Social Studies Standards

524 Words3 Pages
The primary purpose of social studies is to develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world (National Council of the Social Studies, 1994, p.3). The great architects of American public education, such as Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, and John Dewey, believed that every student must be well versed in our nation's history, the principles and practices which undergird citizenship, and the institutions that define our government. Understandings of commerce and geography were critical to their thinking as well. In essence, Jefferson, Mann, and Dewey viewed the study of social studies as critical to the mission of public schools. Indeed, they would applaud the inclusion of a "responsible and involved citizen" in the Guiding Principles, as well as social studies as one of eight content areas in the Learning Results. A strong social studies education depends upon a clear understanding of its interrelated disciplines. Without knowledge of the geography and economics of earlier times, history offers only lists of people, events, and dates. Without knowledge of history, the institutions of American government and the dynamics of today's global economy are difficult to understand. Although social studies curricula vary in their breadth and depth, the Social Studies Standards reflect a focus on government, history, geography, and economics as the pillars of the content, with other disciplines within the social sciences deemed important, but not essential. Key Ideas in the Social Studies Standards: Understand - The word “understand” appears in performance indicators throughout the Social Studies Standards. It refers to a variety of different levels on Bloom’s taxonomy and was used intentionally to serve as an umbrella term for the cognitive demand that is
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