Rebooting Social Studies

Strategies for Reimagining History Classes

By (author) Greg Milo

Publication date:

08 March 2017

Length of book:

136 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781475828757

Those facts. Those dates. Those four walls. Those still and petrified fossils of traditional history courses. Sure, it's history, but do we have to turn to tradition for guidance? Let's make it worth the students time. Let's give them something to take beyond their high school experience. Let's reboot history. The goal of the social studies is to provide students with the tools necessary to be active and productive citizens. History teachers need to assist their students in developing problem-solving skills for real-life scenarios, and this can be done whether we teach students about Ancient Athens or modern Akron, Ohio. The ancient Mediterranean, the Italian Renaissance, and the British East India Company are very distant concepts, far from what our students find as relevant. The same skills can be acquired by studying something nearer to the students' interests and everyday life. So, take a moment to take a step back from the history curriculum, and ask yourself: "What skills will my students need in five years?"

Preface: Just a Teacher
Introduction
Chapter 1: Horror Stories and Happy Stories
Chapter 2: What’s Missing? Why do Students Hate history?
Chapter 3: Depth over Breadth
Chapter 4: Deconstructing the Doldrums
Chapter 5: I Didn’t Learn This in College
Chapter 6: Independent Studies
Chapter 7: Alternative Field Trips
Chapter 8: The Magic of Electives
Chapter 9: I Didn’t Learn This in College, Either
Chapter 10: Embrace the Struggle
Chapter 11: Build a Book
Conclusion
References
Bibliography
About the Author

This work serves as an inspiration for Social Studies teachers looking for ways to innovate teaching and learning for their students. Such efforts will help develop an informed and engaged citizenry who think critically about the complexities of the world in which we live.