In this article, the author tells the story of the 22-month program involving the political exodus of thousands of Cuban children to the United States in the early 1960s. Fearing communist indoctrination and the rumor of patria potestad--the government assuming legal guardianship of their children--Cuban parents sent their unaccompanied children…

This article presents what the authors consider to be the ten top websites for teaching about issues in the election season. These include: (1) The Annenberg Political Fact Check--a non-partisan organization that assesses the accuracy of candidates' information in ads, speeches, and debates; (2) The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Ads…

The social landscape of the United States can be mapped by using a series of cultural fault lines. This topography portrays conditions that descriptions of the surface fail to illuminate. Many of these schisms are the by-product of ideological positions that diminish personal responsibility and thoughtful civic discourse. If left unattended, these…

Last summer, California and Massachusetts became the sixth and seventh states--along with Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Maryland--to send a resolution to the U.S. Congress calling for a constitutional amendment to (1) end the court's extension of personhood rights to corporations, and (2) enable the government to definitively…

In the recent past, and especially since September 11, 2001, many democratic nations have been forced to deal with the threat of attacks on their land. Former U.S. President George W. Bush famously labeled this challenge the "War on Terror." Examining how nations address this issue offers a golden opportunity for social studies teachers…

With state content standards always looming in the background, history teachers express concern about "covering the curriculum." And, many history teachers say they have to abandon teaching the "fun stuff" in order to teach state-mandated content. While teaching challenges do entail practical considerations, this article argues…

The author asserts that it is time for social studies teachers to engage students in a review of the rift between historical reality and mythology about Viet Nam, especially in light of recent comparisons that many have made between the Viet Nam War and the current situation in Iraq. Few teachers dealt with Viet Nam at the time of the war, and…

In 1983, elementary and secondary teachers in West Germany were surveyed concerning the treatment of social themes in school curricula. As in a similar survey conducted in the United States, West German respondents indicated that every theme surveyed was important, with nuclear disarmament and environmental pollution clearly considered the most…