We Don’t Want History Left For Last
Kelly Clark, Teacher
Standardizing social studies, as part of the NCLB testing process, is more of an onion than an apple. It has multiple layers and each has to be peeled to be understood.
The simple truth is that history/social studies should be standardized because they are key parts of the curriculum. These subjects teach us what, where, why, when, and how. In fact, history has the capacity to anchor everything else we teach in the curriculum. Knowledge of history/social studies provides a time-map for life and allows us to acknowledge our beginnings, interpret our present, and contemplate our future.
If language arts, math, and science are all important enough to get the attention of federal regulation, why not social studies? By not standardizing history/social studies, we send a clear message to students, their families, their communities, and the schools they attend. The message is that these subjects are optional and can be left for last -- if taught at all.
It is unfortunate that it takes federal scrutiny to ensure that language arts, mathematics, and science are taught to our students. In our current teaching environment, teachers scramble, adjust, omit, and add to their schedules in order to make sure they teach mandated skills across the subjects. Teachers are aware of what students will be required to know to succeed on these standardized tests. For students to have some chance of passing these tests, they need to be familiar with how to go about answering test questions. Students need to be taught a certain amount of information across the subjects, and they need to retain that information when the time comes to be tested.
Before we rush to adopt standardized testing in history/social studies, we need to do some soul searching. Why is it just now we are considering adding history/social studies to the standardized testing menu? Are we simply responding to the tide of what is happening in education, in other words, being reactionary rather than proactive? If we adopt standardization, it should be because it is important to teach students about themselves and others and social studies/history provide the means for doing so. Arming students with a strong foundation in history empowers them. This should be our rationale.
Districts, schools, and teachers need to be held accountable for the time students spend in classrooms. NCLB's standardized testing is not the only tool for doing this, but it is one tool for helping to prepare children to face the challenges that await them.
