouring cities of eastern Massachusetts. The story is told largely from the perspective of the parental generation of Khmer refugees.
Since 1979 approximately 152,000 Cambodians have settled in the United States. Today the Khmer population of Boston and surrounding area is about 25,000. The city of Lowell, north of Boston, is said to have the second largest Khmer population in the United States after Long Beach, California. Most of the refugees, upon whom Smith-Hefner’s study is based, fled the horror of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The experiences under Pol Pot’s murderous regime exacted a high toll on the Khmer. Many of Cambodian refugees in the Boston area spoke openly when interviewed of having personally witnessed torture, rape and killings.
Khmer American includes a discussion of the basic beliefs and practices of Buddhism which, the author states, is essential for understanding Khmer culture. Khmer child rearing practices are described with particular emphasis on the moral education of children. Smith-Hefner shows that these beliefs relate directly to the cultural discontinuities that Khmer children face in American schools. Cultural practices in regard to sexuality and marriage are also explained, including a fascinating account of a Khmer wedding. Through examining these various social processes, it is shown how acculturation occurred and how a reconstructed Khmer identity emerged in the United States during the 1990s.
Khmer American is a well-documented study. It is based on an impressive amount of published and unpublished material which is referred to in the notes and references at the end of the book. As well, Smith-Hefner spoke with members of the Khmer community in the Boston region. She allows people to speak for themselves by quoting at some length from these interviews. Many of the excerpts are moving and filled with human interest. The author’s knowledge of the Khmer language adds greatly to her work. There are frequent references to the Khmer language and how certain key words can best be translated into English. The book shows an understanding of both traditional Khmer culture and contemporary American society. As a result the study contributes substantially to an overall interpretation of the immigrant experience in twentieth century America.
Both because of the subject and the academic level, it is unlikely that Khmer American will be widely read by Canadian high school students. However, they would find parts of it interesting and understandable. The book refers to inter-generation conflict between parents and their children over such matters as respect for elders, religion, dating and arranged marriages — subjects on which Canadian teenagers no doubt would express strong opinions.
Certainly history and social studies teachers could usefully apply the book to their classes. It provides an excellent description of Buddhism and Khmer culture. It contains a case study of a relatively unassimilated ethnic group within a multicultural society. This could be compared with earlier immigrant groups or with those of different cultural backgrounds. Another approach would be to compare the American experience with the Canadian. How many Cambodians came to Canada in the 1970s and 1980s, and how has Khmer culture fared in Canada? Do the two experiences prove or disprove the theory of an American ‘melting pot’ and a Canadian ‘mosaic’? In conclusion, I strongly recommend Khmer American. It is a serious academic study of an important and interesting subject.
George Hoffman – Weyburn, Saskatchewan.
[IF]
The Tramp Room – PATTERSON (CSS)
PATTERSON, Nancy-Lou. The Tramp Room. Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 1999. 149p. Resenha de: INNIS, Ken Mac. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.1, 2000.
Patterson’s fictional historical novel, The Tramp Room, deals with the daily life of Mennonites in the Kitchener area of Ontario, circa 1850. The strength of the book lies in her informative descriptions of daily life of the times, such as making sausages and linen. Another strength, and a real example for our society today, is how Patterson explains that everything was effectively utilized. The section entitled the “Spinning Room” is a good example of how every scrap of material was used for either patching clothes or in making quilts. The author certainly knows her history and is able to recreate an effective feel for life at the time. I was particularly taken with her ability to show how much time it took to produce everything from cloth to candles. The novel provides an excellent view into the daily life of pioneer women.
The Tramp Room would be most valuable to elementary students and teachers from grades 3 to 6. I would use it by reading selected chapters to reinforce a social studies concept about the past. It could also be useful as a resource to direct students to during project work. I would not, however, read the whole book to the class as I found it difficult to get in to the story. As well, the premise of the girl falling asleep and waking up in Joseph Schneider Haus in the 19th Century is one that is overdone and does not work well in this novel. The best parts of the story are those in which Patterson describes the daily and seasonal routines of life on the farm.
I found it refreshing to read a novel that emphasized kindness (the Mennonites’ willingness to take in the tramp boy) and the harmony of working together as a family with the environment. The Tramp Room would be a good addition to any elementary school library.
Ken Mac Innis – Sir Charles Tupper School. Halifax, Nova Scotia.
[IF]Nova Scotia: Shaped by the Sea – CHYCE (CSS)
CHYCE, Lesley. Nova Scotia: Shaped by the Sea. Toronto: Viking, 1996. 352p. Resenha de: WILLIE, Richard A. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.1, 2000.
Lesley Choyce obviously cares deeply for his adopted province and has written a book reflective of his own maritime sentiments and interests. His book is not a definitive or comprehensive study of Nova Scotia, but is, instead, a series of short and interesting episodes, roughly arranged in chronological order, encompassing selections all the way from the ancient geological legacy of continental drift to the deeply troubled Atlantic fishery of today. The result is a breezy, highly readable, and sometimes chatty romp through Nova Scotia’s past encompassing wide-ranging accounts of a mixed bag of fascinating characters and the diverse and sometimes tragic circumstances which surrounded them.
From the outset, Choyce makes it quite clear that he has no intention of writing objective history, nor of joining the ranks of traditional professional historians in the province. In fact, he seems quite happy to leave to others the painstaking tasks of original research and creative syntheses and to eschew the recognized themes of politics, economics, warfare and diplomacy which usually supply the content for the story of Nova Scotia. Despite the author’s disclaimer, readers who press on are certainly rewarded.
Roughly half of the book is devoted to the shaping of Nova Scotia prior to its golden age of sail in the 19th Century. Each episode is meant to be a good read (and they are): the Micmacs; the earliest explorers; the French and English colonial empires and their conflicts; the Acadian deportation and return; the defeat of Louisbourg and the founding of Halifax; immigrants and Loyalists; and finally, the influence of the American Revolution and the War of 1812 are all there. Many examples of lesser knowns such as John Cabot’s son Sebastian, who is given the lion’s share of credit for publicizing his father’s discoveries, are also included. Choyce also does not overlook opportunities to report on myths that have been shattered; mentioning, for instance, that the widely accepted Viking visits to Nova Scotia actually have a dubious authenticity. In reporting myths, however, he is perhaps too uncritical in his support of the views expressed by a Micmac historian, Dan Paul, when he repeats the not unchallenged view that the story of “the arrival of white settlers is a tragic tale of the degradation of a near-utopian society ” (18). While few historians today would dispute that European contact led to enormously negative or ‘tragic’ consequences for native populations, the second part of this often repeated myth, the idea that prior to European contact native populations lived in perfect harmony with nature, is an interpretation which has frequently been used to supply a convenient corrective to our modern collective guilt over our stewardship of natural resources.
The second part of the book is devoted to the period leading up to Confederation and its subsequent history as a province of Canada. One would normally expect in a history of Nova Scotia that the themes which have tied the province to the Canadian experience, including responsible government, railways, national policy, patronage and political party developments, federal-provincial relations, regional disparity and sectionalism would receive greater attention, but aside from some focus on Confederation, the Maritime Rights Movement and federal policy bungling, there is very little of this. Stories about brothels and reformers, of shipping disasters and triumphs, of inventors and famous sojourners (apparently revolutionary Leon Trotsky was once a prisoner at the Citadel in Halifax), of catastrophes and contraband rum, and of the explosive impact of two world wars on Halifax fill these pages, yet they seem to serve mainly as a backdrop for the author to get to the closing chapters of the book. The closing chapters are, refreshingly, the best in the book, and in them Choyce reveals what he believes has been and remains wrong with his Nova Scotia: the still deeply rooted racial prejudice that includes the shame of Africville; the environmental degradation of polluting harbors with untreated sewage; the devastated fishery; and, the continuing economic and social despair associated with Cape Breton coal mining.
Though Nova Scotia is written with an eye to that which is most interesting in Nova Scotia’s past, there are also many important things which are not examined by Choyce, a fact made even more apparent by notable omissions from his select bibliography. Nevertheless, the book certainly could be used by secondary-level students and teachers seeking an accessible source on Nova Scotia’s past, but for those seeking greater content, coverage, and interpretive depth, it would provide only a starting point for further study.
Richard A Willie – Concordia University College of Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta.
[IF]Uncertain Refuge: Italy and the Jews During the Holocaust – CARACCIOLO (CSS)
CARACCIOLO, Nicola. Uncertain Refuge: Italy and the Jews During the Holocaust. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995. 176p. Resenha de: TOTTEN, Samuel. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.1, 2000.
Uncertain Refuge is a fascinating book. Comprised of a series of interviews conducted by Italian journalist Nicola Caracciolo of more than sixty Italian Jewish survivors and some of their rescuers, this book explores the complex and unique way the state of Italy and the Italian people reacted to Nazi pressure to ostracize, isolate, and expel Jews to Nazi-dominated territories. The interviewees talk about how Jews were harassed, denounced, terrorized and, in some cases, saved. The cumulative effect of the interviews provide a telling picture as to why and how in Italy, an ally of Germany, 42,000 of the 50,000 Jews survived the Nazis’ efforts to murder them.
The annotation of the interviews constitutes a particular strength. Such annotations are helpful in assisting readers to gain a clearer and more in-depth understanding of certain personages, events, situations, and organizations. While the book also includes an appendix, “Historical Personnel, Organizations, and Places”, in which the annotations are located, an introduction to each interview establishing the historical context vis-à-vis the information contained therein would have been helpful.
In places Caracciolo has the unfortunate habit of interrupting the interviewees in mid-sentence. Over and above that, he often neglects to bring the interviewee back to the point of interruption, thus losing key information. At times, he also tends to ask two questions at once, and then neglects to answer both. In some instances, he also neglects to ask follow-up questions, thus leaving the reader wondering about certain issues.
All-in-all, though, this is an informative and interesting book on a significant topic. For those teachers who are intent on ‘complicating’ the study of history for their students, this book is a must. It will avail students of the important point that not all countries or people reacted in the same way to the Holocaust; and that, in fact, various circumstances, perspectives and belief systems dictated how governments and individuals acted under varying conditions.
Samuel Totten – University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
[IF]
Teacher Evaluation Policy: From Accountability to Professional Development – DUKE (CSS)
DUKE, Daniel L. Ed. Teacher Evaluation Policy: From Accountability to Professional Development. New York: State University of New York Press, 1995. 203p. Resenha de: DOWSETT, Eric. Canadian Social Studies, v.35, n.1, 2000.
Teacher evaluation policies stand at a cross-roads in North America. One road leads to a system created by legislators and special interest groups who push for competitive test score-driven, merit-pay and incentive-pay alternatives to a single salary scale. The other road leads to a system created collaboratively by educational stake-holders which follows a professional development orientation. Teacher Evaluation Policy is a scholarly work that is of value to members of teams working collaboratively to shape teacher appraisal systems. For those not involved in a collaborative effort, this text presents a clear argument for using collaborative action if the goal of improving instruction or successful school reform is ever to be realized.
The book is organized into nine chapters, with a useful index, which draw on the work of a number of authors through case studies and analysis from Britain and the United States. Duke’s introductory chapter creates the framework for the presentation of the case studies. He presents four central ideas for developing teacher evaluation systems over which policy makers have struggled in the past two decades: Accountability, Professional Development, Professionalism, and Pay for Performance.
Through the case studies, Duke demonstrates that past and future developments of teacher evaluation policies can be best understood in a political framework. Readers need to understand that change is the consequence of conflict and choice along with understanding why particular choices are made in order to make sense of policy formulations. Knowledge of the context is essential to comprehend choices which are made because teacher evaluation policies continue to evolve, even after adoption and implementation. Each of these case studies point to a generalized agreement “that teacher evaluation should: 1) serve professional development as well as accountability purposes; 2) differentiate between new and experienced teachers; 3) include training for teacher evaluators; 4) provide extended periods for professional development; 5) be shaped by local school systems; and 6) avoid direct links to pay for performance schemes” (174).
The book concludes with a cross-case analysis of the accounts which presents the conditions for creating new thinking about educational accountability and, with it, new changes in teacher evaluations. It is clear that the dual needs of accountability and improvement are not met through an individually focused accountability system. This new thinking represents an historic shift from a relatively exclusive focus on individual accountability to a combination of individual accountability and professional development. This shift is a result of people’s dissatisfaction with traditional teacher evaluation systems. Duke predicts that the evaluation of individual teachers, especially veteran teachers, will concentrate on professional development. The goal of accountability, on the other hand, will be addressed in ways other than the summative evaluation of individual teachers. Duke uses an analogy of a bomb disposal unit, where self-interest merges with collective interest, as an example of the type of challenge which fosters collective accountability. Successful schools of tomorrow will have a school culture that accepts collective accountability making everyone responsible for teacher development through a community of learners.
As a school administrator who has struggled with teacher evaluation and its role in school improvement, I appreciate the synthesis of research presented in this book. It validates a number of issues and concerns that have been experienced at the site-based level. The case studies afford the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of other’s experiences and draw parallels to one’s own situation. For those who wish a less detailed yet effective approach to the main ideas, one could read Chapters 1, 2, 8 and 9 to obtain a sense of where teacher evaluation policies need to be directed and still have a good grasp of this evolving field of school improvement.
Eric Dowsett – Neelin High School. Brandon, Manitoba.
[IF]