Click Background Resources for other materials. DD also includes two booklets of teacher background information specific to the intertwining of religion and nonreligion. The set of supplemental materials is most useful to social studies teachers who are teaching about religion. Now that many states are mandating teaching about religion in social studies courses, more and more classroom teachers are striving to produce academically objective units, lessons and presentations for varied belief systems. The DD lessons are particularly suited to such endeavors.
Religion is a realm in which there are many strongly held positions and deeply felt emotions.
Classroom teachers in public schools have a civic responsibility to uphold religious neutrality in both curriculum and conduct. Nonconforming Thinkers in History is useful in many domains other than religion and nonreligion. The Different Drummers lessons and activities grow out of a two-year curriculum development project in which the material was teacher reviewed, classroom tested, and then revised on the basis of pilot testing with students. The California State Department of Education approved the resulting module for legal compliance with respect to social content.