Along with my schedule of social studies classes, I also serve as an advisor for 15 students once a week. Through advisory I spend time looking at their grades, checking in with their lives, and mostly building relationships that are often lost between teachers and students in high school. While I love the chance to have such a close relationship with a handful of students, it seems like a week does not go by without one or more of them asking me about why they have to study this subject or another. "Why do I need to take Calculus?" or "Why do I need biology when I am not going to be a biologist?" For a long time, I would simply tell them that learning math, science, English, and history were all part of what made them well-rounded students, able to succeed in college and beyond. Recently, I came to a different conclusion.
With continuing pressure from many groups to push the idea of making students successful in the 21st century employment market, to focus on STEM, and to teach classes that have a direct and measurable economic impact, social studies are often neglected. It seems as if in the short time students have in school, they could spend their time much more effectively learning computer programming, or physics, or calculus than "soft skills." As a recent New York Times article by Gerald Howard stated:
We live in a time when college enrollment in the humanities is declining precipitously, in good part because majoring in such subjects seems unlikely to result in gainful employment in a strapped economy.
Yet the social studies themselves allow me to answer these recalcitrant students. It is the social studies that answer the why question in education. Social studies are the reason why we learn everything else in school. It
Are We Providing Safe and Supportive Environments for Each of Our Students?
Recently ASCD's Educational Leadership staff were contacted by a reader who, while doing research, came across an article from the December 1992/January 1993 issue on students at risk that struck close to his personal experience. He wrote, Having come from an abusive home and just recently graduated, I think this needs to be read by every educator. I grew up middle class, and was a very "b
The Why Question
Along with my schedule of social studies classes, I also serve as an advisor for 15 students once a week. Through advisory I spend time looking at their grades, checking in with their lives, and mostly building relationships that are often lost between teachers and students in high school. While I love the chance to have such a close relationship with a handful of students, it seems like a week d
How Do We Help Each Student Succeed?
We help students succeed by personalizing instruction to meet the needs of the learner. This may seem like a daunting task because it takes front-loading at the beginning of the year and ongoing progress-monitoring. Teachers can design activities and assessments that focus on personal interests, strengths, and academic standards. When teachers personalize instruction through various assessments,
ED Pulse Poll Results: What Is the Most Important Task That Could Be Accomplished by Teaching Using Essential Questions?
ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. Recently, the ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked readers about tasks that can be achieved by employing essential questions. In their recent ASCD book, Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding, authors Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins explain the usefulness of essential questions in
Different Ways to Personalize Learning
The classical way of teaching is very industrialized. Students file in, receive education in one format, and then leave being considered educated. Educators around the world like Ken Robinson have felt this way for a long time and in the past years we have seen some major changes that have allowed students to learn in different ways and in different formats. It all started with multiple detail
We help students succeed by personalizing instruction to meet the needs of the learner. This may seem like a daunting task because it takes front-loading at the beginning of the year and ongoing progress-monitoring. Teachers can design activities and assessments that focus on personal interests, strengths, and academic standards. When teachers personalize instruction through various assessments, i
1-7-14 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG - ED Pulse Poll Results - Whole Child Education
The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education: ED Pulse Poll Results: What Is the Most Important Task That Could Be Accomplished by Teaching Using Essential Questions?ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. Recently, the ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked readers about tasks that can be achieved by employing essential questions. In their rec
