Why do they teach social studies in school? I'm asking because I don't think this subject is necessary for life.
by 
Billy Mays
ANSWERS: 3
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To teach that people think and act differently in other countries and cultures than you do. It's to provide you with a better awareness of the world, and an understanding of what people are like in other parts of the world that you have not been exposed to.
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Are you serious? I don't relish the idea of being right on this topic, but the product of our last several decades of public schooling has so devastated the minds of students, the product seems to abject stupidity. I once had a conversation with a college student who told me that the course entitled *American government* consisted of idle yack on current events such as Monica and Bill to the exclusion of all else. This person could not define the three branches of government, did not know who the Vice President was, thought the US Constitution was an outdated piece of paper, thought the United States was a Democracy rather than a Republic, thought Paul Revere was a singer from the 1960s, tried to convince me that the UN had more authority within the US than the Congress. The only reason you don't think social studies is necessary for life is that you haven't lived long enough to get a grasp on the consequences of remaining ignorant. For the sake of our nation and the future of yourself and your children, learn first, then judge what is necessary.
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It is important to understand what preceded today in order to understand the context of today. America didn't suddenly happen out of nowhere. To appreciate, and understand, what we have today - Constitution, functioning government, rights et al - you neeed to understand how and why it came about. There is an "American outlook" that is rooted in our history and in the growth of America over the past 225+ years. To make judgments and decisions about America's future - and you as both an individual and within a social group are part of America - you need to understand the logic, the reasons, the issues and debates around the decisions made that brought us to where we are, and use that as guidance for the decisions of today and the future.
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