Phoenix teachers add regional history to lessons

PHOENIX (AP) – Students in a Phoenix school district are learning American history with some Southwest flavor.

Teachers in the Phoenix Union High School District are adding regional history lessons to social studies classes as part of a project funded by a federal education grant, the Arizona Republic reported.

Scott Cornelius was one of the more than 30 teachers who revised their coursework after attending seminars and visiting historical sites in Arizona.

“The history books in general are very East Coast-centric,” he said. “It doesn’t talk about the fact that Santa Fe is older than Boston.”

Katie Parod Hansen, the district’s social studies content specialist, said there are few references in U.S. history textbooks to events that students might connect with. Educators hope that students, most of whom grew up in the Southwest, can better comprehend history lessons if they can relate to the material.

Teachers also want students to see themselves in their history lessons. Minorities make up 95 percent of the district’s student body, and 80 percent of those students are Latino, according to district employees.

The district received a $1 million grant in 2010 as part of a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Phoenix Union teachers studied and attended seminars in California, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., and Yale University. They visited historical locations in Arizona including Mission San Xavier del Bac near Tucson and read 17 books to supplement history textbooks.

Now, teachers are incorporating the new lesson plans. Cornelius said he teaches a lesson on scout and explorer Kit Carson that’s called “American Hero or Indian Killer.” Carson, who died in 1868, was ordered by the U.S. Army to relocate 8,000 Navajo people from Arizona to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. An estimated 200 Navajos died.

Cornelius has students analyze Carson’s account and an account penned by a Native American.

Other lessons include mass deportations in Arizona after union conflicts in the 1800s and interviews with homeowners of historical homes in Phoenix.

Sydele Golston, who coordinated the grant for the district, said Phoenix students can learn and become involved with the city.

“The civic mission of schools is that you do social studies for a reason. ... It is to make better students better human beings,” Golston said.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com