I went to elementary school in the 1960s. There—it is out there. I am old. Well, my brother is even older. He started elementary school in the 1940’s. The period between the 1940’s and 1960’s saw significant changes in education. For example, schools moved away from teaching phonics to using a “whole language” approach. The early 1960’s saw the emergence of “Social Studies” as an academic discipline in public schools. Whereas my brother got heavy doses of history, geography, civics, and economics, I did not know what the terms geography, civics, and economics meant. I was immersed in the joy of studying about interesting, faraway places.  

I loved social studies growing up! My happiest memories in elementary school center around the amazing social studies units my 4th-grade teacher presented. In particular, I remember our units on Japan and Africa. We made kimono-clothed dolls and seaweed jello. We took a field trip to an authentic Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles and sat on the floor while eating with chopsticks. We really got into the African unit, creating a diorama of an African village complete with paper-mâché elephants and giraffes that were almost as tall as we were. We made African masks and played African games. My experience probably has a lot to do with why I love the “culture days” my grandkids enjoy in their homeschool co-op. 

However, there were some drawbacks to the changes in education. As I was reading some academic articles on the subject, one sentence about the changes in curriculum and objectives during those years stood out: the changes “led to a decrease in the amount of factual knowledge being delivered.” In other words, the emphasis on the new, vague educational objectives somehow watered down the specific facts and information children were taught. In retrospect, that was true of my education. In U.S. history, we had week long discussions on whether the Kennedy assassination was a conspiracy or whether we should have been in Vietnam. (The anti-war movement was massive at the time!) I never learned how or why we got into the war, and I knew nothing about WWI or WWII. World History was not required for me to graduate. I was not aware that economics was even an offered course. I was required to take a semester of government and recall a lot about my teacher’s enthusiasm for Marxism. However, I sadly graduated without knowing what the Constitutional Convention was or that our country was not fully formed in 1776 when we declared independence.   

At Simply Smart Learning, we still love social studies and happily use the term as an umbrella for related curriculum. We embrace the study of cultures and people as a way of fostering understanding and a sense of belonging to the human family. However, we also put a high premium on critical thinking and the acquisition of factual knowledge. We expect our students to have a clear outline of world history and US history in their minds—the who, what, when, where, and why of the human journey. We expect our high school students to have a solid understanding of economics, as well as a strong background in civics, which includes understanding how and why our government came into existence, what the Constitution actually says, and how it remains relevant today.  

In a world where politics is polarized, dialogue is too often uncivil, and where information is frequently reduced to inaccurate or misleading sound bites, we aim to educate children with a foundation for constructive discourse and productive social involvement. This foundation is based on accurate information, the ability to recognize biases, analyze both sides of arguments, and the desire to openly explore solutions to problems. We aim to provide parents with the tools to help their children understand both sides of a discussion as they teach their own personal values. As you enjoy the varying aspects of social studies, make sure your students—especially your high school students—do not get short-changed on the traditional subjects of history, civics, and economics. Use these courses as an opportunity to teach students how to think critically, study primary sources, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of evidence.