People, Places and Politics

What is "Social Studies?"

This subject always bothered me in school. I don't know if it was the "social" or the "studies." I'm not even sure what we studied in that class, other than the cute boy two rows over. As I have thought about this subject and learned more about the world around me, I've come to this conclusion; social studies should be renamed "Cultural Appreciation and Awareness." That at least is more politically correct.

This subject has a bunch of stuff lumped into it including:

community service
cultures
current events
geography
history
local history
local politics
national politics
race relations
world politics

How do you study?

Social Studies, in my mind, is the study of life around you. When you study history you don't just do the hard facts, you study the political climate, the people's attitudes, the race relations at that time. When you study a country you study...well, the same things.

Scouting has helped us in studying this subject. In Cub Scouts you are becoming aware of the community around you and in Boy Scouts there are three required merit badges that help in this area; Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Country and Citizenship in the World. What a great opportunity to study the social structure of the world around you and at large.

Stores that sell social study products.

Last updated: November, 2006

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