The word “literature” or “English” is used to include the study of grammar, composition, history of literature, and the English classics. “Mathematics” includes arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. The word “science” indicates such subjects as biology, botany, physics, and chemistry. There is nothing unusual about grouping subjects into fields. Very seldom does a teacher try to teach the whole field as a single course, but he tries constantly to show the interrelations of the subjects within the field. Schools have programs of social studies and teachers are employed to teach social studies, but-in the classroom they teach civics or history or sociology or some topic which draws materials from one or more of the other social studies subjects. The social studies constitute a field and not a subject, a federation of subjects and not a unified discipline. The over-all term for the subjects of instruction which stress human relationships is social studies. Since all these subjects center their attention upon man and his relationships, it is a matter of convenience to group them under some general term. Thus in a sense history is the most inclusive and pervasive of the social studies and partakes of the nature of each of the others when it records activities which fall within their scope. History is the story of whatever man has done, with emphasis upon institutional and group activities. All of them deal with human relationships: Geography describes man’s relations to the earth civics or government explains society’s attempts to control individuals through organized states economics describes and analyzes man’s efforts to make a living and sociology describes various kinds of group living. Teachers and scholars began to realize that these five subjects-history, geography, civics, economics, and sociology-were closely related. ![]() Thus the social elements in the curriculum have constantly increased. Late in the nineteenth century economics won a place in the curriculum, and early in the present century sociology began to appear in school programs. No common interest brought them together. Throughout the period from about 1850 to about 1910, history, civics, and geography were generally regarded as rather sharply differentiated subjects. The degree to which each of these uses is valid will become apparent in the following discussion. The term has also been applied to arithmetic, physics, and other subjects in order to stress their social aspects or their values to society. It has been used to designate a combination of two or more subjects dealing with human relationships and to designate a combination of the social studies exclusive of history. ![]() Within the teaching profession the term has had a variety of uses. Outside the teaching profession the term “social studies” has been used as a label for “contemporary problems,” as a term implying socialistic or reformist purposes, as relating to social service and social welfare, as an antonym to history, and as a label for a method of teaching. The Committee accepts the obligation and responsibility of clarifying its meaning. The term “social studies” has been misunderstood and misused both within and outside the teaching profession. This discussion is designed to clarify the term and restate the relationship of history to the other social studies. ![]() The rise of the field of the social studies has caused some uneasiness as to its significance and as to its effects upon the study of history. Increased attention to geography, the gradual separation of civics from history, and the introduction of sociology and economics into school programs made it necessary to think in terms of a group of social studies instead of the single subject of history. ![]() History was long regarded as the principal school subject in the field of human relationships.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |