The C3 Framework is an important step forward for our students and our discipline. As a middle school social studies teacher, I have always anchored my instruction in big ideas and used inquiry as a foundation for teaching, but the C3 has allowed me to improve my practice in ways that are real to my students, important to my profession, and most importantly, reflect the reasons I entered the classroom. By providing a clear, concise way of thinking about social studies using a narrative arc, the C3 has made me more deliberate in my planning and improved the way I approach sources with my students.
One area of the C3 that is especially important for social studies is “Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action”. Of course, citizenship has always been a priority in social studies education but encouraging students to actually do something (other than voting) about their concerns has often been lacking.
Civic engagement, after all is much more than voting; it is standing up and exposing injustice in the world. Students today have an unprecedented ability to make a difference through the use of digital tools. They have computers in their pockets and are able to record injustice when they see it and share it with the world using social media. These tools allow them to be modern muckrakers, reaching out to thousands around the world to support those in need. We need to teach students how to use these tools effectively and the C3 provides an opportunity and validation to do that in a classroom context.
The marginalization of our discipline is the most significant issue facing our profession today. Historically, the reason for our system of public education was based on the need to prepare young people to be educated, engaged, and ethical citizens. Democracy by its nature requires an informed electorate and each generation must teach the next. However, it seems that our elected leaders and policy makers have forgotten this founding principle. Social Studies is becoming an academic stepchild in many schools, subsumed by English language arts. While there is certainly no easy answer to the crisis we are facing today, through the implementation and advocacy of the C3 nationwide, I believe social studies will be elevated from its current position and help inform the educational reform debate.
