Chapter 1: Social Studies in the Age of Accountability: The Two Are Not Mutually Exclusive

Can you recall when you last observed an elementary lesson where students were engaged in substantive discussion of powerful social studies concepts? Where critical thinking about social studies concepts was the norm not an anomaly? Where the goals of the lesson were apparent and valued by both teacher and students? The contributors to this volume have seen such lessons; what is more, these lessons persist—even in the wake of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top.

Witnessing classes in which children grapple with important social studies concepts makes us, as social studies educators, feel good about our profession. More important, we know that our multicultural democracy is in better hands when social studies gets the time and depth it deserves. As Thomas Jefferson (1816) noted, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.” Thomas Jefferson and other founders of the republic emphasized that the vitality of a democracy depends on the education and participation of its citizens. This education begins in elementary social studies lessons, where students learn the skills necessary for active participation in our democratic society and are prepared to promote the common good as competent, self-directed citizens. The elementary years are the time when “children develop a foundation for the entire social studies program and a beginning sense of efficacy as participating citizens of their world” (National Council for the Social Studies, 1988). Jones and Thomas (2006) argue that social studies’ inclusion in the elementary curriculum gives birth to citizenship development, global awareness, democratic values, and a sense of community.