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Importance of social studies in society
Experiences in teaching Social Studies at present
Importance of social studies in society
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Over the last century, there has been a debate over what the goal of social studies as a core subject should be. Scholars and academics have struggled to define the elusive term social studies; the debate has ranged from whether the social studies should include the disciplines of history, geography, or other social sciences, what the curriculum of the social studies should be, and what pedagogical practices should be implemented in the subject (Evans 2004, Ross 2006). Another hotly debated topic is what the goal of social studies should be in relation to society. Is the goal of social studies to create civic-minded citizens or citizens who can think historically? Should social studies strive to create a shared culture of values and traditions, or accentuate the differences between people living in our society, and highlight how that diversity creates the possibility of change in it? Should the goal of social studies be to create a more efficient society or a conscious society that critically examines the flaws within our nation while striving for social equality? While it seems as if there is no limit to this debate, my focus builds on the idea that social studies strives to do all of the above. However, in order to critically examine the society in which one lives, students will need to be exposed to more than historically rich content and the makeup and functions of government (Journell 2010, Middaugh 2006). I intend to explore whether connections are being made between a particular school’s curriculum and current events, and whether opportunities within the curriculum to make connections between the past and the present are being taken advantage of. I will do this by focusing my attention on teachers’ goals, and whether teach... ... middle of paper ... ...rch (Yilmaz 2009). Over the coming weeks, I hope to gain new insight into research methods that will best suit my inquiry. As I have outlined the consequences of not engaging students to grapple with contemporary issues, it is my goal to understand more about whether there is a disconnect between intent and action, and why that disconnect exists. Students who are not encouraged to think about contemporary and controversial issues are less likely to say they will vote when they turn eighteen, and less likely to sign petitions or get civically involved in some other aspect within their community (Hess 2002). This research paper does not set out to provide remedies for implementing more current events into the social studies curriculum, it is simply a guide to understanding the pedagogical goals of teachers and whether current events issues are one of those goals.
During this class I have been able to explore more into the world of education and through different videos of how education has changed over time. Today, I will be discussing the video “The Bottom Line in Education 1980-Present” and how education operated during this period. I was given the opportunity to understand how schools in the United States were functioning from 1980 until how schools are functioning now. The documentary talked about different topics concerning the impact of the educational system with how it has to be changed with things such as the curriculum of what the children are learning.
In “The Teacher Wars”, by Helen Goldstein, the book focuses on the historical implications of school policy and how it affects teachers. The author goes into depth with everything from the rise of female teachers to the rise of technology in today’s teachers. As Goldstein argues teachers have an incredible ability to be able to widen equality, yet can also narrow the achievement gap that is created from birth. Her showcase of the constant strife against teachers throughout the ages gives way to multiple ways politics and decisions affect the achievement gap.
Rugg, G., & Petre, M. (2007). A gentle guide to research methods. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press.
Political commentators often label American students not as liberals or conservatives, but simply as apathetic citizens unconcerned with political issues. The number of students venturing to the polls continues to be depressing to any advocate of a democratic form of government. Outside of political science classrooms, few students seem to be knowledgeable of simple political events and personalities.
The overall, topic for this week’s reading is Social Studies Textbooks and what is there point of view. In Loewen’s book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, the author makes the point that books show one-sided viewpoint of historical figures, fail to show conflict happening today, and fail to present multiple sides of an issue. The second article by David Tyack, Monuments Between Covers, talks about the idea to show that our past was full of right moments and if anything that was immoral was a small part and no big deal. Tyack points out the constant influence from political groups with different agendas fighting to influence and control what textbooks tell our countries’ children. In the last reading History Lesson by Dana Lindaman talks about the view point of American History throughout the world’s public schools’ textbooks. Overall, each of the countries diminished the role their nation played in terrible events and criticized other nations for their actions.
Wineburg astutely notes that "History offers a storehouse of complex and rich problems, not unlike those that confront us daily in the real world. Examining these problems requires an interpretive acumen that extends beyond the 'locate information in the text ' skills that dominate many school tasks." (51) By being given the challenge of recognizing and combating natural psychological tendencies towards presentism and ethnocentrism, as well as the challenge of comprehending and analyzing complex and diverse historical sources, biased points of view, cultures, contexts, and historical ramifications, students are encouraged and supported in developing the reasoning skills and patience needed to accurately listen, analyze, empathize, interpret, make evidence-based
Social class needs to become more recognizable as a growing problem. If the masses understood the real reason why people are in the social class they are then more would fight to buy “American made goods” and fix our crippled social system. In “Lies my teacher taught me”, Loewen compares college level history courses to high school level history courses saying, “History professors in college often put routinely put down high school history courses”. Loewen in both essays shows how textbooks skew adolescent’s view of America’s history leaving out key points like working class strikes and real depictions ...
If one were to ask a group of high school seniors questions like, “Who was the first U.S. president?” or, “What equation is associated with the Pythagorean Theorem?” they would likely discover that the majority of the students would answer correctly. However, if one were to pose the questions, “Why did the Civil War occur?” or, “Why are international trade relations between other countries important to the U.S.?” they would receive fragmented responses at best; few students would be able to provide clear and concise answers. This simulated example clearly underscores some of the current flaws in the education system across the nation. Instructors teach students, and expect them to learn; they do not teach them how to learn. Many educators have taught students well how to compile trivia and miscellaneous facts, but few have truly embraced the method of critical thought in the classroom. Kansans praise the system for the improving test scores, yet they fail to see through the blanket of such pseudo-success, and they do not realize the true mediocrity of the Kansas educational curriculum. Secondary schools in Kansas should place a greater emphasis on critical thinking in the classroom.
"Learning social studies is to no small extent, learning to be stupid." (LMTTM 298.) What happens when history teachers and textbooks lie? Not only will the children grow up to be uneducated, but they'll continue to teach the same lies to their own children. The excuse most teachers use, according to Loewen, is they "feel they are supposed to defend and endorse America." (LMTTM 289.) If teachers told students about Woodrow Wilson being racist, Columbus forcing Indians into slavery, or how the FBI worked against the civil rights movement then children would be too aware of how the world works. Is this necessarily a bad thing? No, because the truth is always better than a lie, regardless of how ugly it may be. In order to be a truly good American, children must learn this country's true his...
The concept of best practices in teaching is not a new one, and the discussion of how to implement the most effective strategies in social studies education is ongoing. By definition, social studies is a curriculum design focused on the relationships among multiple disciplines such as history, geography, philosophy, and the humanities, and its purpose is to help students develop the ability to make informed decisions with a world perspective. However, due to the ever increasing pressure from high-stakes testing, teachers feel the need to focus instead on memorization of names, dates, and other facts as the primary method for teaching social studies concepts (Au, 2011). For social studies instruction to be powerful, it must be meaningful, integrative, challenging, and active (NCSS, 1993), and as teachers begin to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction, they will need to weave in strategies that promote critical thinking, a skill that is inherently challenging for many adolescents.
The civics education in the United States needs to be reevaluated. Few teachers have the knowledge to develop civic literacy within their students, and are not supported in doing so. Today more than half of high school government teachers can not give adequate explanations of civic topics. (Black) In the article “Tomorrow's Citizens,” author ...
The inability of Social Studies Instruction to make an impact in the society have been blamed on teaching methods that stress the Cognitive domain or recall of knowledge to the neglect of the affective objectives. This point has been buttressed by the Nigerian Institute of teachers as a reason for the failure of social studies to effect changes in the society. The NTI (2006), is of the opinion that, the youths are rich in knowledge of social studies and facts but deficient in expected social values, attitudes and behaviors that commensurate the subject taught and learnt in the classroom.
Traditional research may use quantitative or qualitative research method. According to Hendricks (2009), quantitative research is a general conclusion based on hard data. Hen-dricks describe quantitativ...
In the educational philosophy of social reconstructionism, learning takes place through both affective and psychomotor experiences. Since the majority of subject matter will be hard for many students to comprehend due to its intensity and honesty, students will need to develop strategies for dealing with discussions on controversial issues. In order to be best prepared to hold discussions about these issues, students will need to understand that there are multiple perspectives and beliefs on each topic discussed (Philosophical Perspectives in Education). These affective experiences result in a variety of learning taking place, including increasing one’s perspectives in inquiry, dialogue, and multiple perspectives through learning about other
Social Studies education is a subject in today’s schools that is undervalued. The study of social studies in schools help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world (Seefeldt, Castle, & Falconer, 2010). When participating in social studies class children are learning so much about who they are, where they came from, how to succeed in the world, and more. Most of what we teach daily includes an aspect of social studies. But, since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 de-emphasis or nonexistence of elementary social studies is the national focus because of high stakes testing (Sunal, & Sunal, 2008). Social studies