First off, I want to thank everyone for an amazing term, and Dr. Meier for a class unlike any other. I learned so much and had such a good time! It was definitely a class to remember! :)
The social studies discussion that we had on Wednesday was great! It gave a chance to recap and close the semester. And out of that discussion comes my social studies manifesto… Which while thinking about this I was like haha, what if I call it a womanifesto so being the word nerd (rhyme!! :) ) that I am, I looked up the etymology of the word manifesto and the “man” part actually comes from the latin manus which means hand. ANYWAYS! Off topic… here’s the Handifesto… hehehe… excuse me, I had a molten chocolate cake in the past couple of hours and I guess the sugar is kicking in J
Social Studies is the oft-forgotten subject in our public schools. However, that is not what I want in my classroom. I want my students to be social studies experts. That may seem like a lofty goal, but social studies is everywhere, it’s the study of life, it’s how life worked and how life works now. If I don’t teach my students social studies, how will they be good citizens? How will they know about their brothers and sisters around the world? How will they know what a good financial system is? There is so much of life that revolves around social studies, the students should feel cheated if they do not get a good social studies education. Also, social studies is so easy to integrate. Almost any subject can be tied in with social studies.
Before I came into this class, I had some ideas of how to teach social studies because of my apprenticeship of observation over 13 years. However, this class made those ideas concrete and accumulated them together. In 7th grade we did a medieval fair where we did a lot of research, and I think that’s a really neat idea, and that also ties in with the Living History Museum. Another thing that I learned in this class that I would love to incorporate into my classroom is Block City. Government, especially at the local level is something that I don’t think was ever emphasized in my schooling years. However, that’s such an important subject. Like I mentioned previously, it’s about life. It’s the knowledge of where to go to pay bills, where to renew licenses, and so much more. The students need to know these things. Another activity/idea I have taken from this class is StoryPath. I love this idea! And I especially think it’s a neat idea to start at the beginning of the year and keep it going, or even change out the setting every semester.
Social studies, by name is a social “science” it requires interaction and active interest. I think one of the coolest ways to teach about other countries and people is what I initially thought the tourist model of cultural social studies was. I think of that as planning a trip to a country and finding as much information as possible before making the trip. The students could find out about the major cities, the people, what kinds of food would be awaiting them, what language. The students would get to delve into all parts of the cultural because it would feel like there is an imminent trip.
Another idea that I thought of during our discussion was “uncovering” vs. “covering” and I thought that by covering material, I want my students to uncover the vast world of social studies. If I present social studies and history as it should be, with the interesting stories of people and events like the Donner Party, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and so many other interesting topics, the students will be excited about learning. When they’re excited about the learning they’ll want to learn and research by themselves. So in a way, my teaching will, hopefully, bring more questions to the students minds because it will pique their interest.
Another thing that naturally comes with teaching social studies is having a culturally responsive classroom. When I teach my children about other cultures and other people, I’m embracing diversity and showing them that there are different types of people and that is ok. I think when teaching about other people, it’s also very important to highlight the similarities or to show the students that even though these people are different, the children still go to school like we do, or just any other way to bridge the gap between the students and other cultures. This shows them that they don’t have to be afraid of people that are different from them, which I think when people are not taught this, it is the root of ignorance and discrimination.
There are so many benefits and reasons why social studies should be part of the school curriculum. It’s my job to make sure that my students get a good foundation of social studies so they can build upon that the rest of their lives. Whenever they meet people from different countries, they can file that information with their other topics we covered or even pull out information that we learned and be cognizant and knowledgeable about the new person they are meeting. Or when they are old enough to vote, they know the proper way to register and what comes with the voting process. Or when they open a bank account, they’ll know what interest, principle, deposit, and other terms are. They’ll be ready. For anything ;)
