Social Studies

1. Pick out 3 themes out of 10 which you think curriculum planners and implementers should focus upon
especially with the current state of Philippine Education, the value put into Social Studies disciplines and
the kind of students we have.
Social Studies cover an array of disciplines and fields of study, hence, the National Council for the Social
Studies (NCSS) played a vital role in establishing a systematized and efficient Social Studies instruction
across the globe. The NCSS provided national curriculum standards which have been extensively utilized
by educators, schools, and education systems in various countries. The said standards paved the way for
successfulcurriculum alignment and development. On the other hand, Social Studies in its natural sense,is
dynamic and adaptive, concepts taught do not remain unchanged over a long period of time. Since the set
of standards introduced by the NCSS were published in 1994, and in lieu of the fact that Social Studies is
centered on up to date and relevant social issues, revisions were made in order for these guidelines to be fit
and relevant in today’s time. Thus, the 10 themes were developed to present a more vigorous and holistic
aspect of the framework, making teaching, and learning more deep, critical, and relevant. Meanwhile, in
my point of view, the following themes below are the ones that needs to be given more emphasis by
curriculum planners and implementers in relation with the current state of Philippine Education.
Time, Continuity, and Change. No one can hide away from the fact that history is as relevant as planning
for the future. Unfortunately, concepts in history are often viewed and generalized as lengthy, boring, and
repetitive. Despite the abundance and availability of authentic recorded and written resources that narrate
the stories of the past, a good number of Filipinos still anchor their beliefs on erroneous claims, unproven
theories, and blatant lies. Take for example, the burst of disinformation regarding the Marcos regime
spreading across various platforms. This occurrence does not only mean that learners failed to comprehend
and apply lessons in history, but this also signifies that there is something lacking in the education system.
It could have been that the Social Studies instruction in the country failed to establish a strong foundation
on the study of history. Thus, this indicates that there is a great need for curriculum planners and
implementers to strengthen and improve the method of teaching history among Filipino learners. Teachers
must develop authentic learning materials and plan out learning experiences that targets learning outcomes
and ensures that learners would fully comprehend and apply what are being taught. Unfolding the
circumstances from the past enables us to understand the tenets of the present. By revisiting what happened
throughout time, what happens continuously, and what changes take place in the society, we can deeply
analyze the causes and consequences of events as well as the developments that led us to how the society
works at present.
Power, Authority, and Governance. In 2021, the Philippines ranked 117 out of 180 countries in the
Corruption Perceptions Index. Global Corruption Barometer recorded 19% of public users paid a bribe in

2. the previous 12 months, not to mention the uncountable dirty tricks, injustices, inhumane practices by
political leaders in the country. However,turnouts in survey cannot be fully trusted, for example, 80 percent
of Filipinos trust the government in 2017, an ironically high-rate opposite to what happens in reality. For
the longest time, politicians have abused their power in the most imprudent ways possible with most of
them getting away with it. Authorities in the form of government agencies and government offices have
their own ways of exploiting the citizens through various means of bribes which has become a requirement
prior to availing their services. The government which should supposedly be the voice of the people has
turned upside down and has become an institution ruled by corruption and undignified practices. These
illegal and toxic practices indicate that the previous generation have produced leaders that are not fit for
their work but rather,selfish, money-oriented, and corrupt. Thus, this reminds us that we need to empower
the teaching of civic competence and responsible citizenship under the Social Studies instruction in order
to promote an understanding of the foundations of political thought, and the historical development of
various structures of power, authority, and governance. Learners must also develop the knowledge of
identifying the needs of social groups, concepts of a just society, so they may become more effective
problem-solvers and decision-makers. We must see to it that the Social Studies instruction we provide must
shape and eventually produce enlightened, critical thinkers, and responsible learners as the future leaders
of the country.
Global Connections. International news pass by our news feed almost every day, our generation is
somewhatprovided with the abundance of information and details. Hence,the only thing lacking is empathy
and awareness. It is relieving to know that the youth tend to lean towards social awakening but there are
still a lot who are walking in the opposite direction and are somewhat misled by apathy and ignorance. We
ought to rememberthat the Philippines is not a stand-alone country, it is interconnected with other countries
across the globe. The Philippines establishes diplomatic ties with other countries for economic and social
purposes, we transact, market, import and export with other countries as well as search for potential
investors that would help our economy grow. In this sense, we are reminded of the significance of
globalization and global connections in the development of our country. Now, we identify that there is a
great need for global connections to be given emphasis under the Social Studies instruction, teachers need
to shed light on relevant global issues, in order for learners to learn the significance and the relatedness of
these occurrences to us Filipinos.
Hence,teaching Social Studies is not as easy as presenting complex formulas and trying to figure out what
is the specific answer.Social Studies is always subject to biases,controversies, issues and more, hence there
is really a need for concrete set of standards and guidelines to lead teachers on what and what not to teach.
The depth of Social Studies instruction sometimes depend on the knowledge of the teacher,thus, with the

3. help of the ten themes, teachers are guided with the specific content matter that they need to present in
class. As a recap, the three themes I discussed which I consider to be relevant, are; time, continuity and
change, power, authority, and governance, and lastly, global connections. I believe that these three needs
to be given more attention and emphasis under the Social Studies instruction because they are mostly
undermined and ignored. Thus, all themes are important and needs to be deeply analyzed by the learners,
but these three,Ibelieve are just a little bit more complicated so teachersneedto introduce them in a manner
that would entice the learners.
References:
Transparency International. (2019, November 25). Philippines. Transparency.Org.
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/philippines