It's funny how life can take you on a twisty journey.
As a young man in high school, I was kicked out in my junior year. The parting words from my principal were "Moran, you will not amount to a hill of beans". Fast forward over three decades, I am entering my first class to earn my administration credentials.
Yes, after over two decades of teaching every school day, I am taking baby steps to move out of the classroom. Why would I leave the classroom? I love working with kids. I love seeing my students make the connections from an abstract social studies lesson to their lives.
But during the past few years, I have seen my discipline become the stepchild in public education. As administrator after administrator continues to push social studies to the back burner of our schools. Time and time again, I am denied an education assistant in my classroom when I have struggling readers or struggling writers, I am told my subject is not a tested subject and I ( and my students) do not receive the additional help. Never mind, my social studies classes use the same skills as in Language Arts.
Additionally, I hear how kids in schools today do not show empathy. But social studies the only discipline where empathy is a cornerstone of the standards. Every lesson and activity students drive to understand who people did what they did. What motivated intelligent Germans to commit genocide. Why did the Americans fight, what seemed like a losing battle of independence against the superpower of Great Britain? Social Studies get kids to be more empathetic.
This is the reason why I am moving from the classroom - to be a Social Studies advocate. To the administrator to voice the importance of civics, history, geography, and economics.
I will share my thoughts and feelings along this journey. Please join me. Let's see where this goes.
