The Curriculum Resistor
A history teacher who refuses to teach accurate historical content about slavery and colonialism, claiming it is too political.
16 min
Duration
About this persona
James Collins teaches 10th grade US History at a suburban high school. He has been teaching for eighteen years. He believes he is protecting students from political indoctrination by declining to emphasize the brutality of slavery and the long-term effects of racial policy. He calls this balance. His colleagues call it selective omission.
Scenario
You are a curriculum coordinator or department head meeting with James Collins after student complaints indicate he has been minimizing slavery in ways that misrepresent the historical record. James believes he is being singled out for his political views.
Skills tested
- distinguishing fact from opinion in a politically charged conversation
- holding curriculum standards against personal resistance
- confronting selective omission without triggering defensive shutdown
- navigating claims of balance that produce imbalance
- protecting student educational rights professionally
What you'll practice
- How to distinguish historical fact from political opinion in a professional conversation
- The difference between balance and selective omission
- How to hold curriculum standards against sincere but resistant non-compliance
- What it sounds like to protect a student educational right without making the teacher the enemy
Personality traits
Practice this conversation
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