Purpose
Incorporation of social studies into the syllabus of all classes has broadened and widened the world of knowledge for students of all ages. The chief end of teaching this subject is to make students understand their existence in relation to the past and the present. They learn to relate themselves to their surroundings, neighbors, relatives, environment, society, country and the world. It imparts them knowledge of the past to understand the present.
Teaching social studies is effective in making much of student’s life. It endows them with all requisite skills such as problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, future-planning skills, communication skills, thought-processing skills and value-assessing skills that are of the essence to live a sociable life. It also teaches them how to be a good member of the family, inhabitant of locality and citizen of the country.
Reading social studies improvises the curiosity of young children, makes them imagine the vast expanse of nature and helps them to interact with their surroundings. They learn to see the world in broad and wide perspective. Life becomes larger than the universe to them. It gives them both scope and space to expand themselves. It also gives them a look into the future and teaches them to weigh the pros and cons of an action.
Social studies is a vast resource of general knowledge. Young children cannot integrate new experiences that they acquire from their observation of the inner and outer world with their theoretical knowledge due to lack of certain skills. Reading this subject helps them blend their theoretical knowledge and practical experience. It builds their concept of the world that is outside the circumference of their personal world.
The study of the society and its daily events through newspapers, magazines, T.V. programs, news channels or radios is also social studies. Young children can develop their knowledge of the society and its life through these media of social studies. It is an incomparable means for upgrading themselves.
You should teach your child or students this subject in a planned way, with a constructive approach. You can develop their inquiry skill, critical thinking and refine their knowledge. This way, they can develop a positive concept of the self. They can evaluate themselves into better and more responsible human beings. They get a hang of the universal truth that interdependence between the society and social beings is the key to the existence of life on earth. In brief, social studies is a penetrating study of the world and its several wonders.