That social studies and, to a lesser degree science, have become something of orphans in K-6 instruction is an open secret. The system of schooling in the US has increasingly become objectives and standards based. As this edifice has grown, it has demanded more measurability and thus more accountability. That accountability, through testing, is focused almost solely on math and language arts. This leads to a feedback loop, a cycle that encourages teachers--pressured by administrators--to spend increasing amounts of time on instruction in subjects that will demonstrate progress on scales of school success. As teachers feel and apply more pressure on students to succeed on assessments of math and language arts, more time is relegated to their instruction. Since the early part of this century, time spent on social studies and to a somewhat lesser extent, science, have consequently suffered nationwide, with some exceptions, from varied factors. I explore these factors, and the inevitable consequences, with the help of early career teachers in two states. [For the full proceedings, see ED656038.]