Social Science
Department Chair: Ron Beck

The major purpose of social science education is to prepare students to be humane, rational, understanding, informed, and participating citizens in a diverse society and in an increasingly interdependent world--students who will continue to progress toward a just society.

To function effectively as citizens of the world, the United States, California, and the community, students need to appreciate their American heritage and their common human, historical, and cultural background, as well as to esteem their own and others' individual and group heritages.

To function effectively in society, the individual needs a breadth of knowledge about social situations and different economic systems--knowledge that exceeds immediate experience. The individual needs an awareness of the ways in which other men and women have derived answers to the crucial questions of human existence. The individual needs the skills of acquiring and validating knowledge. The individual also needs the ability to appreciate the perspectives of others and to have the capacity for understanding multiple perspectives on historical and social phenomena. The individual must understand that the crucial questions of human existence are ethical as well as emotional and intellectual.

As participating members of a democratic society, men and women must know how to cope with social problems and how to use reason, evidence, judgment, and freedom of choice. They must be able to act with responsibility and to accept and respect the rights and dignity of others. The individual must have a well-developed value system and be willing to act upon it, either independently or as a member of a group.

Each student is entitled to receive a broad, balanced, well-planned, and well-integrated series of learning experiences in the social sciences throughout the educational program. Instruction in the social sciences must be compatible with the developmental characteristics of young people.

GOALS

• Knowledge - The traditional and obvious sources of knowledge are the social science disciplines. The use of data, concepts, and generalizations is drawn from the various social sciences to understand how societies develop and function.
• Skills - Skills are a major component of the social science program. The use of a variety of problem-solving skills is appropriate to social science disciplines.
• Value - Values are enmeshed in all social institutions and in all matters of public policy. The understanding and appreciation of different social and personal values are an important function of the social science disciplines.
• Social Participation - The successful citizen of the nation and the world is one who can and does participate and interact in a variety of social situations. Social participation necessitates developing the knowledge and skills necessary to interact with others.

Objectives:

Objective I: Knowledge

1.1 To understand how continuity and change affect the lives of individuals and the development of societies.

1.2 To understand how societies develop in diverse physical and social settings and meet the needs and desires of their members.

1.3 To become familiar with the systems which operate in different societies to structure relationships, maintain order, and manage conflicts.

1.4 To understand how beliefs, traditions, and behaviors are transmitted in different societies.

Objective II: Skills

2.1 To develop basic skills for gathering and processing information.

2.2 To develop skills for intellectual or critical/creative thinking.

2.3 To develop interpersonal or social participation skills.

Objective III: Values

3.1 To understand differences and similarities of the value systems held by different cultural and social groups in the American society.

3.2 To understand the cohesive unifying elements in a democratic political community.

Objective IV: Social Participation

4.1 To develop an awareness of social change in the past and present and to anticipate future change.

4.2 To develop a knowledge about the ways in which individual groups of citizens can take constructive social action.

4.3 To participate in social action projects that are of benefit to the community.

SCOPE

The scope for the social science curriculum includes content from the following areas: Anthropology, Economics, Geography, U.S. History, World Civilizations, American Government, Psychology, Sociology, and Humanities