Social Studies at Dassel-Cokato High School
Thinking to Learn
By Mick Yanke, DC Social Studies Teacher, 1999 - present
The most famous code cipher in American History was: “One if by land, two if by ____.”
August 28, 1914, _________________ was shot to death in Sarejevo, Bosnia.
“Why do we have to learn this . . . ?” A common lament I have heard from students over the past decade.
In my 13 years teaching social studies at DC, countless times I have covered the chapters that included
those tidbits of information. If simply providing the information (sea; Archduke Franz Ferdinand ) that
fills in the blanks was the be all and end all of our social studies curriculum, then those students’
frustrations would be justified. Too much of social studies often borders on mere trivia (as seen above).
Trivia, for some can be interesting, depending on the subject; for others it can be trivial. Again, too much
of social studies education is merely the presentation of information through reading, lecture, and
worksheet; we then assess by measuring the retention and rendition of stored trivia.
Social studies can be, and should be, so much more than that. At the beginning of every new trimester, we
spend considerable time on the most important topic in all of K12 education: THINKING !! I passionately
believe that teachers must develop students’ thinking skills (logic, reasoning, problem solving) above
knowledge retention. I have used many analogies over the years to illustrate this concept to the kids:
The dates, names, places, and vocabulary are the leaves on a tree. Each year in school new
leaves form, mature, and eventually wither and fall away . . . the cycle repeats. So it is with
knowledge. Consider the following questions:
1. Why did Romeo kill Tybalt?[9th grade English class 1988]
2. Jot down the quadratic formula? [Algebra 1990]
3. What is the 8th element on the periodic table? [Chemistry 1991]
I am confident that as you read this, you were once taught this knowledge in your own formal
education as I was, but, unless you are still presently involved with literature, mathematics, or
chemistry, this knowledge has fallen away like the leaves. (I would have to look these things up)
Thinking skills are the sturdy roots, core, branches, and bark of a healthy tree. I tell the students
that their aptitude as a thinker will still be serving you well in 2062, long after the leaves of 2012
have gone.
Presenting information is not all that difficult, in fact with the technological advances it gets easier every
year. Teaching thinking skills is the challenge. My colleagues and I work hard to get kids to think about
the information we present, and we work harder to get them to think with the information.
There are many methods I have used to incorporate thinking skills while teaching history, here are 3 of
my favorites :
History is written by the winners. This is a universal theme spanning world history, American
History, Minnesota History, and local history. As a summative project I ask students to consider historical
events through the perspective of the winning & losing side. Consider George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, & John Adams. Today, we remember them as our “Founding Fathers,” yet in their turbulent
times, they were traitors to the British throne and lived under a death sentence; but through victory their
history is told as patriots & heroes. I type this article in a font called “Times New Roman,” a testament to
the 400 + year Roman Empire and the history they wrote.
A second theme I rely on to teach thinking skills relies on a parable. It reads . . .
For lack of a nail a (horse)shoe was lost . . .
For lack of a nail a rider was lost . . .
For lack of a nail a message was lost . . .
For lack of a nail a battle was lost . . .
For lack of a nail a war was lost . . .
For lack of a nail an empire was lost . . .
For lack of a nail a new empire was born . . .
The central message being that small things can often have significant outcomes. I use this theme
backwards and forwards, often asking students to examine a large event from our history and determine
what the “nails” were, and also to examine the “nails” in our present time and predict what the big events
may eventually be. Consider, our 7th president (and arguably one of the 5 most significant), Andrew
Jackson was shot in a duel under his armpit. The ball lodged an inch from his heart. How would our
history have been changed by 1 further inch?
A final theme I use is best expressed by this quote from George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember
the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them.” We study history so that we can understand our
present, and meet our future challenges. As students work to identify these examples of failing to learn
from past mistakes they must analyze historical events, (go beyond simple trivia) and compare them to
later events, and critically evaluate the decisions made & actions taken. It can take students to the highest
levels of thinking.
When students tell me that these projects were really difficult, I smile. When they tell me that they don’t
remember exactly what they learned, but they learned how to think better, I think . . . Mission
Accomplished.
As a favor to the social studies department, don’t just ask your kids what they learned in school today, ask
them what they think about what they learned.