This blog entry is really out there for those of you who are not getting certified in some form of social studies.
Right now I am in the Pro-Sem part of my course requirements, and am additionally taking this ITC course. The first day that I was sitting in Dr. Sanelli's course she told us that studies show that Social Studies courses are considered to be the most boring of all high school subjects offered in schools. Since I am a SS cert. I am obviously slightly biased when it comes it social studies.
I have always found history interesting. I do think this could have something to do with my teachers. They were all funny and almost everyone in my classes liked them. I do not know that if you polled my high school in general that social studies would have been rated as the most boring subject. I think that Math would have 'won' over it. But I also think that history should not be to bad for students. In high school it is pretty much just story telling and fact remembering. A lot of students also I thought liked topics like Pyschology, Sociology, and Geography, especially when they were current events.
So what is it about social sciences that makes it so boring? I would like to learn from what people think is boring so that way I can try to make things more interesting for my students.
Thank you!
Jenna L. H. : )
*** By the way Social Studies includes SEVEN topics, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, History, Political Science, Economics, and Geography. ***
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Jenna,
ReplyDeleteMy college career was "engineering". In high school, I was in the "college prep" curriculum in support of "engineering" - so I definitely fit in your targeted group of those not interested in "social studies".
In fact, the last "social studies" class I remember was 8th grade. And I remember having to read a boring book and we did a "disaster" notebook (tornados, hurricanes, nuclear disaster, etc.). Nothing too memorable or useful.
In high school, the only thing I remember about history is having a crush on my teacher, Miss Yates!!!
In college, I HAD to take a social studies course and I chose a course that covered (I believe) 20th century world history (WWI and II is what I remember). It was a lot of reading and in the beginning, I wasn't too interested. But towards the end of the course, it sparked an interest in WWII. So the college course consisted of your basic "read this stuff, write a paper" kind of thing - not very exciting.
In my blog (http://dougkublog.blogspot.com), several people commented that teachers need to "connect" with students lives (and interests). It may sound like generic advice, but I think it's fundamental and very important. Teachers, especially at the college level (because they have less restrictions on "state standards"), need to think out of the box and probe at student's interests. But I suppose that even secondary teachers could do more to include students' interests in the course curriculum and less "same old, same old". Hope that helps; I'll think about it more.
I really enjoyed reading this because I was not completely aware that social studies includes all of those subject areas; I enjoy psychology to some extent and I love geography...the rest of the areas, not so much. I can actually say I hate history, economics, political science, etc. I never have liked them since I first started school. This may seem immature and naive, but I always thought to myself, "Why do I care about what happened in the past? I am here now, and what I care about is what is going on now and what could happen in the future." I never understood anything about wars or government, nor did I ever really care to tell you the truth. I am a Biology major, and science and math have always been much more of my kind of thing. I think it's almost funny because I look at it as how can people hate math and think it is boring? It is fun! It's like solving puzzles...and science covers SO many aspects such as how your body functions, environmental factors, animal behavior and physiology, plants...I could go on for hours but I won't. I think in your teaching career, if you want to make social studies appeal to all students you need to incorporate in your lessons how social studies relates to all other subject areas and also include current events.
ReplyDeleteI think that what our students need to understand is that we can only progress in the future by understanding the mistakes of the past. That is why HISTORY is a fundamental subject in any educational curriculum. Where would we be if we didn't understand the desolation and social injustice caused by slavery? Where would we be in 2009 if we could not turn the pages of a dusty textbook and relive the experiences of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington at the Delaware and the exhileration at knowing the Nazis empire had finally fallen?
ReplyDeleteIn order to appreciate all that our students have they must be taught what previous generations DID NOT have. That is the job of the history instructor-to make sure that history is not simply mundane dates and figures but people who once lived, breathed, sacrificed and died. People who made mistakes, fought injustices and did their best to ensure that our generation never has to face what they did.
Make history live-so that it will not be repeated.
I as well have a bias because i too am a history geek. I always think that the problem with social studies is the way it is taught. You have to bring it to the modern day for kids to understand it. If you relate it to what is going on in their lives they seem to enjoy it more. Also just making it fun is an issue. Not everyone likes to do History papers, but some like to do projects or watch movies. I personally want to use a lot of movie clips when i teach. I think it is fun when you can see what you are learning on the t.v.
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