"Thomas Jefferson and other founders of the republic emphasized that the vitality of a democracy depends upon the education and participation of its citizens. The need for an informed citizenry was the very impetus for the creation of free public education in the United States. If the nation is to develop fully the readiness of its citizenry to carry forward its democratic traditions, it must support progress toward attainment of the vision of powerful social studies teaching and learning." - NCSS
As we move deeper into the 21st century, schools must continue to prepare students for a world that we cannot describe for them and for jobs that do not currently exist. The world around us is changing at such an amazing pace that students must be taught how to critically think about and challenge the world around them. In that regard, the teaching of social studies is unique because often times there is not a 100% answer.
We agree that 2+2=4, gravity pulls an apple to the ground and that the words "there" and "their" although pronounced the same mean different that, but what about in social studies? Social studies has the great potential to have students create a thought and an answer that does not currently exist. How many years is a presidential term? Easy; four years, but what if I ask which president has accomplished the most in a four year term, then we have critical thinking!!
In meeting with a majority of Wisconsin congressional representatives this summer, I talked about how even though money is tight and everyone wants more money, we need all levels of government to acknowledge the importance of teaching social studies. Everyone agreed that this is true, but there were varying degrees of what it meant to teach social studies. This is the point where we cannot get bogged down. Because of the open-endedness of social studies there will always be disagreements about exactly how and what to teach, but we must always remember that must be taught! It is in these classrooms that students learn essential 21st century skills, but also how to disagree respectively with one another and to work with those that they disagree with. These are the skills that made our country great when it was founded and they are essential to continuing that tradition of greatness, leadership and innovation that started with the Founding Fathers.
Please read below to see the legislative priorities of the NCSS for 2014 and I encourage you to contact your elected officials to share your opinions about social studies education with them. To find out who represents you, click HERE.
As we move deeper into the 21st century, schools must continue to prepare students for a world that we cannot describe for them and for jobs that do not currently exist. The world around us is changing at such an amazing pace that students must be taught how to critically think about and challenge the world around them. In that regard, the teaching of social studies is unique because often times there is not a 100% answer.
We agree that 2+2=4, gravity pulls an apple to the ground and that the words "there" and "their" although pronounced the same mean different that, but what about in social studies? Social studies has the great potential to have students create a thought and an answer that does not currently exist. How many years is a presidential term? Easy; four years, but what if I ask which president has accomplished the most in a four year term, then we have critical thinking!!
In meeting with a majority of Wisconsin congressional representatives this summer, I talked about how even though money is tight and everyone wants more money, we need all levels of government to acknowledge the importance of teaching social studies. Everyone agreed that this is true, but there were varying degrees of what it meant to teach social studies. This is the point where we cannot get bogged down. Because of the open-endedness of social studies there will always be disagreements about exactly how and what to teach, but we must always remember that must be taught! It is in these classrooms that students learn essential 21st century skills, but also how to disagree respectively with one another and to work with those that they disagree with. These are the skills that made our country great when it was founded and they are essential to continuing that tradition of greatness, leadership and innovation that started with the Founding Fathers.
Please read below to see the legislative priorities of the NCSS for 2014 and I encourage you to contact your elected officials to share your opinions about social studies education with them. To find out who represents you, click HERE.