Two Ed Week articles caught my attention, because they are about Social Studies (which is a change of pace from all of the talk about STEM subjects). One article decries that 28 states received failing or near-failing grades in History standards (according to a Fordham Institute review). Of course they did, because there is no funding for a huge majority of Social Studies classes.
The article also points out that one element to the Fordham study seems to put emphasis on names, dates & events (rather than the underlying concepts & context), by paraphrasing the Fordham president "...its analysis is about making sure students have a firm grasp of historical facts before developing concepts and ideas." What?! The two are inextricably linked. 'Facts' are meaningless without the context around them, and besides, those 'facts' are often disputable depending on the perspective. What good is it if students can parrot back the date the Civil War began if they don't know the underlying causes?!
No wonder there's no money for Social Studies. We can't even decide what is valuable about content to begin with. If we can't agree on the value, how can we explain/justify why students should learn it?
I was bothered by these articles as well! It shows a continuing lack of understanding on the part of those "in charge" of not only why we need education, but how it should look on a classroom level. This obsession with test scores will do no good when we have generations of young adults that can find the right circle to mark but cannot problem solve their way out of a paper bag.
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