Week 2: Origins of Teaching Social Studies

In class this week we discussed a brief history of how social studies education began and how it has evolved over the years. In general, the pattern switches every twenty years or so from conservative approaches to more liberal approaches. We debated whether social studies education in today's society was taught using more traditional approaches to teaching or was, in fact, more directed towards critical thinking. It has been my experience, both in the classrooms I have been a student in and the classrooms I have observed that social studies in our schools today is being taught very traditionally. Social studies teachers teach their students history in a chronological manner emphasizing dates and heroic figures. There are no debates or controversies that make history/social studies so exciting. Students, more than likely, sit in their desks, listen to their teacher lecture, and take notes. When the test comes along, students memorize their notes. I have yet to witness or have a social studies teacher that has done anything different.

In response to the ideas we discussed in Loewen's first chapter, the reasons why high school students hate history is not because the subject itself is boring but because history/social studies teachers fail to get students to see what all the excitement is about. I did not become a lover of history because I had an amazing history teacher growing up, I fell in love with the subject based on my own research and through certain media that made it come to life for me. Though I did have one amazing teacher that came to class in costume and used a film reel to teach all his lessons. His lesson were taught traditionally but with style. Another factor that makes history dull to most students is that its about a bunch of old white guys. Students don't get to learn about amazing African Americans throughout history except when learning about the Civil War or the Civil Rights Movement and they don't get to learn about spectacular women except when learning about the Suffrage Movement in the 1920s. The subject of history involves so many interesting people but in school we only recognize the men in the White House. I want to know how we as future Social Studies teachers can help to add more depth and variety in Social Studies education? How can we avoid just covering African Americans or Women in "spotlights" and integrate them fully into our curriculums so that our students can recieve the whole story?  

The Week of August 24th, 2011

Though this week only consisted of a short introduction of my fellow students and of the teacher, it was valuable in the fact that I am now at least vaguely aware of the teaching standpoint and perspective of the professor. Each time I walk into a class with a professor that I have not had before, I am nervous as to their expectations and the overall atmosphere of the classroom that the teacher creates. Some teachers, right off the bat, will start with the syllabus and outlining all the assignments, rules, and procedures of the classroom. I appreciated the fact that Professor Cantu took the time to at least briefly explain his teaching philosophy and to learn a little about his students before going into the inner workings of his classroom. I am truly excited to be taking this class to learn how to better implement a variety of methods and strategies in my future social studies classroom.