Editorial cartoons can be a great resource to use with 5th-8th grade students when examining current issues. How might you use this cartoon in a social studies class? Or, alternatively, what do you think of the point of view about "illegal" immigration that is being expressed by the cartoonist? Do you think his point is a valid one?Tuesday, August 21, 2007
And now, for a little historical perspective...
Editorial cartoons can be a great resource to use with 5th-8th grade students when examining current issues. How might you use this cartoon in a social studies class? Or, alternatively, what do you think of the point of view about "illegal" immigration that is being expressed by the cartoonist? Do you think his point is a valid one?
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I feel that editorial cartoons use humor to discuss important issues. One may be able to understand the humor easier and this can allow them to discuss their opinions on the topic. This editorial cartoon can be used to create a debate among the classroom on illegal immigration and how it currently is a major issue.
This political cartoon brings up the point that Caucasian Americans are so caught up in deporting illegal immigrants, yet they forget that they themselves are technically illegal immigrants. When Christopher Columbus and his crew sailed over to the "New World," no one invited them. They took over this land and stole it from the Native Americans. Before pointing fingers and pretending to be the authority on who does and does not belong in this country for whatever reasons, Caucasian Americans need to think about how they arrived to this country. Except for the Native Americans who were the original settlers of America, we're all illegal immigrants in a sense!
This issue is something that would be great for discussion in our classrooms. I know that this topic to me is scary for the fact that I am a white male and I feel that if I take a stand I am labeled racist. This is a land of opportunity, or so they want you to believe, I think that new immigrants should follow the rules like the rest of us that is all.
Jason's point really struck me. He is, as he said, a white male. In our society, that is the group that does have most of the power. As he said, because of his outward appearance, this makes it hard for him to really take a stand for or against anything without being labeled as a racist, sexist, etc. This made me think about the cartoon and how other, funny and sracastic depictions like it can almost make more of a point than an actual person speaking out. The author/artist is anonymous and brings a clear perspective out. Because of this, his/her message is taken more to heart and might be just the thing to get people/students really thinking about these issues.
Jason, you do bring up a good point and I cannot say that I disagree with you. In order to maintain order, the rules have to be applied fairly and justly to everyone. However, I think that what the cartoon is trying to get at is that Caucasian Americans who claimed this land theirs and took it from the Native American people are not all that innocent, either.
I feel this cartoon would be an excellent way to introduce 5th-8th grade students to the topic of illegal immigration. This cartoon shows how Caucasian Americans believe that other minorities are the only ones who are illegal immigrants, which is not the case. I believe that teachers need to teach students about how essentially Caucasian Americans are also considered to be illegal immigrants and this cartoon is a great way to do so. Teachers avoid teaching students about what really happened when Columbus “discovered” America because they want to steer clear of controversial topics. Students need to know that Columbus took America away from the Native Americas; therefore, Caucasian Americas are illegal immigrants. This cartoon could be used to start meaningful class discussions of many different subtopics of illegal immigration.
For me, this cartoon highlights two things that are crucial for social studies teachers: making connections between the past and the present (or between different historical events), and looking at issues/events from multiple perspectives. Whatever your position on the current immigration debate (and it's evident even from the posts so far that we don't all agree), I think it's important to acknowledge that this issue doesn't exist in a vaccuum. Immigration and movement have been important themes throughout this country's history, and while today's immigration context is different than when the first European explorers/invaders/settlers/conquerers came to what is now the U.S., it seems shortsighted to try to formulate a position on the current debate without taking the past into account.
Anna, I think you're right on target in terms of what the cartoonist is trying to say. So, to some of the rest of you, I repeat one of my earlier questions: Is his point a valid one or not?
And Jason, while I can understand where you're coming from as a fellow white male, I don't think you can or should shy away from stating your opinions as a teacher. Depending on the age of your students, they may indeed try to "label" you, but if that happens, I think it brings up a great opportunity to be explicit about your (and their)multiple identities. You're not just a white male, after all -- you're many other things as well. While being white and male obviously influence how you see the world, those parts of your identity don't completely define or explain your (or anyone else's) world view. If they did, then all White or Black or Mexican or Korean (or whatever) people would think alike, and we know that's not the case.
My mentor teacher used a great approach when dealing with Westward Expansion. She put up a painting titled "Manifest Destiny" and had the students write down their thought of the painting. The painting had an angelic figure in the foreground of a frontier landscape. She didn't tell the students anything about it, not even what it was called. I would use this cartoon in a similar way to see where my students are coming from and what they are thinking. Then as most of you said it would be a great way to transition into the topic of immigration.
In high school, one of my teachers used editorial cartoons. We would get a cartoon each week and then we had to interpret it and write a paper about what we thought it meant and why. I feel that this is not a good way to go about teaching because our grade in the class depended on our interpretation. I do think however, that it is a good way to introduce an issue/topic and get students interested.
I was just looking back at some old posts and I came across this cartoon that I must have missed before. I really like the idea of incorporating satirical cartoons into the curriculum. It brings up a good point that we are all immigrants and one should not point fingers. When I was in high school, we used political cartoons in my honors english class to discuss satire. Although some may view this as a difficult task, I believe that if taught properly, middle school students could see the satire and irony in editorial cartoons as well.
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