The Iowa Council for the
Social Studies Journal
Vol 11, Fall 1998

Theme: Social Studies as Essential

​Forward
Lynn E. Nielsen, University of Northern Iowa

Essential Knowledge for the Holding the Office of Citizen in a Democratic Republic
Michael Hartoonian
 
Discusses the essential knowledge students must acquire to hold the office of a citizen in a democratic republic. Analyzes the relationship between virtue, learning and civic work in both the public and private lives of citizens, providing a backdrop for the articles which follow.
 
Back to the True Basics
Judith M. Finkelstein & Linda May Fitzgerald
 
Describes how these ideals are applied in the development of a classroom community at the early childhood level.
 
Social Studies are Relevant to the Education of Primary Schools
Janet Miller
 
Describes how social studies are essential to the primary classroom and should not and cannot be displaced be a narrow concept of curriculum that finds room for only math, science and language.
 
Living Outside of the Box
Dawn Remsburg
 
Describes how the integration of the social studies disciplines can inform the civic lives of upper elementary students as they learn to live “outside the box.”
 
Commonalities for Essential Social Studies Education
Gregory H. Hamot
 
Reflects on the philosophical foundations of democratic citizenship through the lens of his work with secondary students and the ability or inability of teachers to impact their social choices even when these choices lead to violence.
 
Good Citizenship and Controversial Discussion Make Social Studies Essential – Let’s Talk About It
Carolyn Pereira
 
Constructs participatory citizenship as a role involving examination of controversial social issues and analysis of multiple perspectives. Provides a concrete classroom application in a lesson sequence focusing on the issue of gun control.