This paper describes two activities used in a course that implemented the "Foxfire" approach for studying the local community of Rock Hill, South Carolina. The first activity, a unit on the family, encouraged discussion of students' families, presented poems exploring the details of family experience, and provided the opportunity for…

Reproductions of 19 photographs that document some of the families and history of the African-American community in Bloomington, Indiana, from about 1870 to 1920, are contained in this paper. The paper discusses the use of photographs in historical inquiry, and posits that the photographic image carries the power of witness to past peoples and…

Using the news media as resource material in the classroom is an excellent and under-utilized way to bring the reality and diversity of external politics into the classroom. Using that external reality in combination with the internal reality of the schools as unique political communities can provide a more complete and realistic civic education.…

A proposed project would develop a rural policy studies program for high school seniors in northern New York State. The program would deal with value positions as they pertain to the improvement of social conditions, use a variety of sources and kinds of knowledge, emphasize development and use of thinking skills, and concentrate on how knowledge…

Interesting and stimulating instruction in high school social studies may be achieved by using the community and its institutions as a laboratory for learning and by creating an on-going community resource inservice program. Effective ways to incorporate community resources in the curriculum include creating special sections on developing writing…

An impressionistic, interpretative analysis of information from direct observation, known informants, and interviews provides a picture of the life situation of Spanish American youth living in rural Taos County, New Mexico. Northern Taos County has experienced dramatic social change over the last several decades, altering the traditional,…