Welcome to the teaching profession. You will find your days incredibly taxing, incredibly challenging, and incredibly rewarding! This on-line text was developed to help you realize the importance of teaching social studies in your classroom every day of the year. Social studies is not just a review of the past. Social studies envelops our lives every waking moment of every day! Who we are, where we are, and what we are, is social studies! Social studies is not a stand-alone course. Social studies is the calendar at the beginning of the school day, it is the weather, it is “time”- past, present, and future. History, geography, economics, and civics/government are the four cornerstones of “social studies.” Our every waking moment of every day is social studies.
Seeing social studies as something woven into the human existence is so much better than seeing it as a stand-alone, a requirement or a duty to instruct. Social studies is life – past, present, and future.
You will be teaching social studies every hour, every day, in the classroom, in the corridors, and on the playground. It is important for students of all ages to learn the rules – of their homes, the classroom, the playground, and the world. That is “government or civics.” It is important to learn about families and their classmates at the earliest stages of instruction. They recognize the concept of time -yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That is “history.” Young children also understand that choices have consequences and the difference between wants and needs. That is “economics.” Young children learn very quickly to recognize where they are to sit in the classroom, where the bathrooms are located, and where the playground beckons them. That is “geography.”
Enjoy your classroom. I have always wanted to inspire others to teach social studies, not in a vacuum, but as an integral part of every day. Make it fun, make it a pleasant lasting memory for every student every day. …. and you will be remembered!
I have designed this course so that every educator can actually find the time to “teach social studies” in the classroom. The social studies curriculum should not be a text book on the shelf. It should be a glimpse into our past, our present, and our future. If you have a textbook for social studies in your classroom, use it as a compass, not as mandatory reading for every student. Active learning is the key to success in the classroom. Get your students out of their seats, interacting every hour of every day. You will become the best teacher that you can be! Rely on your own gifts to make your class active and exciting. YOU can do this!
Good luck to you in this exciting profession, the most important work for anyone is to teach!
“The best thing about being a teacher is that it matters. The hardest thing about being a teacher is that it matters every day.” Todd Whitaker
“Each day, teachers come to school ready to tackle a job that is critically important, extraordinarily complex, often joyful, and, at times, heartbreaking. In essence, teachers help others to become their best selves and I can think of no more important work.” Arne Duncan
Enjoy!!