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Article: Elementary students in substantive culture learning.(Elementary Education)
- Article from:
- Social Education
- Article date:
- May 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 National Council for the Social Studies. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In today's culturally diverse and interconnected world, elementary teachers have a primary responsibility for opening students' eyes to the world and its peoples. Without understanding diverse cultures locally and globally, young people cannot make sense of issues and events that affect their lives nor can they make informed economic, political, and environmental decisions.
Yet there are conflicting pressures that often obstruct culture learning. Time constraints--such as a curriculum mandate that reduces the teaching of Middle Eastern cultures to one week--often lead to superficial treatment of complex cultures. Monetary constraints often mean students see films ...