What is Social Studies?



For my first blog post, I decided to ask myself what exactly is Social Studies.  Literally it is the study of being social, but it is actually, and not surprisingly, more complicated than that.  Social Studies refers to the study of history, ethics, geography, and law.  It is about taking a step back and looking at the past in a multitude of lenses.  As teachers it is our job to pass this knowledge of history to the children we teach so that they can go into the world and be sure to not make the same mistakes that many have in the past.

So often that is our goal, but you can question if it really sinks in at any point.  My philosophy for teaching social studies is to arm my students with the knowledge of the past so they can blow down the doors of the future.  In the world we live in today, take notice of what around you and question everything.  Vague answers such as, "I don't know" don't fly anymore, because now is the time when history and knowledge are more important than anything.

As they use to say on the X-files, "The truth is out there"


Image result for x-files memes

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Methods of Teaching Social Studies Finale

Image
Throughout the semester I have had the privilege to be apart of a great class known as the Methods of Teaching Social Studies to Elementary Students.  During this class I learned a variety of new teaching methods, met some interesting people, and expanded my knowledge of teaching techniques to include some new general education tips, but focused mostly on the teachings of social studies. At the start of class we were thrown right into fieldwork at Bishop Dunn Memorial School in Newburgh New York where we were all treated to teaching eight wonderful 5th-7th graders about different environmental problems facing the world today.  During the experience children had a great time doing the many activities we had planned for them, and helped us all become better teachers because of it.  While the process was stressful at times, it was also rewarding to look back on, as I was able to plan out an entire unit of lessons for these students do, which will surely come i...
Read more

Native American Tribes

Image
For class this week, each person was assigned a partner and had to complete a report on a Native American tribe in the United States.  My partner and I were assigned the Iroquois tribe found mostly in the North East and lower parts of Canada.  Of all the tribes that were given out to each group, the Iroquois tribe was the one I knew the most about.  As a teacher who has taught in the fourth grade and as a former student, I can say that there are large chunks of study devoted to the  Iroquois tribe. Living in upstate New York, it's hard to know about the rich history and impact that they left in this section of the country.  However I was also surprised to realize how much I didn't know about the Iroquois as well. One of the more interesting facts about the Iroquois nation is that the women of the tribe are the ones who select the chief.  While the women have no role in the politics of the tribe, it is their decision alone that impacts who the chief will...
Read more

Favorite S.S. Topic To Teach

Image
Throughout this class, I have had to teach and go over a number of different social studies topics and concepts.  One of my favorite concepts and lessons to teach in social studies or history, is the American Revolution.  The reason being, is that it is our greatest collective moments in the history of this country. It's a time when people became fed up with how they were being treated, and rebelled against the people who ruled them.  It's when true patriots rallied together and took down a mighty empire in the British.  On top of all that, there are a number of great projects that can be done in the classroom to support the learning concepts found around this topic. One such project I was apart of the other day, when two classrooms joined together to act out the various roles of people in the 1770's.  One student plays the king, others members of his army, while the rest of the class plays colonists who are continually being taxed.  Each time a ne...
Read more