The Israeli Palestinian Conflict
Making Sense of the Current Situation in the Middle East
Background
Research
“When students see the connection between the concepts that
they are learning and the way they are used in the real world,
they are involved in contextual learning-learning that ties the
concepts to real world practices and life experience” (Harwell,
1999). Contextual teaching and learning offers students a chance
to establish relevance by connecting the curriculum with real
life skills. By establishing relevance through well-designed
contextual lessons, teachers increase student interest, understanding
and comprehension. Curriculum designed to reflect the needs of
students entering college or the workplace teaches students the
skills necessary to evaluate, think and make decisions on their
own. “Students learn from what they do and from what they
experience as a result of what they do” (Schlechty, 1997).
This kind of curriculum, combined with practical experience, enables
students to cope with situations they will inevitably encounter
in everyday life.
Einstein said that “imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Teachers must use their imagination to design curriculum and create
lessons that actively engage students. Teachers should not be
viewed as the sole source of knowledge in the classroom, but rather
“…teachers will need to be viewed as leaders and inventors.
The focus of leaders is on what they can get others to do, and
their effectiveness is realized through others. The focus of
inventors is to create products, systems, and services that solve
problems and meet needs.” “Teachers invent intellectually
engaging work for students and then lead them to do it” (Schlechty,
1997).
The idea of the teacher as curriculum maker began in the 1950’s
with John Dewey. “He emphasized the social aspects of learning
and viewed schools as places where students could practice democracy
and have opportunities to work together to identify and solve
problems” (Daniels & Bizar, 1998). The role of the teacher
was to design activities that would afford students opportunities
to identify and solve problems. Today, after falling out of favor
during the Sputnik Era, the idea of the teacher as curriculum
maker has again become favorable. This idea of the teacher as
curriculum maker has a number of implications for the social studies
teacher and student. The actions that teachers take, the decision
that teachers make and the curriculum that teachers create have
implications for students far beyond the classroom.
Teachers must ask themselves a few essential questions when designing
activities for students, if these activities are to be truly effective
and engaging. First, “what needs do students have that can
be satisfied by the work we have to offer?” Second, “what
new work might we invent or create that would meet these needs
better?” Finally, “what motivates this particular student,
and how can I present or design work that responds to these motivations?”
(Schlechty, 1997) While these three questions are essential to
effective curriculum development, the role of the teacher implied
within these questions is of equal importance. That is, the teacher
is a model for students as a reflective practitioner and a life-long
learner.
The body of research that exists in support of reflective practice
in education is extensive. “John Dewey described reflective
practice as an ‘active, persistent, and careful consideration
of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the
grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which
it tends…’” (Dewey, 1933, as cited in Serafini,
2002). By this definition, the process of “becoming a reflective
teacher is a conscious, systematic, and deliberate process of
framing and reframing classroom practice in light of the consequences
of our actions, democratic principles and the beliefs, values,
expectations and experiences that we as teachers bring to the
teaching-learning event” (Serafini, 2002). However, reflection
by a teacher can be modeled and observed by students. “Most
of what students learn comes from what they do, which includes
imitating, listening, creating, muddling around and talking”
(Schlechty, 1997). Reflective practice can be applied, by teacher
and student, to all disciplines and situations regardless of location
or setting. “Learning involves action (thought is a form
of action), and it requires experience” (Schlechty, 1997).
Improvement, in any form, has never been frowned upon or discouraged-
only rewarded.
Historical inquiry and research is the cornerstone of all disciplines
within the social studies. Inquiry inevitably leads to answers,
but more importantly inquiry leads to more questions. Thus,
researchers are constantly creating more questions to answer.
Teachers, as reflective practitioners, are constantly conducting
their own research. “It is vital that we help all of our
students to become intelligent thinkers, a first step in fostering
lifelong learners” (Daniels & Bizar, 1998). An effective
teacher must then be a passionate, life-long learner and model
that behavior for their students. “Sharing one’s passion
during the germinal stages of research models a love of learning
and a desire to know more that is at the heart of nonfiction inquiry”
(Harvey, 1998). Teachers can share with students the processes
and sources used to answer a question, or develop a unit, in order
illustrate learning as a life-long process essential to any successful
career. Donald “Graves speaks eloquently about teachers
being learners first, demonstrating their own learning and commitment
and thereby showing students that learning is important enough
for all to do” (Harvey, 1998). Continuing education, workshops,
seminars and in-service training have been, and continue to be,
an integral part of all professions and occupations that value
success, growth and improvement.
“Emile Durkheim observed that ‘education, far from
having as its unique or principal object the individual and his
interests, is above all the means by which society perpetually
recreates the conditions of its very existence’” (Durkheim,
1956, as cited in Schlechty, 1997). Teachers, who are reflective
practitioners and life long-learners, model their behaviors in
the classroom for students to observe, imitate and learn. Contextual
teaching and learning offers students a chance to establish relevance
by connecting the curriculum with real life skills. Reflection
and life-long learning, combined with a curriculum that embraces
contextual learning, offers students unlimited opportunities for
success inside and outside the classroom. Curriculum designed
to reflect the needs of students entering college or the workplace
teaches students the skills necessary to evaluate, think and make
decisions on their own. “Students learn from what they do
and from what they experience as a result of what they do”
(Schlechty, 1997).
Content
Actively engaging students in the analysis of primary documents
to promote critical/historical-thinking skills in the social studies
classroom has long been a challenge for teachers. However, integrating
primary documents and historical thinking activities into the
curriculum has become easier with the widespread access to the
internet and digital historical resources in our public schools.
Lessons that effectively utilize digital resources are increasingly
important because “the use of these digital historical resources
involves the application of traditional historical skills as well
as a variety of new skills related to the digital characteristics
of the materials.” Computer and research skills have value
to students inside and outside of the classroom, whether entering
college or the workforce. Our lesson will be used in United States
history classes at Cherokee High School utilizing digital historical
resources, computer skills and internet research strategies to
examine the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The central aim of the historian is to understand and interpret
past events.” (Yeager & Foster, 2001) By understanding
and interpreting past events, we can better assess present day
situations. The focus of this unit will be to examine the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The situation in Israel, historically, is one
of the most multifaceted and explosive of all world conflicts.
The essential issue in the seemingly endless, violent dispute
is Israeli and Palestinian nationalism. Our objectives are
to put the conflict into perspective, to obtain unbiased, factual
information regarding the conflict, to recognize the validity
and variety of both Palestinian and Israeli perspectives on the
fundamental issues, and to develop student computer and research
skills. Students will begin the unit by examining seven
topics with the goal of obtaining the knowledge necessary to begin
to understand the present situation in Israel, which will inevitably
affect the entire world. Throughout the investigation, students
will be working “…towards the construction of personal,
yet reasoned, perspectives and explanations” (Lee, 2002)
regarding the present situation confronting Israeli’s and
Palestinians. How can the Palestinian
and Israeli states resolve their conflict in such a way that both
groups have their own sovereign country?
Objectives
*For a complete list of Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum
Standards, please visit http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/.
·
Standard: Describes
the development and nature of public opinion in America.
·
Standard: Assesses
the influence of propaganda and media bias in the formation of
public opinion.
·
Standard: Identifies
and analyzes the constitutional powers a president has at his/her
disposal and how various presidents have used or been unable to
use those powers.
·
Standard: Discusses
the conflict between individual/group rights and absolute/limited
freedoms.
·
Standard: Examines
the sources of sovereignty of Political Systems
·
Standard: Examines
how selected Political/Economic Systems change over time
·
Standard: Describes
and explains changes in selected political and economic systems
in the 20th century
·
Standard: Investigates
commitment and participation in religious activity
·
Standard: Assesses
the influence of religion on culture
·
Standard: Identifies
and examines commonalties found in all religions
·
Standard: Examines
the origin and development of the beliefs of Judaism
·
Standard: Evaluates
the roles of sects and tradition in Judaism
·
Standard: Examines
the performance of ritual in Judaism
·
Standard: Assesses
the impact of Judaism on other areas of world culture
·
Standard: Examines
the origin and development of the beliefs of Islam
·
Standard: Examines
the development of sects and their influences in Islam
·
Standard: Analyzes
the influence of religious hierarchy in Islam, especially as related
to theocracies
·
Standard: Examines
the performance of ritual in Islam
·
Standard: Assesses
the impact of Islam on other world cultures
·
Standard: Classifies
ideas according to the frame of reference, ideology, or bias of
different writers or speakers.
·
Standard: Analyzes
cause and effect relationships.
·
Standard: Analyzes
interpretations of same event from different sources.
·
Standard: Acquires
and processes information by using thought processes (recall,
translation, interpretation, application, analysis, synthesis,
evaluation).
·
Standard: Distinguishes
between fact and opinion.
·
Standard: Determines
the sequence of events required for a given historical interpretation.
·
Standard: Locates
and interprets data from multiple types of sources, e.g., newspapers,
specialized references, periodicals, computer databases and internet
sources.
·
Standard: Selects
appropriate resource to gather data.
·
Standard: Collects
evidence using appropriate, reliable data.
·
Standard: Accepts
or rejects hypotheses on the basis of collected evidence.
·
Standard: States
in a conclusion the acceptance or rejection of hypothesis or interpretation.
·
Standard: Cites
short and long-range positive and negative consequences of alternatives.
·
Standard: Chooses
a reasonable solution from among the various alternatives
·
Standard: Identifies
areas for future study.
·
Standard: Works
within a group, following set rules of procedure, to complete
an assigned task.
·
Standard: Formulates
and defends positions on an issue.
·
Standard: Relates
the past to the present in the study of change and continuity
in human affairs.
·
Standard: Uses
maps and globes to analyze geographic settings of historic and
current events.
·
Standard: Identifies
the topics of current social, economic
or political interest.
·
Standard: Identifies
sources of information
- the media, computer networks.
- distinguishes fact from opinion in sources, and
- validates sources as to their authority, credibility and possible
bias
·
Standard: Recognizes
and explains how different points of view have been influenced
by race, religion and ethnicity.
·
Standard: Describes
the concept of the shrinking world.
·
Standard: Discusses
human rights issues in various countries in the world.
·
Standard: Discusses
causes and the impact of terrorism on world politics.
·
Standard: Describes
issues involved in various world conflict regions.
·
Standard: Analyzes
the impact of the ideological struggles among nations.
·
Standard: Explains
why countries trade and how economic specialization promotes interdependence
among nations.
·
Standard: Examines
historical factors affecting the immigration of Middle Eastern
groups.
·
Standard: Identifies
the origin and nature of problems of Middle Eastern groups in
the United States.
·
Standard: Describes
the impact of Middle Easterners on the political, economic, social
and cultural life within the United States.
·
Standard: Identifies,
describes, and analyzes ethnocentrism.
·
Standard: Describes
the role of patriotism; ethnic, racial and cultural identify;
religious fanaticism; prejudice and intolerance.
·
Standard: Traces
and analyzes selected cultural, economic, political and historical
patterns in post-World War II Middle East ( e.g., West Bank, Arab
Oil Embargo, Camp David Accords, Iranian Hostage Situation, Desert
Storm).
·
Standard: Describes
the origin and nature of terrorism (e.g., Northern Ireland, Bosnia).
·
Standard: Analyzes
the powers and effectiveness of the United Nations.
·
Standard: Analyzes
the difficulty of developing and enforcing international standards
of human rights.
·
Standard: Analyzes
United States foreign relations from 1961 to present:
- Cuba (Bay of Pigs, Missile Crisis)
- Latin America (Panama, Nicaragua-Contras)
- Mexico and Canada (Trade Agreements, immigration)
- Vietnam and Southeast Asia (Vietnam War: origins, issues, results)
- Middle East (oil embargoes, Iranian hostage crisis, Gulf War)
- U.S.
- Israel Relations (Camp David Accords)
- China (Nixon policies), and Standard:
Discusses the crises of the late 20th Century.
A. Conflicting nationalisms
-Middle East (Arab-Israeli conflicts)
-South Asia (partition of India)
-Africa
B. Revolutions of rising expectations
-China
-Eastern Europe
-Latin America
- Africa (Apartheid).
·
Standard: Uses
electronic databases to perform research.
- Uses electronic encyclopedias, almanacs, indexes and catalogs
to retrieve and select relevant information.
- Uses local and wide-area networks and modem-delivered services
to access and retrieve information.
·
Standard: Develops
skills in discussion, debate, and persuasive writing.
- Evaluates different assessments of causes, costs and benefits
of major events.
- Develops and presents arguments to support own interpretation.
·
Standard: Relates
the past to the present in the study of change and continuity
in human affairs.
Materials
·
Personal computers with:
·
Internet access,
o Microsoft
Word (or other word processing software),
o Microsoft
PowerPoint (or other presentation software).
·
Overhead projector or television with a presenter
connected to a personal computer with Microsoft PowerPoint (or
other presentation software).
Procedures/Activities
Day One- Students will be introduced to the lesson and
provided with an overview of the assignments and activities they
will be participating in over the course of the unit. Students
will then be assigned historical inquiry questions to complete
individually using the internet and digital databases. Suggested
inquiry questions that students will begin researching:
·
What is the key issue in the Palestinian/Israeli
conflict? Explain.
·
Does Israel have a right to exist? Why?
·
Does Palestine have a right to exist? Why?
·
What demands/concessions is each side making/expecting
in order to establish peace?
·
Where should the borders of the countries be (the
land for peace issue)?
·
How should the issue of resettlement be handled
(Israelis living in Palestine and Palestinians living in Israel)?
·
Should the violence in Israel have to stop before
negotiations begin?
·
Why do think peace efforts in this region have thus
far been unsuccessful?
·
How can the Palestinian and Israeli states resolve
their conflict in such a way that both groups have their own sovereign
country?
These questions and selected web resources are located at http://www.wguyclarke.com/inquiry_questions.htm
.
*Stress interpersonal skills necessary to facilitate in-class
discussion due to the controversial nature of the subject.
Day Two- Teacher led lecture/discussion of the history
of the Israeli Palestinian territory. Those topics will be divided
into the following time periods:
·
Ancient Israel and Palestine
·
Actions taken by the League of Nations
·
The British Mandate
·
UN actions
·
The State of Israel
·
The 6-Day War and the aftermath
·
The Intifada
These questions and selected web resources are located at http://www.wguyclarke.com/israeli.htm
and http://msit.gsu.edu/socialstudies/my/IP_sites.htm.
A timeline of recent key events should also be distributed to
students prior to the teacher led lecture/discussion. Teachers
may want to use the following web site as a resource: http://www.mideastweb.org/timeline.htm.
Day Three- Independent research on the internet. Students
should continue and complete historical inquiry questions to be
turned in and discussed in-class on day four. Students should
complete the questions for homework, if needed.
Day Four- Continue teacher led lecture/discussion of the
history of the Israeli Palestinian territory and historical inquiry
questions.
Day Five- Continue and complete the teacher led lecture/discussion
of the history of the Israeli Palestinian territory and historical
inquiry questions. Student research topics regarding the Israeli
Palestinian conflict should be discussed and chosen for by the
students for groups to research, complete and present to the class.
How students will be assessed regarding the presentation should
also be discussed at this time.
Day Six- Group research on the internet and preparation
for group presentation.
Day Seven- Group research on the internet and preparation
for group presentation.
Day Eight- Group research on the internet and preparation
for group presentation. For homework, groups should turn in three
to five questions regarding their research topic on day nine to
be used on a “test” over the unit. The questions should
be reviewed by the instructor and compiled into a suitable assessment.
Day Nine- Group presentations to the class. Students
may want to use Microsoft PowerPoint to conduct their class presentation
or other visual aides.
Day Ten- Group presentations to the class. Students may
want to use Microsoft PowerPoint to conduct their class presentation
or other visual aides.
Day Eleven- Students will be given the compiled homework
questions regarding the student research topics to be completed
in-class.
Assessment
Students will be assessed on their responses to the historical
inquiry questions, the student chosen research topic and presentation,
and the student generated questions regarding their research topics.
Exactly how the presentations should be assessed should be determined
and discussed with students before students begin their research.
Historical inquiry questions and student generated test questions
may be assessed for accuracy, completion, practicality and/or
soundness of argument.
Bibliography:
Daniels, H., & Bizar M. (1998). Methods that matter: Six
structures for best practice classrooms. Maine: Stenhouse.
Harvey, S. (1998). Nonfiction matters: Reading, writing, and
research in grades 3-8. Maine: Stenhouse.
Harwell. S.H. (1999) Why do I have to learn this? Workbook.
Texas: CCI.
Harwell, S. H., & Blank, W. E. (2001). Promising practices
for contextual learning. Texas: CCI Publishing.
Georgia’s Learning Connection. Georgia Department
of Education. (1999). Quality Core Curriculum Standards.
http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/.
Lee, J. (2002, March). Historical thinking and social studies
students uses of digital historical resources. Unpublished
project summary.
Serafini, F. (2002). Reflective practice and learning. Primary
Voices, 10(4), 2-7.
Schlechty, P. C. (1997). Inventing better schools: An action
plan for educational reform. New York: Jossey-Bass.
Yeager, E., & Foster, S. (2001). The role of empathy in
the development of historical understanding. In O.L. Davis, E.
Yeager, S. Foster (Eds.), Historical empathy and perspective taking
in the social studies (pp. 13-19). Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. (1998). New standards
for teaching and learning in America’s schools. 2nd
ed. New Hampshire: Heinemann.
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