Department Philosophy

It is the belief of the members of the Department of History and Social Sciences that a strong background in both history and the social sciences is an essential component in the education of intelligent and responsible citizens of the nation and the world. We also believe that learning a simple chronological sequence of events is insufficient to an understanding of an increasingly complex, diverse, and problematic world. We seek to provide high school students a set of many varying lenses which they can use to bring into focus an expanding view of history. We seek to provide students with the intellectual tools to understand human behavior in both historical and social contexts. Honing these intellectual tools is an active process which challenges students intellectually and requires them to become aware of their own prejudices and habits of thought. The implicit and key result of the understanding of one's self is an understanding of the human biases embedded in other sources of information.

In a world of rapid change and cultural diversity students need to develop a tolerance for ambiguity and a resistance to seek quick and easy answers to complex problems. History and the social sciences help to develop the intellectual tools required to examine events thoughtfully and reach conclusions carefully. These intellectual tools are necessary to clearly understand the interaction of culture, class, ethnicity, gender, and race with political and economic events. Through a developing clarity of understanding the rich hues which make up the tapestry of history become visible. It is our hope that such an approach will inspire a lifelong interest in history and current events. Further, we hope students will become informed, responsible, and active citizens. If they do, we will then have produced members of the "educated populace" that Thomas Jefferson believed was the fundamental requirement for the success of a democratic society.

For more about our philosophy, please see the curriculum introduction.