Why Social Studies? It’s “Self-Evident”!
“High school students hate history. When they list their favorite subjects, history always comes in last. They consider it “the most irrelevant” of 21 school subjects, not applicable to life today. “Borr-r-ring” is the adjective they apply to it. When they can, they avoid it, even though most students get higher grades in history than in math, science, or English. Even when they are forced to take history, they repress it, so every year or two another study decries what our 17-year-olds don’t know… “
And so begins James W. Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong.
The study of society and our collective past is important. It helps us understand ourselves, how we got to the present, and the world around us. It’s interesting that, as a society, we show a great interest in our culture and history. Whether it be historical novels and nonfiction, games, television programs, feature films, museum exhibits, or Broadway shows, American audiences — young and old — are fascinated with the “story of us.”
Yet our students sleep through the classes that present it.
Social studies classes are largely dominated by textbooks full of too much information to be covered in too little time. A bland chronology excluding all the memorable, juicy bits — controversies, ethical dilemmas, suspense, failure, and the stories of the people… humanity. Details are incomplete and the nuances and variables students need to understand cause and effect or to construct their own knowledge are absent. It’s no wonder our students are bored!
Teachers who are fortunate to have the time, resources, and support may recreate their courses from the bottom up, but the reality is not everyone has that luxury.
