During the five-day unit, available this fall to high school teachers nationwide, students investigate the subject from several perspectives. They explore the evolution of the technology, values and ethics of war from the ancient Greeks to the Geneva conventions. They learn about the science that underlies atomic power and nuclear weaponry. The choices approach takes history one step farther by involving students in the choice. In one role-playing session, small groups of students attempt to persuade members of the Truman administration to adopt various courses of action, from dropping the bomb to arranging a demonstration of its potential to negotiating a peace with a nearly defeated Japan.
Students draw upon their earlier investigations to make their case.
That has proven to be a very effective pedagogical technique. The Choices for the 21st Century Project, an outreach program of the Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies at Brown University, produces three public affairs units every year and regularly updates them. Choices curriculum materials are being used in more than 3,500 high school classrooms nationwide. Students learn that history is a dynamic, complex process and that struggles over decisions really do matter. They come to see that the same history-making complexities are at work today, that real choices must be made, and that the informed opinions of citizens can make a difference.