Social Studies Department - Philosophy,
Goals, and Instructional Objectives

Philosophy has been defined as the, "love of wisdom" or "a system of ideas". The Xavier High School Social Studies Department stays consistent with that definition. We recognize that wisdom comes from experience. The study of history is paramount so that each new generation may benefit from humankind's political, social, and economic experiences. However, this wisdom does not come from any one culture or nation's experience. Although we recognize that our students need to understand their immediate surroundings best, with each new development in transportation and communication those immediate surroundings become ever larger. Therefore, our curriculum stresses multiculturalism. It is also important that the study of history is expanded to the Social Studies which allows a fuller understanding of historical experiences by putting them into context, whether it is studying geography to better understand the physical realities in which these experiences occurred, studying archeology to better understand the technology of the time which directly influenced these experiences, or studying the arts so that we can reflect on how contemporaries understood their own experiences.

Our department's "system of ideas" is strongly influenced by who we are. Xavier High School is a Jesuit, Catholic, college preparatory school, located in the city of New York, in the state of New York, in the United States of America. First, following Xavier's own philosophy statement, the Social Studies department seeks to educate young men of "competence, conscience, and compassion". With this as a model, the basis of our instruction finds its roots in the Ignation Pedagological Paradigm established by St. Ignatious Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. The Paradigm teaches that one must consider the context of an event, reflect on the experience to determine action, and then evaluate the whole. It is through this prism that we attempt to examine all the major events in World and American history to enable us to truly develop an understanding of our human nature. As teachers in a Roman Catholic high school, we also use history to confront our students with moral questions.

 

JESUIT PEDAGOGY

Prelection - Preview to Inspire Interest
Active Learning  - Opportunity for personal discovery & creativity
Reflection - Individual study creating an independant learner 
            Repetition - Identical themes from multiple perspectives allows
analysis and eventually integration which concretizes
the learned material. A student shoul d  be exposed
  to a theme no less than five times.

1. Classroom Introduction
2. Reading Material
3. Manipulating Material
4. Studying Material
5. Assessing Material

 

By examining the decisions people have chosen throughout history, we challenge our students to examine the same moral questions in their own lives. A review of our instructional objectives should clearly show our commitment to a curriculum based on preparing our graduates for success in life, as well as college. Particular stress in this regard is placed on a graduated expectation of research writing assignments, a system of midterm and final exams, the high level of study, lecture and discussion held within the classroom, and the teaching of skills that will allow our students to continue to learn long after they have fulfilled all of Xavier's requirements. A strength at Xavier is a culturally diverse student population (which somewhat reflects the population of New York City). The tradition of Jesuit education transcends cultural diversity. Our Social Studies courses aim at broadening the historical experience of all of our students, giving each student the opportunity to investigate and understand his own ethnic, cultural, and personal history, as well as learning to appreciate and respect those of others. Our student population being what it is, primary multi-cultural accounts (personal student experiences) in the history classroom help to inspire greater student curiosity and toleration. As a school teaching in New York State our curriculum reflects the guidelines established by the New York State Social Studies Board of Regents and our textbooks are NYSTL funded.

Teaching history in the United States brings with it a special responsibility. The Social Studies department recognizes that living in a nation with a political system based on a democratic heritage requires that citizens be educated, responsible, informed, and active in order for that system to survive. The American history program uses a chronologically based thematic approach to the study of American history. These themes bring to our students to a greater understanding of America's multi-ethnic culture, American government, and the responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. The Social Studies Department supports former Chairman of the Secretary of Education's Research Priorities Panel, Diane Ravitch's philosophy on the importance that students develop into citizens who can grant a mandate through "informed consent" which,

"...requires a citizenry that is rational and knowledgeable. If our system is to remain free and democratic, citizens should know not only how to judge candidates and their competing claims but how our institutions evolved. An understanding of history does not lead everyone to the same conclusions, but it does equip people with the knowledge to reach independent judgements on current issues. Without historical perspective, voters are more likely to be swayed by emotional appeals...or charisma."

 In as much as our curriculum celebrates the promises and legacy of the political rhetoric of the founding fathers...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of  Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."  (Declaration of Independence)  

...our curriculum is a realistic, neutral account which does not just give the party line. We also address events whose history does not measure up to the rhetoric of the founding fathers. This type of study is important in order to create citizens who are neither blind to, nor sceptical of the promise of Democratic Government, but citizens that realize the rhetoric of the founding fathers is a promise that all of us must live our lives trying to further. A well-rounded knowledge of the major themes of American history, including both the positive and the negative, leads to the development of the free mind. The development of the free mind "needs to know its past, to debate and discuss how the world came to be as it is, in order to know what to defend and what to change and how to resist imposed orthodoxies." (Diane Ravitch, "The Decline and Fall of Teaching History", New York Times Magazine, November 17, 1985)

The Social Studies department recognizes the importance of studying African, Asian, American, European, and Latin American civilizations. The program spends two years covering in depth the historical evolution of each of these cultures. In doing so, we encourage our students to think creatively about the contributions of each to humankind's experience. This allows the student to better appreciate his own heritage, but it clearly shows the cross pollination of ideas from a multiple of human experiences that have gone into developing that heritage. However, just as in the American history curriculum, we also study events in World history that are clearly not to be celebrated. This is not to cast cultural judgement, hiding behind our own biases, but to recognize and avoid similar pitfalls or intolerances in the future, hopefully learning from the mistakes of the past. Our goal is that through an inclusive, analytical, and critical study of a variety of the world's cultures and religions, as well as the unique American historical experience, that the student will truly understand the rights and responsibilities of a member of the world community. It is only through understanding the past and present that the students of today will be able to make an impact upon the world of tomorrow.

"Since we are born dependent, we require an education in liberty...
            Since we are born distinctive and differentiated, we have to acquire
            tolerance, civility, and mutual respect. Born in a variety of shapes
            and sizes and colors, we are anything but peers and our equality is a
            precious acquisition: something to be slowly, often painfully, learned
            in spite of the evidence of our senses." (Benjamin Barber, Aristocracy 
            of Everyone: The Politics of Education and the Future of America)