Getting Unstuck #165: Why Focus on Writing in the Social Studies?

Because it’s the right thing to do.

Since I have found so much meaning in writing, I felt it was vert important for students in all disciplines, including mine in social studies, to discover the joys of writing as well.

— Aaron Pribble

Our guest

Aaron Pribble is a high school social studies teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area and author of the books Writing in the Social Studies: A Practical Guide for Teaching an Essential Skill; Teacherland: Inside the Myth of the American Educator; and Pitching in the Promised Land: A Story of the First and Only Season in the Israel Baseball League.

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Why this conversation matters

Today, we’re focusing on an important skill that educators can use to get themselves and their students unstuck – the development of writing skills. We all know that writing is an important life-long skill made even more necessary as the business world increasingly demands workers who are critical thinkers that can articulate points of view and make persuasive arguments. However, as we think about the deeper purpose of school, we would like to frame this conversation in terms of writing's ability to engage kids and help them develop agency.

Listen for

  • What skills writing helps students develop.

  • The connection between writing and social / emotion learning.

  • How writing has the potential to connect our inner thinking to others.

  • How teachers who don’t teach writing can begin to feel more comfortable with writing.

  • How to incentivize students to revise their work.

  • The importance of tapping into students’ intrinsic motivation.

We really need to teach skills through content if we want to have good graduates. In addition to that, I'd say we really need to teach writing in particular, and not just in social studies. If you could take a school where there was a real emphasis on writing, persuasive writing and other types of writing, I think that as a school as a system, you would produce some real real standout learners. And they would more empathetic, sharper, better communicators, and be more engaged citizens.

— Aaron Pribble

Connect with Aaron

Twitter

References

Richard Rothstein The Color of Law, a Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

Jeff Ikler