In my last blog post, I wrote about what the NCPTS are, why they are important, and why they should be so essential to teachers and future teachers. This week, I want to look specifically at standard 1c: "Teachers lead the teaching profession." I want to expound on this standard and relate it to some of the important knowledge I gained this week from the Section Chief for K-12 Social Studies at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Fay Gore.
On Tuesday, my classmates and I had the privilege to speak with Ms. Gore via video chat and ask her deep, challenging questions with a response of profound and enlightening answers. She truly took the time to talk to us and to give us great and helpful advice and thoughts that we can carry with us as we continue on the journey of becoming teachers. One thing from the video talk that really stuck out to me was her mention of the NCSS (National Council for the Social Studies), correlating with the C3 framework that she had a part in creating. I had heard of the NCSS but I did not know what exactly this council stood for, its goals, and why it matters to me as a future teacher. After this talk, I researched the NCSS and its contribution to the C3 framework to further my understanding of what it means for teachers to lead in the teaching profession.
What is the NCSS? According to their website, their goal for Social Studies educators is: "...to teach students the content knowledge, intellectual skills, and civic values necessary for fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy." The key to this statement is teaching students the "duties of citizenship," which is why we have social studies in the first place and is why it is so important to teach social studies in the schools. The NCSS defines Social Studies as: "the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence." In this definition, Social Studies promotes civic competence which is necessary for those living in the 21st century. NCSS encourages educators to truly teach Social Studies and properly fulfill the duty of promoting civic competence.
Fay Gore served as the Co-chair of the editorial committee for the C3 Framework. The C3 Framework was published by the NCSS in 2013. Before speaking with Ms. Gore, I did not really know what the C3 Framework was and why it was important to Social Studies. The C3 Framework stands for: "College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History." The C3 Framework was created for states to upgrade their social studies standards and for practitioners to strengthen their social studies programs. The goals of the C3 Framework are found on the NCSS page link. Basically, the C3 Framework is designed to prepare students for college, career, and civic life.
Understanding what the NCSS is and how it relates to the C3 Framework is important for educators and is important to the NCPTS standard 1c "Teachers lead in the teaching profession." Teachers have the opportunity to join NCSS and get involved, speak out about standards revision, and advocate for better teaching conditions. A teacher's job does not just mean teaching in the classroom every day for a designated period of time, it is so much more than that, as it requires teachers to lead in the school and teaching profession. As a future teacher, I want to get involved now in researching different ways to get involved in the teaching profession and participate in opportunities when I am a teacher to lead in the profession. It is never too early to start.
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