How something begins can matter a lot, especially for young adults. "The circumstances under which a person enters a profession is predictive of how that person will view the profession for the rest of his or her life." The goal is for that view to be positive and long lasting for social studies educators. Can more be done to support…

Planning a world history course presents a nearly impossible task. One cannot complete a world history course, or even a European history course, without casting a huge amount of historical information onto the curriculum planning scrapheap. An emphasis on the twentieth century means leaving out significant information from earlier times. "But how…

A notable feature of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts is the attention given to the teaching of reading and writing in history/social studies, science and technical subjects. The Standards for Reading Informational Text that are included in the Common Core State Standards require students to read texts in depth, understand…

The recent National Assessment of Educational Progress in Geography revealed that few American students can identify locations of current events, the scale of those events, or why those events are important. Social studies educators have found that by incorporating emerging technologies into their classroom--such as Geographic Information Systems…

Like many who entered the teaching profession in the 1970s, the author entered a profession that was in transition. Over the more than 30 years she spent in the classroom, the author has had a front row seat during this evolution. It has been a roller coaster ride at times, but she believes our schools will emerge stronger for it. Who we teach,…

Everyone under the age of 20 who has grown up in North America has lived in the common market created by NAFTA--the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a zone linking the United States, Canada, and Mexico, most goods and investments flow freely across borders to users, consumers, and investors. In 1994, NAFTA created the largest relatively…

If American young learners are to become effective participants in a democratic society, then social studies must be an essential part of the curriculum in each of the elementary years. The purpose of elementary school social studies is to enable students to understand, participate in, and make informed decisions about their world. Social studies…

One of the challenges that social studies educators face daily is how to make student learning relevant. Digital technologies can play an important role by connecting what happens in the classroom to the world beyond. One way to do this is by turning students into producers of information and having them create content rather than simply consume.…

The U.S. economy today has been in recovery since 2009. But nearly everyone agrees that the recovery is anemic--too slow to reduce the high level of unemployment. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP)--the total value of all the goods and services produced in the United States--increased at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.…

Central banking in the United States has a long and controversial history dating back to the earliest days of the republic. One of the most widely presented arguments against a central bank has been that the U.S. Constitution does not expressly grant the federal government power to charter a bank. Recently, this issue has received new scrutiny in…

National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) first published national curriculum standards in 1994. Since then, the social studies standards have been widely and successfully used as a framework for teachers, schools, districts, states, and other nations as a tool for curriculum alignment and development. However, much has changed in the world…

The world has changed rapidly since the end of the Cold War. Globalization demands a much higher intellectual standard of people in a country. At the same time, the trend toward pluralistic cultures in many countries has lessened confrontations among peoples of different ideologies. Compared with the twentieth century, in this new era, the peoples…

The U.S. economy took a historic nosedive in 2007-2010. It was the worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. However, evidence is emerging which suggests the country is in the midst of an economic recovery. In February 2010, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that GDP rose at a 5.9 percent annual rate in October through December…

This article presents an interview with Edward Biester, an attorney and a member of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law, who recently led the Section's initiative to develop a curriculum for high school students. In this interview, Biester discusses the history of American antitrust laws, looks at some of the contemporary issues, and highlights the…

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), in conjunction with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the nation's leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st century skills into education, is committed to bringing an expanded focus to social studies teachers. The two organizations have collaborated on some exciting…