As a social studies teacher, I sometimes grow frustrated with the stereotypes of what I probably do in my classroom every day. Many of my non-educator friends often remind me of their own social studies experience in which they listened to lectures, read the textbook, watched movies, and took tests. They ask me what happens in my classes are with questions like, “do you just lecture all of the time or do you break it up with You Tube videos and the History Channel?” When I hear these questions, my first response is that the History Channel does not have history on it anymore so we often watch You Tube. I then tell them that social studies has changed and is changing and what they remember of their classes is soon to be history.
As I mentioned in my previous post, Social Studies are Dead?!?…Long Live the Social Studies, the adoption of the Common Core State Standards and its move to using more non-fiction texts, has helped make social studies a more valued part of a student’s education. The type of demanding tasks students are being asked to demonstrate, drawing information from diverse sources, synthesizing key ideas, assessing claims, and developing coherent and nuanced understandings, are all found in high quality social studies classrooms.
This past weekend, I was at the Washington State Council for the Social Studies Spring Conference. As the president of the organization, I go every year because I have to, but I love going every year because it gives me access to the great social studies teaching that is happening in our state. While I was there, I saw great examples of the best that social studies has to offer. Some of the great things were:
- A presentation on student free speech in which participants analyzed multiple perspectives on events that led to a Supreme Court case. Participants then conducted a mock trial and used evidence to argue the case and deliver a verdict.
- A lesson in which students examine the Hanford Nuclear Site and determine from multiple primary and secondary sources who should get reparations for the damages caused by its facilities and nuclear waste. Those in attendance broke up into groups and then determined the best evidence to support the multiple claims.
- A demonstration of a unit plan in which participants examined their own household waste and connected to global issues around waste, pollution and sustainability. The end result was that they developed a presentation, drawn from multiple sources, to encourage others to waste less by presenting the most pertinent facts.
These are just a few of the best examples of what the social studies has to offer. There were many more and like every year, I come back feeling refreshed and ready to try new things. As the Common Core State Standards are asking students to be more active participants in their learning, the social studies will have to respond. What they do best, is what is now being asked for.
While I am optimistic about where the social studies is being asked to go, I am also realistic about how far that journey is going to be. While I try to limit the lecture, read, watch video, repeat, I am not naïve enough to believe that this approach is now uncommon. Yet though it happens, I recognize that it is going to need to stop. Our students are being asked for more, and all teachers, not just social studies teachers, have to respond. Creating dynamic inquiry lessons with diverse resources and a connections to technology take time to produce. Even more so, they take courage to let the students go free to learn and make mistakes on their own. It is messier, but it can also be more meaningful.
I know many of my colleagues that are anxious about the Common Core State Standards and what they will do to their social studies classes. They worry about how they will have to change their past practices. In every conversation I have with them, I try to reduce their anxiety by simply tell them that if they ask their students to be historians, jurors, and investigative reporters, they are doing exactly what the Common Core State Standards are asking for. It is less about them and more about the students, and in the end, that is what has always been important. And, the History Channel has so little history now, that it is probably a good thing.
Latest posts by John Hines (see all)
- It’s Not You, It’s Me – Social Studies and the CCSS - March 12, 2015
- The Social Studies Are Dead?!?…Long Live the Social Studies! - February 11, 2015