Content, inquiry, literacy, citizenship.  I was excited to see these four words at the top of the descriptive narrative for the new History/Social Studies framework for the state of California.  While social studies has a seat at the table of core academic disciplines, our K-12 schools don’t always give it the attention it deserves.  Yes, Math and English are important, but are they inherently more important than learning how societies, economies, and politics work?  I don’t want to get into a competition for which discipline is the most important, or the most neglected.  I taught Spanish as a World Language and have plenty to say about the powers that shape curricular priorities.

Of course I was a little disappointed that the new framework wasn’t more explicit in its commitment to authentic critical thinking.  I think the critical lens takes things one step past “inquiry,” towards issues of bias, power, and control.  One of the essential questions for a middle grades social studies class, for example, asked how “distant regions of the world become more interconnected.”  The framework seemingly treated “interconnectedness” as a benign phenomenon that had little to say about power, violence, racism, and war.  Unfortunately, these are often areas of common ground for humanity.

But despite my critiques, I was very much heartened at the broadened ambition to ensure that our social studies classrooms become centers for inquiry, literacy development, and the promotion of genuine citizenship.  Where better than a social studies classroom to break down the reliability of sources of information?  Where better than a social studies classroom to make meaning of non-fictional text?  Where better than a social studies classroom to analyze data tables and trends?

Yes, we need to learn history.  But honestly, we all carry around an incredibly powerful database for historical facts and figures at our fingertips.  We have to move towards these other keys components of the social studies curriculum – to analyze sources, cite textual evidence, compose cogent arguments, marshall statistical data, and perhaps most importantly, exercise our rights and duties as citizens.

So, I’m excited about the direction we are headed.