Critical Thinking Essay P.2
Critical thinking through History
Citizenship - related history projects in schools
Target age: KS3 - KS4
Andrew Wrenn, Cambridgeshire's General Adviser for History, has been developing a series of Citizenship-related projects in schools. He has found numerous themes to explore and develop in relation to Citizenship, in different areas of the curriculum. His aim is 'to use an active approach to citizenship in order to motivate children. I want to prevent it becoming like traditional civics'.
He encourages students to develop their thinking skills by applying knowledge to critical analysis of human rights and identity issues. 'Part of the government's agenda is that citizenship requires people to think for themselves'.
A slave, subject and citizen ("Thinking Citizens" project) at Chesterton Community, College Students play the part of those with a stake in the slave trade and those in the abolitionist movement. 'An element of a person's citizenship is an analysis of identity. This particular scenario [Thomas Clarkson, abolitionist, confronting plantation owners] was triggered by some of the debate raised in the McPherson Committee report into the death of Stephen Lawrence'.
Interviews with students after these sessions demonstrate the effectiveness of such an approach; "I'd love to see this kind of work in other subjects. It's great being able to use drama to argue points." "You can't learn if you've got a closed mind. The whole point of this exercise is that you're put on the spot and you've got to think in ways you are not used to thinking. It helps you understand history so much more."
Andrew has designed a computer program with 20 artifacts showing aspects of the slave trade, which students then lies out on a display board and can, caption themselves. Pupils choose a specific viewpoint to adopt. For instance they can represent an African American Trust that is designing a museum for African American tourists.
