ABSTRACT
In early August, Steve signed a contract to teach ve sections of U.S. history at a local high school. The school district specied that the 11th-grade U.S. history curriculum starts with the revolution, reviews the events leading up to and following the Civil War, and proceeds with history from the late 1800s to the present day. During the year Steve developed units around the conventional historical eras (e.g., the progressive era, the “roaring twenties,” the Depression era, etc.), but he also explored the concept of authority during each era. He asked students to think about who had authority during different times in American history, how they had authority, and why they had power. Throughout the year his students examined the relationships among power, authority, and the government,1 and compared the differences between authoritarian and authoritative governance. The level of interest and insights by his students convinced Steve that anchoring his teaching to a concept helped students learn the course content.
