Hawaii State Standards

The first thing I noticed about Hawaii's State Standards for Social Studies is that they were only 28 pages, much shorter than Michigan's. The Standards begin by saying, "Social Studies education in Hawaii must not only ensure our students' development as active and responsible citizens of the community, nation, and world but it must also enable the maintenance of the unique lifestyle that is Hawaii" (Hawaii Standards, 2). The aspect of citizenship is mentioned frequently in the standards and is a huge component of their Social Studies education. They also emphasize using Social Studies to understand and continue the unique lifestyle and culture of Hawaii.

The Standards for Social Studies are broken down into 5 disciplines: History, Political Science/Civics, Cultural Anthropology, Geography, and Economics. Each discipline lists a set of standards which is broken down into grade cluster benchmarks, K-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The benchmarks for each grade cluster list some ideas/content that students should know or be able to do by that time in school.

For example: In History, there are 5 general content standards such as "Historical Empathy: Students learn to judge the past on its own terms and use that knowledge to understand present day issues, problems, and decision making" (Hawaii Standards, 4). For grades 4-5, students must "explain how rules and values of a society determine the behavior and attitudes of its members" (Hawaii Standards, 4). For grades 9-12, students must "apply knowledge of historical periods to assess present-day issues and decision making" (Hawaii Standards, 5).

Each discipline has their own standards and benchmarks, but History is the only one that includes a suggested framework for using the Standards. On this page, certain history topics are suggested for each grade cluster to cover in school. For example, in grades 6-8, the teacher can cover World Cultures (examine select societies around the world), the history of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Pacific Island Studies, and US History through Reconstruction. It is stated that "this framework is not a checklist of subjects that must be taught. Instead, it provides possible topics for implementing the history standards" (Hawaii Standards, 6). In this way, teachers have a lot of room to be creative to teach history in Hawaii. It is emphasized in the standards to teach certain topics that are more relevant to students. Teachers are encouraged to bring out the best in each child and it is believed that all students are capable of achieving these standards.

At the end of the document, each discipline has a glossary defining terms specific to the discipline. There is also a box labeled with tools that you might use for each discipline and methods/skills that would be helpful.

These standards encourage critical thinking for students in every discipline of Social Studies. Students are expected to analyze, evaluate, question, interpret, empathize, and explore all perspectives. All of these expectations should push students to go beyond learning just facts and actually use historical thinking.

After looking at Hawaii's Standards, I feel that I would be able to teach there. I would have to learn more about Hawaii's history and culture, but I think that no matter what state you teach in you have to do that. All states usually require some kind of state history to be taught in the schools. Because the standards are more open, I would be able to teach with a little more freedom and cover topics of interest in my class.