High School Social Studies: How is It Faring with NCLB’s Focus in Elementary School?

As more countries throughout the world begin to form stable democracies, many people look to the United States as an example. In our own country, democracy is participatory and depends heavily on the involvement of the citizens. It is a premise of this discussion that greater education among the people of society leads to increased participation in the political arena. (Roskin 42) As many people know, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 changed the face of the American education system. What many people do not know, is that in many classrooms, the traditional Social Studies curriculum is being phased out to spend more time preparing students for standardized reading and math testing. (Zhao 216) Here, we will look at why this is happening and establish emphasis on the importance of the inclusion of Social Studies curriculum at the secondary grade levels.

Relationship between education and political science

As mentioned, education directly affects the participation of a society. This is a result of citizens having knowledge of issues, awareness of candidates for office, and familiarity with political structure and procedure. (Roskin 123- 129; 216- 218) In the early history of American politics, several tactics were used in the attempt to disfranchise several groups including minorities, women, and immigrants. The activists that brought democracy to both their interest groups and thus, our nation, were all strong advocates of education. To offer an example, in 1826, Susan B. Anthony was six years old when her father realized she was receiving less education because she was female. He removed her from the local school and taught her himself, with the assistance of Mary Perkins. Twenty-three years later in 1849, Susan B. Anthony, armed with her education, delivered the first of many speeches that ultimately led to woman suffrage in the United States. (Western New York Suffragists)  Another well known example that represented African-Americans demanding suffrage was W.E.B. Du Bois. During the Reconstruction Era, Dr. Du Bois led an assertive campaign to see suffrage brought to the impoverished African-American people. Despite formidable resistance by existing government, Dr. Du Bois’ strong backing of education in politics and history allowed for his co-founding of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1909. This movement, along with other activist efforts by Du Bois, ensured that the fight for African-American suffrage would be a winning one. (America’s Story)

Looking at only a couple of the successes of past Americans, we clearly see that education is vital to democratic advancement. This is not only the education of the elected leaders, but the education of the citizens selecting them as well. This emphasis on education of what is happening politically is more important now than ever, with mass media providing constant sources of misinformation, propaganda, and distraction. (Chitty 2004) That is not to say that the truth is not readily available; however, only the educated are usually able to dissect the truth from the entertainment. Even if the strategies conceived by political scientists to increase voter turnout in the younger voter demographic were to work, these votes would be largely based on casual judgments rather than informed decisions. (Duplass 138)