This book uses the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, as a touchstone for the importance and value of including place-based education in the social studies curriculum. Whitlock scrutinizes this local environmental issue to not only drive critical inquiry in the classroom, but also to show how the curriculum can propel valuable social change in the community. Each part of this book highlights critical place inquiry and place-based education with an overall inquiry question: How can schools respond to a community's needs? How can schooling be reimagined to center "place"? How can teacher preparation be place-based? What did we learn from the Flint crisis and where do we go from here? Individual chapters investigate the inquiry question by examining Flint and the Flint water crisis more specifically, as well as the lessons we can learn from Flint educators. Social studies teachers (pre-K-16) can use these experiences to inform their own approach to understanding their own places. Book Features: Employs narrative inquiry, including interviews with school officials, teachers, parents, and teacher educators. Offers key "takeaways" in every chapter to assist educators in applying place-based education principles to their classrooms. Written in an accessible journalistic style that is both scholarly and personal. Includes photographs taken by the author of real people and places in Flint that illustrate the story.
Annie McMahon Whitlock is an associate professor of history and social studies at Grand Valley State University, and a former middle school social studies teacher. She previously worked as an education professor at the University of Michigan-Flint.
Contents Foreword ?xiii Preface ?xv Introduction: How Did We Get Here? ?1 When Did the Water Crisis Start? ?3 Piecing It Together ?5 When Everyone Learned About Flint ?7 Dealing With It ?9 Social Studies and Critical Place-Based Education ?10 Are We Finished Yet? ?11 Part I: How Can Schools Respond to a Community's Needs? 1. ?A History of Innovative Education in Flint ?15 Manley and Mott: The Brains and the Bank ?16 Flint as the Leader in Community Schools ?16 Schools and Society ?18 Looking Back to Look Ahead ?19 Learning From Flint: Critical Place Historical Inquiry in the Classroom ?20 2. ?Why Flint? Teaching Conditions Amidst the Water Crisis ?23 The "Preloaded Distributional Injustices" of Flint ?24 Built With the Community in Mind ?26 Beyond "Normal": Teaching at Freeman ?27 Learning From Flint: Critical Place Inquiry in Geography ?30 3. ?An Uncertain Future for Education in Flint ?33 Community Schools Today ?34 Integrated Student Supports ?35 Extended Learning Time and Opportunities ?38 Family and Community Engagement ?39 Collaborative Leadership and Practices ?41 Learning From Flint: Place-Based School Improvement ?43 Part II: How Can Schooling be Reimagined to Center "Place"? 4. ?Designing Early Childhood Education in Flint ?47 Early Childhood Education and Lead Poisoning ?48 Childcare in Formal Settings ?52 Using Human-Centered Design to Respond to Early Childhood Needs ?54 Learning From Flint: Designing Place-Based Education ?57 5. ?Reggio-Inspired Education in Flint ?59 Reggio Emilia as Place-Based Education ?60 Building Place-Consciousness in a Reggio Toddler Classroom ?62 Preschoolers' Narratives of Flint ?67 Understanding Reggio as Social Studies Inquiry ?71 Learning From Flint: A Call to Research and Practice ?73 6. ?Montessori for Flint ?77 Montessori's Connections to Place-Based Education ?78 The Benefits of a Public Montessori Education ?79 Challenges for Public Montessori ?81 Montessori for Flint ?83 Learning From Flint: Incorporating Montessori Elements ?86 7. ?Flint's Place-Based Charter School ?89 School of Choice in Flint ?91 Flint Cultural Center: A Longtime Gem ?92 Flint Cultural Center Academy ?93 A Day at the Flint Cultural Center Academy ?95 Learning From Flint: Schoolwide Place-Based Education ?98 Part III: How Can Teacher Preparation Be Place-Based? 8. ?Place-Based Teacher Education in Flint ?103 Place-Based Teacher Education ?105 Uniquely Flint ?107 Co-Teaching ?110 School Culture Shock ?112 Partnering With Beecher Community Schools ?114 PBTE and Water Crisis Connections ?116 Learning From Flint: Literally ?118 9. ?Place-Based Social Studies Methods in Flint ?121 Place-Based Social Studies Methods ?122 Elementary Social Studies Methods in Flint ?124 Field Trips ?127 Right Under Our Noses ?130 Teaching Critical Geography ?133 Learning From Flint: Transforming Into Place-Based Teachers ?134 Part IV: Where Do We Go From Here? 10. ?What I Learned From Flint ?139 What I Learned About Flint ?140 What I Learned From Flint About Place-Based Education in Social Studies ?142 What I Learned From Flint About Myself ?143 Conclusion ?144 References ?145 Index ?157 About the Author ?167
"Using Flint as a fruitful case, Whitlock shows how place-based education is a powerful tool for teaching and learning with the youngest of students in early childhood education as well as post-graduate pre-service teachers." -Teachers College Record
