Financial literacy education has gained significant attention across the nation. Many states have passed legislation to mandate academic standards, instruction, and assessment of financial literacy as a prerequisite for high school graduation. This article investigates these changes over time and assesses their impact moving forward.

Although many adults perceive young "digital natives" as savvy about our new media landscape, youth are regularly fooled by inaccurate stories and online scams. Furthermore, beyond the threat of outright false information, young people encounter confusing half-truths, misleading arguments, and disguised efforts to collect their personal…

Media literacy expands the traditional concept of literacy to include the forms of communication that dominate the lives of our students. If our students are to be literate, we must teach them the skills and habits of literacy for print and non-print mediated messages. This National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) position statement…

"Insults, lies, and whale blood" should be the title for the latest international dispute involving the icy waters of Antarctica. Although this placid and remote area of the world seems to be the last place one might expect to encounter an intense debate between opposing cultures, the dispute is creating a worldwide legal stir that…

Alarmed by the possibility of social studies being overlooked in this context of new national disciplinary standards, National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools convened a meeting of 15 national organizations representing civics, economics, geography, and history, to begin a conversation about…

Many years ago, Christopher Columbus High School opened a chapter of Rho Kappa, the Social Studies Honor Society developed through the Florida Council for the Social Studies (FCSS). As department chair and member of FCSS, the author was thrilled to be able to offer their students opportunities in the Honor Society for the Social Studies. They…

While AP (Advanced Placement) Art History may be taught within the art department in many schools, social studies teachers are equally capable of teaching the course well. They have the historical background to discuss the reasons for changes in art styles. A teacher's preparation is similar to teaching a course stressing political history,…

In this article, Erika Cook and Aaron Becker suggest teachers travel to "unfamiliar" lands to not only breathe life into global lessons but also to gain new perspectives and experiences as educators. For teachers who dread teaching about an unfamiliar place or culture, Cook and Becker recommend considering the very real opportunities to…

A. Philip Randolph, the national president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was one of the driving forces behind the March on Washington Movement in 1941. In frustration over the federal government's lack of support for opportunities in the booming war industries and equality in the military, Randolph had begun to organize the March…

The author had come to Cote d'Ivoire in April 1999 to work for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), an independent humanitarian organization dedicated to persuading governments to respect the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL), which are found in the Geneva Conventions. These rules provide impartial protection for the…

William Tolley, a teaching fellow with the Choices Program, is the Learning and Innovation Coach and head of history at the International School of Curitiba, Brazil (IB). He writes in this article that he has found that the "Competing Visions of Human Rights" teaching unit, developed by Brown University's Choices Program, provides a…

In late December of 1951, a news story out of Mims, Florida, shocked the nation. The story contained elements of prejudice, discrimination, injustice, lynching, rape, bombings, and murder. The story not only made headlines across the country, but also the world. On the evening of December 25, a bomb was placed under the floor joists of the bedroom…

Outlines requirements for affiliation of local, state, and regional social studies councils with the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). Presents also a history of social studies organizational affiliation since 1940. (DB)

Although adolescent students often do not have knowledge of specific laws, they usually have a keen sense of justice and fairness. In this article, the author discusses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a powerful tool to channel students' sense of fairness into visible actions. Adopted in December 1948 by the General Assembly of…

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills places an important emphasis on fundamental social science subjects including history, geography, government and civics, and economics as well as a stress on other important subjects such as English, foreign languages, arts, and science in the school curriculum. It has also identified what it calls 21st…