Teaching Humanities

Because the humanities are heavily dependent on reading and writing, this article will touch on literary criticism, along with social and cultural trends that have affected the humanities. Various applications are discussed in terms of how to approach the humanities as a whole, rather than only in the standard departmental approach. This article also provides an overview of the changes in the teaching of humanities and includes a discussion of some of the current issues.

Keywords Curriculum Integration; Empiricism; English; Globalization; History; Humanism; Interdisciplinarity; Interdisciplinary Curriculum; Liberal Arts; Literature; Music; Multidisciplinary Curriculum; Performing Arts; Pragmatism

Overview

The term humanities refers to a broad range of disciplines that attempt to explore and develop human qualities. Historically, the humanities, in one form or another, can be traced to the liberal arts of ancient Greece and Rome. Although the organization and division of what constitutes the humanities has changed over the centuries, one major dividing line has remained consistent, and that is the line of empiricism. On one side of the line are the humanities, with critical thinking & reading, speculation and analysis; on the other is empirical research, scientific method and the like. In other words, the main difference is one of how knowledge is explored and gathered.

After this initial polarity, many other divisions emerge. At the college level, for example, Kernan (1997) indicated that there are three main branches to the liberal arts: the humanities, the social sciences and the physical sciences, which are all separated from the professional disciplines. At the middle or high school level, the divisions are usually similar: dividing often along the lines of the humanities, mathematics and sciences, and vocational studies.

Further divisions often separate the humanities into specific departments. According to Kernan (1997), "the humanities are the subjects regularly listed under that heading: literature, philosophy, art history, music, religion, languages, and sometimes history" (p. 3). Most middle and high schools have similar divisions, although few have a philosophy department or a specific art history department. In terms of humanities, a typical public school has departments for: English, history, music, arts, language and sometimes performing arts when it is not part of the arts department.

The humanities, being heavily reliant on writing and reading, have followed many of the trends in the practice of reading. As Kernan (1997) noted, "The humanities might almost be said traditionally to have been elaborate exercises in various kinds of reading and writing" (p. 9).

Easily the most influential event in the early part of the twenty-first century has been the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. This massive reform created standards for students and teachers alike and tied federal funding to test performance. On the negative side, the NCLB has possibly created a sweeping culture of "teaching to the test" where teachers, concerned about the results their students get on the standardized tests, are focusing heavily on the test material. In some situations this practice results in students who have strong test taking skills and specific knowledge, but they lack other skills and may not know how to learn on their own. In the worst cases, teachers are even supplying their students with test answers, sending the students subversive messages about the value of school and education.

On the positive side, the NCLB has created clearer standards for holding schools and teachers accountable. With these clear expectations, students are supposed to have equitable educational opportunities. However, issues still remain with inequities of resources, funding, buildings, class sizes and more. In the humanities, in particular, funding and standardized tests are serious issues.

Applications

The standard application of teaching the humanities in public schools is to separate into departments, where each can focus on a specific aspect. In this traditional model, art teachers teach art, music teachers teach music, history teachers teach history, etc. There is often little or no crossover, since class sizes, complex schedules, specific knowledge and expertise requirements, standardized tests, and other factors can make combining disciplines difficult.

A number of applications exist in practice that can help create more cohesion from an otherwise fragmented approach to the humanities. Co-teaching, team teaching and thematic teaching, for example, can help bring some cohesion to the humanities, but they still fragment learning. From a student's perspective, for example, art begins and ends one period, followed by history, then English and so on.

Some applications of teaching the humanities attempt to cross over the boundaries of the disciplines. Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary models of teaching, for example, both focus on weaving several disciplines together. The boundaries still remain, however. Having teachers generalize into several disciplines, rather than staying focused in one, has consequences.

Other applications attempt to ignore the barriers that separate not just the humanities, but all the disciplines as well. Curriculum integration and certain types of project-based learning, for example, focus primarily on the learning process itself, and not on disciplines.

The following approaches are examples of various applications that explore the humanities in different ways.

Co-Teaching/Team Teaching

Co-teaching can help bridge some of the disciplines together. In a common form of such a model, an English teacher and a social studies teacher coordinate to study the same time period. The English teacher focuses on the literary elements, drawing on poetry, short stories and novels that are poignant to the time. The social studies teacher provides the historical background and approaches the same time period using primary sources and historical events. In some co-teaching models, a group of students has two teachers in the same classroom, allowing each of them to bring his or her experience and expertise to the course of study.

In team teaching, several teachers coordinate as a team to study the same thing, such as a time period like the 1960s. In this model an entire team, all of the sixth grade teachers, for example, coordinate to deliver the curriculum. Each teacher contributes his or her discipline toward the topic. Not only does this help bring together all of the humanities, it may even bring together all of the school subjects.

Thematic Teaching

In thematic teaching, a broad or abstract theme is used to bridge the disciplines and even grade levels. An entire school, for example, could study perseverance. In the English classes the students might read short stories about people not giving up. In the history classes, the students might learn about historic figures and the traits that allowed them to succeed through adversity. The science teachers might teach about the concepts of momentum and inertia. As with co-teaching or team teaching, the teachers contribute to the curriculum from their specific areas of expertise (Postman (1995).

Interdisciplinary / Multidisciplinary

In these approaches, teachers attempt to bring the disciplines together. An art teacher teaching about a certain era, for example, may have the students listen to pieces of music, read poems and short stories, and study primary documents in addition to the learning about the art of the time. The students then draw on their understandings from the other disciplines to inform their choices as artists for the project that the teacher assigns. Beane (1997) provided clear descriptions of these forms and how they differ from others.

Curriculum Integration / Project-based Learning

In curriculum integration and project-based learning the curriculum is student-centered and entirely, or almost entirely, driven by the interests of the students. The learning that takes place does not have to fall into the traditional disciplines. Those interested in more about curriculum integration should check out Beane (1997); for project-based learning of this nature, Starnes and Carone (1999).

Viewpoints

Although there are different applications of how to go about teaching the humanities, whether through a traditional departmental model or through a cross-curricular model, there are also considerations of what to teach versus how to teach. The disciplines in the humanities represent a huge body of knowledge. An entire humanities department could be devoted to literature for four years of high school and still only manage a fraction of what exists in print. The same is true of history and the arts, as well as foreign languages. Therefore, schools, departments and teachers must operate from a viewpoint to narrow the scope of the humanities and create manageable goals.

There are many viewpoints of what to teach in the humanities, ranging from curricular models that focus on a more classical approach, to those that embrace the more recent movements. Illuminating three viewpoints should delineate the territory. Some schools entirely embrace one viewpoint, while others departmentalize, and still others change views at various grade levels. Looking at teaching about Shakespeare can elucidate these larger viewpoints.

Cultural Literacy

Is reading Shakespeare vital and necessary? Is Shakespeare so critical and specific to the Western world that all or most U.S. students should read and be familiar with his works? Is knowing about Shakespeare part of being literate, even in today's society? Are there fixed understandings of Shakespeare's works? One of the main viewpoints of what may be considered a more classical approach is the idea of cultural literacy. In the book The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, for example, Hirsch, Kett & Trefil (2002) outlined a body of knowledge that they believe all students should know in order to be culturally literate. With this type of viewpoint the humanities is a somewhat fixed body of knowledge that all students should know, and, therefore, teaching Shakespeare is essential.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Or is the importance really about the skills of critical reading, reflection, and analysis? Is the ability to read Shakespeare the essential part? Is Shakespeare in this sense mostly a means to an end? Howard Gardner and many others are more concerned about how students think, rather than what students think, especially in the humanities where answers are not always clear. As Gardner (1991) wrote, "Indeed, in the humanities, the raising of questions, rather than the adoption of a single line of argument or the selection of the best among a finite set of alternatives, is often the deep goal of the lesson" (p. 173-4). With this type of viewpoint the humanities is more for developing thinking skills, and, therefore, teaching Shakespeare is not mandatory.

No Longer Relevant?

Or has Shakespeare become irrelevant to the modern school student? Despite the universal themes found throughout Shakespeare's plays and sonnets, are the messages lost in the distance of the past? Is the written word losing its hold on the modern mind? With the changing demographics in the United States, maybe studying Shakespeare has become unimportant. With increasing need to better understand other cultures and people, perhaps schools should focus on multicultural or anti-bias curricula, especially in areas with diverse student populations. With numerous cultures and languages to explore and understand, with authors and artists from around the world to study, there is no room in the curriculum for Shakespeare. With this type of viewpoint the humanities is more for creating cohesion amongst diverse people, and, therefore, teaching Shakespeare is not relevant.

Issues

Literacy & the English Teacher

One of the issues that faces the humanities is that of literacy. Often, English teachers are burdened with the responsibility to develop the reading and writing skills of the students. However, some English teachers have 100 or more students, making the process of assessing and grading student writing time consuming and potentially not thoroughly educative. With the breadth of many literature curricula, students may become widely read, yet still lack essential literacy skills. Because of this, many schools have developed programs that stress reading and writing across the curriculum, thereby spreading the monumental task of literacy throughout the school.

Uneven Preparation

Some disciplines, like mathematics, are linear in the sense that there are clearly defined levels and prerequisites for further study. Addition and subtraction in the United States is not going to be significantly different than elsewhere. Other disciplines, like those in the humanities, are not linear in the sense that beyond the basic building blocks, there is not a clearly defined body of knowledge. What is taught in one location may not be the same as elsewhere, even within the U.S. For example, world literature might be taught at tenth grade in one school, ninth in another and eleventh in another. In some districts world literature might be a semester-long class, while in others a two-year course of study. Some schools may even break world literature into components, teaching poetry, short stories and novels as separate classes. This is particularly true of the arts and foreign languages. Some districts do not have foreign language programs at the middle school level, whereas other districts begin instruction in kindergarten. There are state and national standards for the humanities, but variations in factors like implementation, scheduling, foreign language choices, budgets, and textbooks still create situations where students are unevenly prepared.

Media & Reading

Teachers in the humanities have always had to make adjustments to the changes in society, but perhaps the last two decades more than ever, more than any other time in history, have made significant and permanent changes. For hundreds of years the process of reading was basically the same, with some variations in literary theory, and additions of new genres, such as the essay or the short story. However, with the advent of the computer and the proliferation of the Internet, with students spending more time in front of the television and less time with books, the process and value of reading seems to have taken a dramatic turn. As Birkerts (1994) noted, "The advent of the computer and the astonishing sophistication of our electronic communications media have together turned a range of isolated changes into something systemic" (p. 15). We may be reaching a time where students cannot access certain types of text without accompanying images, music, hypertext, and other media.

Funding

Funding issues in the humanities are widespread, affecting all levels from universities to elementary schools. Much of the issue starts at the national level. For example, studying trends in funding to the academic humanities from 1970-1995 led D'Arms (1997) to conclude, "By the most optimistic current estimate funds earmarked for fellowships and research...will drop below 50 percent from FY 1995 levels" (p. 46). His cautious optimism that the trends may reverse in the future did not seem to come true. In 2007, the National Endowment for the Humanities requested a budget of $140 million for its fiscal year (FY), which was down from the FY 1996 budget of $172 million, and the FY 2004 budget of $152 million. By FY 2013 the budget request had increased to over $154 million. No matter how the numbers are viewed, the outlook is grim for the humanities, as more and more federal and state money is being directed to the science and technology fields. According to Frodeman, Mitcham and Pielke (2003), "In 2003, less than 1 percent of the $100-billion investment of public resources in knowledge is being devoted to the fields making up the humanities."

Funding for the humanities is a particular problem in public schools. Faced with continuous budget cuts, many principals and superintendents are forced to keep what is absolutely essential. In terms of the humanities, this often translates to keeping English, social studies and a foreign language or two, and then evaluating the needs of the school after that. Art, music and performing arts, perhaps because they are rarely part of the required coursework, are secondary concerns and are often poorly funded. Many schools must supplement these programs with fundraisers or seek sponsors for additional income.

Commercialization

Lack of funding has, in part, led to a growing commercialization in many public schools, particularly in the humanities. As Schor (2004) indicated, from naming rights to auditoriums to ads on busses to textbooks featuring brand names, many schools have been infiltrated by corporate America, for better or worse. On the positive side, schools are getting some much-needed funds and supplies, especially for the humanities. Some schools are even able to develop healthy relationships with business partners, where older students can become interns in real companies. On the negative side, controversial programs that require mandatory television viewing in the classroom, and corporately created curricula have been criticized for bias, omitting key information, and promoting products that are unhealthy for children. Schor (2004, p. 85-97) has an excellent account of marketing in schools, as well as marketing to children in general.

Dispersion

With a tremendous broadening of the humanities in the last fifty years, incorporating women's studies, minority studies, gay & lesbian studies and so on, the humanities may be viewed as dispersing too much, and are becoming much less valued as a result. This trend can be seen at the college level, where, according to Hunt (1997), "In the 1980s alone, for example, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to men increased by 7 percent while the number of those awarded to women rose 27 percent. Women now make up 55 percent of the student population" (p. 19). This rise, according to Hunt (1997), along with a general decline in funding and other factors, may be contributing to the decrease in status of the humanities.

In addition, Hunt (1997) indicated that with the rise of multiculturalism and the diversification of faculty, that many teachers at the college level are being forced into interdisciplinary teaching and that, "interdisciplinarity may only make the case that humanities faculty are all interchangeable and hence that many are expendable" (p. 28). Hesse (1997), based on publication data, concludes similarly, "the humanities are increasingly seen as more expendable than other disciplines" (p. 108). Perhaps factors such as these are contributing to the decline in federal and state funding and the high rate of teacher turnover.

Standardized Tests & Assessment

Standardized tests and assessments pose a problem for the humanities. Because there are not always clear answers to what a poem, song or painting means, assessing student understanding can be difficult. Often, teachers focus more on what the students are thinking and how they defend their answers, rather than on the answers themselves. This process is time consuming, however, since typical assessments include essays, interviews, and presentations.

Teachers often must find quicker ways to assess students, such as multiple choice or true/false questions, matching, and so on, which are typical of standardized tests. These questions require specific answers that are not open to interpretation or opinion and create a situation where the humanities become a series of facts, rather than a process. In some cases, the humanities may even be reduced to a process of memorizing names and dates, in art history, for example, rather than seen as a process.

Terms & Concepts

Curriculum Integration: Curriculum that is centered on significant, relevant problems that draws together students and teachers in meaningful ways that are unhindered by subject or discipline boundaries.

Empiricism: The practice that knowledge is better attained, or must be attained, through observation and measurement.

Globalization: The process of branching out and incorporating more from the rest of the world.

Interdisciplinarity: A trend of mixing and crossing disciplines that can cause dispersion of knowledge and a devaluing of specific people or departments.

Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Curriculum that approaches learning from one angle into several academic disciplines.

Multi-disciplinary Curriculum: Curriculum that draws together content and material from several segmented disciplines.

National Endowment for the Humanities: Established in 1965, the NEH was created to foster the humanities through grants, fellowships and other endeavors.

Pragmatism: American philosophy that focused on the practical results of searching for truth.

Bibliography

Beane, J. (1997). Curriculum integration: designing the core of democratic education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Birkerts, S. (1994). The Gutenberg elegies: the fate of reading in an electronic age. New York: Fawcett Columbine.

Brody, H. (2013). Evaluating the humanities. Academe, 99, 19–23. Retrieved December 11, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=85113574

D'Arms, J. H. (1997). Funding trends in the academic humanities, 1970-1995:reflections on the stability of the system. In A. Kernan (Ed.), What's happened to the humanities? (pp. 32-60). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Frodeman, R., Mitcham, C. & Pielke, R., Jr. (2003). Humanities for a policy-and a policy for humanities. Issues in Science and Technology, 20 , 29-32. Retrieved December 4, 2007 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Premier, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=11096585&site=ehost-live

Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind: how children think & how schools should teach. New York: BasicBooks.

Harvie, K. (2013). The humanities curriculum in a changing world. Ethos, 21, 10–13. Retrieved December 11, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=86935867

Hesse, C. (1997). Humanities and the library in the digital age. In A. Kernan (Ed.), What's happened to the humanities? (pp. 107-121). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Himmelfarb, G. (1997). Beyond method. In A. Kernan (Ed.), What's happened to the humanities? (pp. 143-161). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Hirsch, E.D., Jr., Kett, J.F. & Trefil, J. (2002). The new dictionary of cultural literacy: what every American needs to know. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Hunt, L. (1997). Democratization and decline: the consequences of demographic change in the humanities. In A. Kernan (Ed.), What's happened to the humanities? (pp. 17-31). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Kernan, A. (ed.) (1997). What's happened to the humanities? Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Nelson, C. (2012). Fighting for the humanities. Academe, 98, 16–21. Retrieved December 11, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=85113574

Oakley, F. (1997). Ignorant armies and nighttime clashes: changes in the humanities classroom 1970-1995. In A. Kernan (Ed.), What's happened to the humanities? (pp. 63-83). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Postman, N. (1995). The end of education: redefining the value of school. New York: Vintage Books.

Phillips, J. (2006). Deconstruction. Theory, Culture & Society, 23 (2/3), p. 194-195. Retrieved December 9, 2007 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Premier, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=21546770&site=ehost-live

Sabin, M. (1997). Evolution and revolution: change in the literary humanities, 1968-1995. In A. Kernan (Ed.), What's happened to the humanities? (pp. 84-103). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Schor, J.B. (2004). Born to buy. New York: Scribner.

Starnes, B.A. & Carone, A. (1999). From thinking to doing: constructing a framework to teach mandates through experience-based learning. Mountain City, GA: The Foxfire Fund, Inc.

Wiggins, G. (1998). Educative assessment: designing assessments to inform and improve student performance. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers.

Suggested Reading

Adams, J., & McNab, N. (2013). Understanding arts and humanities students’ experiences of assessment and feedback. Arts & Humanities In Higher Education, 12, 36–52. Retrieved December 11, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=85096592

Egan, K. (1986). Teaching as storytelling: an alternative approach to teaching and curriculum in the elementary school. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Flammang, L.A. (2007). The place of the humanities at a military academy. Academe, 93 , p. 30-33. Retrieved December 9, 2007 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Premier, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=25990756&site=ehost-live

Gould, S.J. (2003). The hedgehog, the fox, and the magister's pox: mending the gap between science and the humanities. New York: Harmony Books. Loewen, J.W. (1995). Lies my teacher told me: everything your American history textbook got wrong. New York: The New Press.

Grafton, A. T., & Grossman, J. (2013). The humanities in dubious battle. Chronicle Of Higher Education, 59, A25–A26. Retrieved December 11, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=88859460

Marshall, D. (2007). The places of the humanities. Liberal Education, 93 , p. 34-39. Retrieved December 9, 2007 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Premier, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=25430003&site=ehost-live

Pokrovskii, N.E. (2007). What is happening to the humanities? Russian Education & Society, 49 , p. 22-30. Retrieved December 9, 2007 from EBSCO online database, Education Research Complete, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=27185642&site=ehost-live

Wilson, E.O. (1998). Consilience: the unity of knowledge. New York: Vintage Books.