Social studies a valuable part of citizen education

A couple years ago, the seniors at my local high school were given the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. for a week. During their stay, they toured the Smithsonian museums, viewed the White House and Capitol, and watched the changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetery.

To my disappointment, one student was less than enthusiastic about the trip. She grumbled about having to walk so much at the National Mall and questioned why a visit to a cemetery would be included in a school trip.

Did she not realize she had been standing in the very spot where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech? Didn’t she understand the sacrifice given by the thousands of war heroes buried in the sacred grounds at Arlington?

I realized I had not done enough to prepare her to appreciate the vast history of our nation. Since the trip, I have made a greater effort to embed themes of history and social justice into my curriculum.

This experience came to mind recently when I read an email describing Kentucky General Assembly members’ desire to remove social studies as an assessed content area in the revision of Senate Bill 1.

Although this decision has since been amended, the logic behind the change was misplaced. I am not of the mind that teachers should focus solely on test scores. Student achievement should be based on more than numbers. However, due to the strict and often penalizing laws attached to testing, many districts would view an unassessed content area as of little significance.

Social studies classes help students appreciate their own unique Appalachian culture and cultures of others around the world. Government and civics classes help strengthen students’ understanding of politics and ensure they know their rights under the Constitution. History reminds us to celebrate how far we have come as a nation and warns us not to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors.

Politicians might argue that schools can still continue to teach social studies without assessing student learning. Unfortunately, schools with tight budgets and other limited resources need to spend their money on classes and teachers that are accountable at state and federal levels.

If legislators insist on governing what is going to be taught, they need to closely consider the ramifications of tossing out important parts of the curriculum. Do they really want a generation of voting-age individuals who have never had a class describing the election process?

All educators and parents need to speak out and let lawmakers know that we will not settle for anything less than the best educational opportunities for our children.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Social studies a valuable part of citizen education."