The Utility of Curriculum History

Thank you for your work on Unit 3—I enjoyed reading your posts!

Ronald Evan’s book, The Social Studies Wars, gives us a great introduction to the field of curriculum studies. In the book, we see how the field of Social Studies is populated by competing ideologies, each of which is motivated by, and responding to, the surrounding social and political issues of the day.

Social Studies may be unique in the degree to which it is politicized—but it is important to realize that the entire school curriculum is subject to the same forces. The school curriculum has a long history of continuity and change.

We can see this in very obvious ways as classes like home economics and shop class have virtually disappeared from the curriculum, as the economy has shifted more and more away from industrial production towards consumer services. The same global economic forces that have led the elementary school to focus more and more on math and literacy test scores have likewise marginalized such subjects as the fine arts and social studies. The curriculum has a history.

As teachers, our sense of what is possible for us to do in the classroom is shaped by the curricular discourses that are available to us. When we are well versed in the history of such discourses, we are better able to choose among the options—and, at times, resist the forces that would make teachers merely technicians, hired to implement curricular tools that have been built by others (very often, without the best interests of students and teachers at heart).

Because the content that Social Studies could conceivably address is so vast, it is very tempting to turn away from a focus on content and concern ourselves with the outcomes we wish to cultivate in our students. This is a strategy that I noticed many of you turning towards—and I think it is, in many ways, a good one.

Yes, it matters that students know about the history of racism in the United States—as well as the many attempts by people of all races to dismantle such practices. It likewise matters that students understand the many sacrifices made by those that have come before them.

Yet, as many of you have noted, if such information is not made relevant, it is not useful. This, in turn, would suggest that we focus on such key outcomes as thoughtfulness, empathy, gratitude, grit, compassion, and concern for the common good. What good to know about the history of white supremacy in the United States if students are not prepared to thoughtfully and whole-heartedly deal with the issues of our day?

Indeed, as one of our colleagues has wonderfully noted, a globally-infused Social Studies is perhaps the subject that best teaches us how to view the world holistically, with a sense of the interdependence of all beings. In this day and age, where the climate crisis threatens our very future as a species, I can think of no better outcome.

Thank you for your work in this course! I look forward to your final projects.