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The fictional story (that Father Theo inserts into his blog)of an exchange between a student and a teacher shares Father Theo's real feelings about what is being taught in the Social Studies Classrooms in Canada. The teacher in the mythical classroom states "the winners write history the way they want to hear it, and most times they don't tell the whole truth." Are History Teachers in Canada Liars? The second part of the blog Father Theo references historian James W. Loewen book called Lies My Teacher Told Me which evaluates Almerican text books for accuracy, balance, and how inclusive the are of minorities and their role in North American History. He argues that history text books "avoid, de-emphasized or misled in respect to sensitive topics, topics like racism, the class system, slavery and the resettlement of America". Although I do not agree with all of the article, it really made me take notice of my bias to my culture and how maybe I need to reflect on the feelings of other cultures when I create my history lessons.

This blog which is intended for teachers and academics, uses a short summary of a discussion between two friends at an education- themed discussion salon to investigate the importance of learning geography and memorizing geographical facts. It describes why it is important in social studies (Geography) that a teacher shows a student the relevance of the material they our learning as a way of motivating them. This point-counter point conversational debate investigates some unique perspectives on both sides of the issue and gives the reader some useful examples of how we use geographical facts in our everyday life without even knowing it. This topic would certainly strike up some interesting discussion in any classroom.

Found this blog which gives a link to the Ultimate Canadian History Site and a valuable critique of its usefulness and short comings. The Ultimate Canadian History Site offers unique ways to get students interested in Canadian history such as; sing along with a song entitled "Louis Louis Riel. The website also offers history quizzes that allow to students to find out which historical figures they are most like, and mini projects which are meant to encourage students to think about what it means to be Canadian. These history related class activities don't allow a simple little answer that we can all memorize before we move on to our next social studies lesson. Instead, it leads to more question and critical thinking. The link could be valuable when trying to reach students who need to be drawn in by media or funny curriculum related 'hooks'.

Here are a couple engaging videos that clearly illustrate how reaching the 7 billionth person on the earth will have an impact on our students. Also showing who the typical earthling looks, and lives. A great video for grade 8 geography...

Here is the other video which works well with it... The World's Most Typical Person http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/10/28/141792664/find-your-spot-among-worlds-7-billion-and-meet-the-most-typical-person