Few people knew Eleanor Roosevelt as well as author Joseph P. Lash, author of the Pulitzer prize-winning "Eleanor and Franklin." In this interview Lash talks about Mrs. Roosevelt's personal characteristics, her educational theories, the role she played in attracting minorities to the Democratic Party, and FDR's influence on her. (RM)

Presents a position statement of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). Reports that the NCSS objects to ability grouping in social studies. Argues that ability grouping disadvantages minority, handicapped, and low ability students. Suggests that ability grouping undermines the democratic ideals that should be the basis of the social…

Traces the Armenian experience between 1915 and 1918 when the Muslim Turks carried out a policy to eliminate the Christian-Armenian minority. Focuses on the distinction between massacres and genocide; the use of technology in facilitating mass murder; and the legacy of genocide. Includes maps and photographs. (NL)

Presents a basis of a history framework for program development in civics in Canadian schools. Identifies elements of government that are associated with civics and selects historical events through which to study these elements. Discusses the history of thought, history as a science, constitutional history, the government, leaders, and national…

Discusses efforts in New York City and New York State to revise and expand the social studies curriculum to reflect a multicultural outlook. Argues that the study of history must respect the integrity of the past and not teach myth as history. Includes ideas on promoting democratic values, teaching social history, and teaching imaginatively. (DK)

Describes exercises in which students create a fictional character from history and write a journal entry in a cooperative group activity. Discusses further assignments in which individual students create additional characters descended from the original for study of later historical periods. Suggests that the project demonstrates how historical…

Gives an historical overview of Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime. Describes the genocide that attempted to eradicate Buddhist monks, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Muslim Chams between 1975 and 1979. Argues the regime should still be held accountable and that the case should be tried in the World Court. (NL)

Argues that oftentimes simple parallel constructions and choice of examples reflect an unconscious bias in history textbooks. Reveals a number of these, particularly related to the United States' treatment of minorities in World War II. Advocates using strategies to identify and challenge biases in history textbooks. (MJP)

Describes an undergraduate education course on teaching in a multicultural society. Finds students to be multicultural illiterates, based on their lack of knowledge of multicultural terms. Suggests videotapes and textbooks for building students' multicultural knowledge base. Presents field activities that promote greater multicultural awareness.…

Claims denial of genocide has become a routine defense as a result of the United Nations definition of international crimes. Describes grounds for denial by various governments and list arguments they have made to justify genocidal policies. Argues some academics assist in the process of denial by using revisionist strategies. (NL)

Reviews recent research on sociocultural approaches to historical understanding and concludes that students' judgment of historical significance is substantially shaped by the social and cultural characteristics of the learner. Recounts several episodes revealing how minority and mainstream students differ in their trust of the authority of the…

Asserts that changing demographic patterns indicate that the fastest growing sector of school-age children is the language minority group. Contends that, although social studies might seem to be the ideal curriculum area for mainstreaming students, the need for literacy skills often makes it difficult for limited English proficient students. (CFR)

Urges that history not focus on world history to the extent that the histories of people of color are ignored or lost in the larger world view. Suggests that contemporary accounts of U.S. history be rewritten to integrate the experiences of diverse groups of people. Argues that such change can help eliminate racism. (DK)

Documents the systematic extermination of Jews, Gypsies, Blacks, and the handicapped by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. Notes eugenic and racial measures such as forced sterilization of mulatto and handicapped children were used. Discusses Nazi policies of deportations and mass murder. Identifies need for research to explain the racial context of…