Despite my efforts to avoid social interaction around my neighborhood, the local HOA president cornered me and placed me on the board. This got me thinking about social hierarchy and I posed the question above to my students. We watched the farming and state video from the World History Project and then I asked my students to consider the groups they belonged to (sports teams, work, school, families, etc.). Why was there a need for "someone" to be in charge?
Eventually they came to the point that the larger the group, the more need there was for defining relationships amongst people, determining who had access to resources, to administer justice, and to keep everyone organized. Students mentioned coaches taking time-outs during stressful points of a game and the need for a clear voice. Another mentioned their boss making sure that someone was "on" every job that needed to be completed. One student even mentioned this would be the likely opportunity cost of moving from foraging to farming.
My next step is to try and turn this into an activity instead of a guided discussion. Anyone try anything like this in your classroom?
