This inquiry explores some of the dynamic changes occurring in the US labor markets through the investigation of the compelling question “Does it matter what I want to be when I grow up?” The importance of understanding labor markets in this inquiry is twofold: (1) students should be able to understand some of the changes that exist and persist in today’s labor markets, especially labor demand (or derived demand), and (2) students will benefit from understanding fluctuations in supply and demand and how they affect wages. While progressing through the inquiry, students should analyze the structural changes occurring in the labor markets and affirm or perhaps refocus their own career goals and pathways. In doing so, students can cement their theoretical understandings of supply and demand and the impact of market forces on their own career choices.
Tier 1
The Heart of Social Studies
Inquiries
This inquiry explores some of the dynamic changes occurring in the US labor markets through the investigation of the compelling question “Does it matter what I want to be when I grow up?” The importance of understanding labor markets in this inquiry is twofold: (1) students should be able to understand some of the changes…
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The goal of this inquiry is to help students understand the various factors that caused the United States to be on the winning side in World War II. The compelling question “Why was the US on the winning side of World War II?” engages students with both the economic and military factors that contributed to…
This inquiry leads students through an investigation of campaign finance by examining election costs, expenditures, and the complex relationships between candidates and political-action committees. By investigating the compelling question “Does money matter in political campaigns?” students dissect contemporary political campaigns in order to assess whether or not campaign-finance reform should take place. In investigating contemporary…
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This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the perennial power struggle between federal and state governments to legislate. By investigating the compelling question “Who has the power?” students will consider the role of state government in initiating the best legislation for its citizens, even in cases where state law conflicts with federal law. In…
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Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman once said, “There is a standard cliché which I am sure you have all heard, that if you have two economists in one room, you are bound to have at least three opinions.” Drawing on disciplinary experts who disagree on a fundamental free-market economic tenet, this inquiry asks students to…
This inquiry leads students through an investigation of recent studies that try to quantify a country’s happiness through different economic measures. By investigating the compelling question about whether Americans could be happier, students consider the ways in which economic values (e.g., freedom, security, sustainability) impact our perspectives on happiness and the extent to which we…
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This inquiry is framed by the compelling question “Can disease change the world?” Among the many catastrophic global pandemics in history, perhaps none achieved the notoriety of the Black Death. The Black Death was a massive outbreak of the bubonic plague caused by infectious bacteria. Thought by scientists to have been spread by contaminated fleas…
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The goal of this inquiry is to introduce students to historiography as they wrestle with historical significance within the context of a historical controversy. The common narrative about the end of slavery has given credit to President Abraham Lincoln, who earned the nickname “The Great Emancipator.” However, over the past 30 years, many scholars have…
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This annotated inquiry leads students through an investigation of the Aztec Empire through the study of its capital city, Tenochtitlán. Scholars debate the significance of the role of the Aztec Empire in Mesoamerican culture. While some observers see great innovation in architecture, agriculture and economic systems, others see a simplistic, militaristic, and flawed empire. Further…
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This inquiry examines the emergence of the women’s suffrage movement in the 19th century as an effort to expand women’s political and economic rights, and it extends that investigation into the present. The compelling question “What does it mean to be equal?” provides students with an opportunity to examine the nature of equality and the…