For decades, educators, policy makers, and average citizens have argued about the purpose and content of social studies. The appropriate "role" of academic disciplines such as history and geography within the social studies curriculum has been heatedly debated. But, for all the arguments, convention speeches, and journal articles, it seems clear that the term citizenship education lies at the heart of social studies. We teach history and geography and U.S. government and all the other courses; but our purpose is not to create historians or geographers. Instead, we are helping our students acquire the knowledge, skills, and, most importantly, the dispositions necessary for an informed and active citizenry.
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