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Social Studies
Mission Statement
The Mission of the Social Studies Department is to produce students who will be able to think critically, be productive citizens, be respectful of people from various cultures, knowledgeable about history and current events, and financially responsible.
In the social studies department, we strive to educate our students by using not only a variety of teaching methods and approaches, but also by offering a variety of courses that meet student interests. In addition to requirements in Geography, World History, American History, Economics and Civics, students may sign up for electives in Psychology, Law, Sociology, Women's History, and Contemporary Issues. Honors credit is available for all required course as well as Advanced Placement credit for American History, World History, and American Government.
As a whole, we strive to teach tolerance, encourage critical thinking, promote useful problem-solving skills, and relate the importance of historical perspective to our future voters and active participants in society. Members of this department are devoted to the principles of real-life learning as is evidenced by frequent discussion of current events and social justice topics and their relevance not only to our past, but also to the future. It is important in a social studies classroom to encourage discussion and to help foster the creation of educated opinions. In successfully reaching to accomplish this goal, we help to form wise and thoughtful problem solvers. Additionally, we encourage our students to apply Christian values as they study the choices made by people in the past, and as they prepare to make decisions about their role in society in the future.
In 2005, as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the department suffered a great deal of loss in terms of our resources, technology, textbooks, and supplies since the entire department is located on the first floor. Our ability to teach as we had done in the past had come to an end. Upon our return to school in January of 2006, the social studies department, once rich with supplies such as maps, pictures, posters, books, cartoons, newspapers, magazines, past work of students, past work of teachers, movies, music, televisions and computer technology, faced classrooms that were barren. Students went from having their own copies of textbooks to sharing books with other students. Teachers who were veterans started over with empty file cabinets and had to share what resources were available. The rebuilding process was a long and arduous task, but not one that we, as a department, could not handle. Due to the generosity of other schools in the state, supplies like posters and movies began to arrive. Donations and grants made it possible to start adding technology back into rooms, and eventually, teachers were able to rebuild their collection of resources for the classroom, though this task is still not complete. Perhaps one of the best things that happened as a result of this great loss was that our department had to return to a very basic form of teaching without the bells and whistles of modern technology. The challenge was put before us to teach, according to our goals and standards that existed prior to Katrina, in ways that we may not have done had we had all of our original supplies, and not sacrifice student interest, enthusiasm, or thirst for knowledge while doing so. While the task of rebuilding is not complete, the department is well on its way to not only reach our previous status, but far exceed even our own expectations. The department has added and is continuing to add new textbooks that are aligned to the newest forms of technology including internet usage and various types of computer presentations. We now have access to starboard computers in our rooms that lend themselves to students easily bringing technology into play with their own classroom presentations of projects. Despite our losses, our rooms are once again filled with evidence of continuous student learning.
Social studies prides itself on the incorporation of a variety of teaching methods and techniques. A typical day in a social studies classroom would include the following activities: the teacher would begin the class with a prayer. He or she would then briefly review material from the previous day using an overhead projector, outline, PowerPoint presentation, or teacher-guided discussion. New material would usually be introduced through teacher direction. The students would be expected to take notes as the teacher emphasized the important components of the unit. In order to incorporate activity-based learning in the classroom, students might be divided into small groups to discuss the material and exercise their critical-thinking skills. In order to make history come alive, the teacher may incorporate other learning techniques such as role-playing, music, video, and story-telling and computer driven activities like games or power point presentations. In doing this, the teacher facilitates the process of students meeting the standards and benchmarks set by the state. Moreover, the department facilitates the usage of primary resources and supplemental texts to further the development of critical thinking skills. In addition to the social studies content standards, our department's curriculum also helps students to meet various technology content standards and benchmarks. Using both the computers in the classrooms as well as the computer labs, teachers help students to gain proficiency in using software programs and the World Wide Web to complete research.
As members of the social studies department, we feel it is our duty to help all students achieve their academic potential. While many of our students excel when asked to perform on traditional assessments of the objective/subjective variety, we also believe it is important for all students to be able to demonstrate their abilities in other ways. This means incorporating other methods of assessment into the curriculum. Perhaps even more than other subjects, social studies lends itself to a variety of assessment types. All of the required courses mandate the completion of several performance-based assessments. A few examples are:
- World History students complete a timeline project that allows them to chart important events of ancient cultures.
- American History students create collages emphasizing events of the twentieth century.
- Civics students are prepared for the "real world" by drafting cover letters and resumes for their dream summer jobs.
In the many elective courses offered, there are numerous performance assessments used, which require students to apply the knowledge they have used in non-traditional ways.
In such rapidly changing times, students will be entering a complex world. In order for them to positively contribute to society, they must possess knowledge about the past, be aware of their duties and responsibilities as citizens, and have an awareness of the plight of many others in the world who are not as fortunate as we are. Our social studies department strives to prepare students for such a future.
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