nov05mama Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 This came up a couple of times recently in some planning threads and I wondered what the reasoning is?? The statements were specifically in RE: to having History listed under the broader course of Social Studies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Not sure what you mean. I missed that thread, I guess. Personally, I don't say "social studies" (or "language arts"). I think it's more useful to say history, geography, political science, civics, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nov05mama Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Not sure what you mean. I missed that thread, I guess. Personally, I don't say "social studies" (or "language arts"). I think it's more useful to say history, geography, political science, civics, etc. I need to see if I can find the posts...but it was in reference to planning programs listing pre-defined courses when entering in your lesson plan. Several members stated they didn't like categorizing History under Social Studies and I am just curious as to why? (didn't know if there was some big reason or if it was just a preference thing...figured I'd ask in case it was something I hadn't heard before!) I use Social Studies as the broad 'course' but then each subject is on it's own as well (I use HST+) and I agree w/ you about each subject being called what it is...I just wondered what the deal was with not wanting it under the course title of Social Studies :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I really don't like the term Social Studies. For me it is just personal preference. I'm currently working on my dd's high school transcript (actually a six year transcript, 7th - 12th) and I use the term Humanities. So her transcript has six categories: Mathematics, Science, English, Humanities, Foreign Language and Electives. I do have a note to look up whether some of my singular categories should be plural. Is it Foreign Languages because she lists more than one? Sciences as there are several branches? Or perhaps I should change Electives to Elective - although that just doesn't sound right. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 For me, it's just a very subtle "protest!" LOL I see the public school curriculum here, esp in the younger grades, replacing the study of history with a watered-down version, which they call Social Studies. It's all about "being a good citizen," the value of one's personal backround (ancestors, pride in one's supposed culture of origin, even if you don't do anything from that culture), a smattering of "famous people"...It's just haphazard and so "me-centered." Even my daughter notices--she's been to Grade 3 and Grade 5, homeschooling the other grades. She hates the way history is taught (or not taught) in school, and says she wishes they'd do Story of The World. :D It's so not chronological--for example, they do Ancients in 3rd, covering just Greeks and Egyptians, and then go to VA history in 4th, then back to Ancients (just a couple of cultures) in 5th, then Early American history in 6th, then finally Moderns in 7th, then Civics (which also covers American immigration and the 1920's) in 8th...What a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I vastly prefer the term History to describe what we do. We also do Geography separately next year (this year blended with SOTW 2). Social Studies is watered down and vague. We had something like this for one year in Aruba, but it was in addition to History and Geography and it was more about Sociology and a little bit of Psychology/anti-drugs education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nov05mama Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Thanks all!! That's kinda what I thought, but I wondered if there was something else I was missing! I totally agree :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Social Studies is what we do as classical educators. SS is the integration of social sciences and humanities. I list Social Studies: Ancient Period on our transcript. We study the history, economics, political structure, geography, anthropology, archaeology, law, religion, sociological aspects, et cetera. These, and many other content areas, are considered Social Studies. When appropriate psychology, mathematics and science can be applied to this label too when studied as relevant to the period, geography or culture. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I'm a big fan of social studies and don't focus on history as much as some others do. Geography, sociology, anthropology, human rights, world view, ect are just as important. I've almost always taught and self-educated with a primary focus on geography and a biblical/missions worldview. The Bible, Operation World and the newspaper were the spine of my boys' social studies education. My older son's college professors were very impressed with his understanding of history, so...I guess social studies can work :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) I agree it is a nit-picky distinction, but I do think social studies is a more accurate term for elementary school children, especially lower elementary. Kids are not only learning "history" but - about community, roles/jobs, map fundamentals and basic geography, how governments work, world views, culture, the fundamentals of economy, exchange, employment, communication, etc. Even when studying *history* with young children I am constantly using it highlight a better understanding of societies and social structure in general. Just the other day while studying the Great Depression with my 8 year old, we came across an article about a school teacher who lost his job and killed himself. The lesson ended up being more about suicide, why it happens, how social factors play into a suicide like that as well as psychology, etc. I want and desire lessons to go in such directions at this age - as I am not particularly interested in her understanding all the hows and whys of history (she's unlikely to retain that anyways), and instead have a rough idea of a timeline and big ideas that lay a foundation for later. At some point, probably around middle school, there is a presumption of basic social knowledge that the study of individual topics (government, economics, history, geography) become more distinct and less mashed together. And by the time you get to upper level college it's even more distinct, right? It's no longer American history, it's Civil War history, for example. At higher levels there are narrower fields of distinction and I think the broad term of "social studies" is appropriate for elementary school children. Edited June 23, 2011 by zenjenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I'm a big fan of social studies and don't focus on history as much as some others do. Geography, sociology, anthropology, human rights, world view, ect are just as important. I've almost always taught and self-educated with a primary focus on geography and a biblical/missions worldview. The Bible, Operation World and the newspaper were the spine of my boys' social studies education. My older son's college professors were very impressed with his understanding of history, so...I guess social studies can work :-) I like this. I'm intrigued actually and would love to hear you talk more about it sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBre Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) For me, it's just a very subtle "protest!" LOL I see the public school curriculum here, esp in the younger grades, replacing the study of history with a watered-down version, which they call Social Studies. It's all about "being a good citizen," the value of one's personal backround (ancestors, pride in one's supposed culture of origin, even if you don't do anything from that culture), a smattering of "famous people"...It's just haphazard and so "me-centered." Even my daughter notices--she's been to Grade 3 and Grade 5, homeschooling the other grades. She hates the way history is taught (or not taught) in school, and says she wishes they'd do Story of The World. :D It's so not chronological--for example, they do Ancients in 3rd, covering just Greeks and Egyptians, and then go to VA history in 4th, then back to Ancients (just a couple of cultures) in 5th, then Early American history in 6th, then finally Moderns in 7th, then Civics (which also covers American immigration and the 1920's) in 8th...What a mess. Same here. Our district follows this progression, from the student outward and chronologically backward: 1st - Study of self 2nd - Study of community 3rd - Local history 4th - State history (Deemed painfully boring by my history-loving dd. :glare: We also use SOTW at home.) 5th - American history 6th - Ancient history (China, Egypt, Greece) 7th - World geography/state history (again) 8th - American studies (Revolution to Reconstruction) 9th - World history (yes, the entire history of the world in 9 months) 10th - None 11th - American studies (Reconstruction to present) 12th - None I don't know if this is a typical progression of study for public schools, but with 80% of our "social studies" being about ourselves and our miniscule time on this planet, it's no wonder we're seen as an ignorant, centrist society. Maybe that will be in the history books one day. Edited June 23, 2011 by BabyBre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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