Educators across the country are starting the most challenging school year they will probably ever encounter. The pandemic has exacerbated and created immense challenges for educators and society at large. Members of the NCSS Board of Directors have worked to use this time to make changes to their curriculum, advocate for an equity and antiracist focus in their districts and organizations, and think about how their teaching might look different this school year. Examples include:
 

• "Our district is putting together committees to really examine issues of equity.  I am now on the committee to analyze curricular materials across the district at all levels. I was so ready for this task!" - June Morris, Oregon.
   
• "I am using the pandemic as an opportunity and a reason to overhaul my social studies methods courses. Since I am required to make the adjustment from in-person courses to online, I am also going to do the work of making sure I include more scholars of color in my syllabus, more of a focus on critical work and anti-racism, and more inquiry-focused assignments." - Annie Whitlock, Michigan.
   
• "Online teaching has also added more tools to my tool chest, allowing me to use a variety of programs and to create a more meaningful online classroom. Since we moved online, I've created "playlists" on Schoology for my students to follow as we go through units. These playlists are user-friendly unit roadmaps where students can work at their own pace and make choices along the way. Overall teaching during COVID-19 has forced me to think about teaching differently. It has provided me with tools I can use in the future, regardless of whether we are virtual or in-person." - Wesley Hedgepeth, Virginia.

However, as I speak to friends and colleagues across the country, I've heard rumblings of further marginalization of social studies. I've heard educators say their district is cutting or eliminating social studies in order to create more time for reading and math. A recent post in a Facebook group I follow is just one example to confirm what I'm hearing. The post said:

"So I found out that I will be teaching ELA (English Language Arts). Social Studies is being removed from the curriculum so that learning gaps can be addressed. The focus will be on 'important subjects'—Math, Science, and ELA."

This is not acceptable. It is especially problematic during a time when students need social studies. NCSS member Robert Austin recently wrote:

"I know that most historians agree that all times are historic, but these times definitely seem destined for the history books.  In addition, tracking the spread of COVID-19 is a daily lesson in geography.  The economic ramifications are going to be astronomical. The political fallout and fault lines are increasingly evident. The psychological toll is immense. Sociologists and anthropologists will be studying this pandemic for decades to come."   

This perfectly highlighted some of the reasons social studies is needed now, more than ever. Our students cannot afford to have marginalized access to social studies. Social studies encourages students to be active and engaged citizens and solve complex societal problems. To support social-emotional learning, our students need access to the main area of the curriculum that provides "windows and mirrors." Students have questions about what is happening in the world today and want to use their voice to affect change. It would be an act of injustice to remove or continue to exclude social studies from the curriculum. 

If you hear this in your own district, speak up for the inclusion of social studies. Tell us about what you are hearing in your own district, how we can support you, and what you are doing to ensure that social studies receives equal time by tweeting the NCSS Twitter account, @NCSSNetwork, or my personal Twitter account, @srwteacher.