Social Education

Recent events have made one thing clear: there is no historical force that guarantees American success in the twenty-first century if Americans lack the knowledge, skills and competence needed to deal with the challenges that face them in the United States and the world. As social studies educators, nothing is more important than providing our students with these capabilities.

We live in a global age, in which economies are so intertwined that the recent credit meltdown in the United States has had devastating effects worldwide, and in which the complexity of international relations makes it essential to understand the likely chains of consequences of major decisions. Social studies classes need to teach students how to understand this world, and make a positive contribution to it. We need to be innovative and ready to adapt our curriculum to changing needs. A country whose leaders do not understand the economic, political, social and environmental dynamics of the world is at risk. A curriculum in which students are tested on the laws of Hammurabi but may learn nothing about the twentieth century history of Iraq, does not serve us well.

The theme of this special issue of Social Education, edited by Michael M. Yell, is the acquisition of twenty-first century skills. A number of features in the issue reflect the recent collaboration between NCSS and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills that has resulted in the development of a road map for social studies (accessible at www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/ss_map.pdf) The article by Michael M. Yell and John Box outlines the goals of this collaboration, a principal objective of which is “the need for high quality, disciplined thought.” (349)

The opening article by Lee Ann Potter sets the stage for the rest of the issue by highlighting the role the future has played in American aspirations, as portrayed in historical documents from the American Revolution, the Civil War and World War II.
Author and humorist Firoozeh Dumas lends an international touch to this issue in an interview with Michael Yell, in which she shares her experiences of the United States, to which she and her family immigrated from Iran when she was a young girl.

The bulk of this issue is divided into sections dealing with teaching the different social studies disciplines, the opportunities offered by instructional technology, and the need to develop students’ thinking skills.

Geoffrey Scheurman emphasizes the value of poetry and the arts for teaching history; they provide “an enduring and authentic vehicle for understanding the human condition, the raison d’etre of the social studies.” (353) In our time of global interdependence, Paul Nagel reiterates the necessity of an excellent understanding of geography and points out that new tools, such as GPS and GIS, can turn geography class activities into exciting adventures. Mark Schug and Jane Lopus highlight the importance of giving economic and financial education their rightful place in the curriculum and ensuring that students understand the characteristics which distinguish nations that are economically successful from those that are not.

Three features deal with the need to enhance students’ global awareness. Merry Merryfield suggests strategies for increasing awareness of the outside world by encouraging students to see events from the perspectives of other cultures, listen to voices from other parts of the world, and investigate the impact of connections between the United States and other countries. Susan Graseck challenges students to think about four alternative types of policy the United States could adopt as it plans its future role in the world. Mike Koren emphasizes the value of bringing international visitors to the classroom.

The goal of social studies is education for democracy, which includes excellent civics instruction in schools for all students. Diana Hess warns that this goal is threatened by a significant divide that has arisen because students from wealthier, better educated socio-economic backgrounds seem to participate more in highly rated civic education programs and volunteer extracurricular activities than poorer and minority students.

Peggy S. Jackson, Elizabeth R. Hinde and Nancy S. Haas emphasize the importance of stimulating the curiosity and challenging the thinking skills of students of civics, and, in illustration, present an imaginative lesson plan on the Bill of Rights from the Sandra Day O’Connor Civic Education Project. Peggy Altoff’s Point of View article highlights the danger of putting two of the “three C’s”—College and Career—ahead of the third, Citizenship, the marginalization of which would “throw out the baby with the bathwater.” (379)

Three articles emphasize the need to maximize the learning opportunities presented by the imaginative use of instructional technology. C. Frederick Risinger’s Internet column identifies sites that are particularly useful for teachers seeking to be at the cutting edge of instructional technology as they teach 21st century skills. Joseph O’Brien provides sample class activities that can fulfill social studies goals while enhancing students’ technological abilities. Syd Golston shows how the imaginative use of technology has enhanced the Magnet Law Program of Cholla High School in Tucson, Arizona.

The issue concludes with two articles that present methods of developing students’ thinking skills. Linda Elder and Richard Paul identify sets of questions that teachers can use to stimulate powerful thinking and model the research process to students. Beth Ratway describes the Grade Level Foundations that have been introduced in Wisconsin as a tool to help implement a standards-based curriculum by focusing on profound, higher-level thinking about social studies subjects.

As always, the editors of Social Education welcome the comments of readers on any of the contributions to this issue at socialed@ncss.org.