SOCIAL STUDIES
Part One: The Early Years
If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development
---Aristotle
Before the Civil War there were few high schools in Iowa or anywhere in the West. In 1856 in Iowa high schools existed in Tipton and Dubuque. The next 20 years brought increased interest in starting schools, and more were opened in the State. By 1871 there were 40 public schools in Iowa which had courses above the common branches, but only 23 could be said to have real high school courses. The subjects taught in these high schools were English, Latin, German, French, mathematics, general history, and such scientific subjects as geology and astronomy. (Learn more by clicking here to visit the Iowa PBS website)
Little would change over the latter part of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th century; many Iowans of that time still received their comprehensive education from one-room school houses. That would change significantly with the rise of MPLS. (The story of teaching in the early years of Price Laboratory School is well documented in "The Lab School Story” on this website, written by Robert and Katherine Martin. We will not try to duplicate those efforts here.) We do, however, highlight one relevant excerpt which appears to be the first mention of social studies instruction at Price Lab:
By 1913 [Teachers College High School] had been accredited by the Iowa State Department of Public Instruction and the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The high school curriculum in the 1915-16 academic year included diverse offerings in mathematics, science, English composition and literature, German, Latin, geography, history, business, music, elementary drawing, domestic science, manual training, athletics, and girls physical training.
At that time, few, if any, of America’s public school teachers of History or Geography, would have described themselves as being members of a social studies “department.” Few, if any, would have a university degree in “social studies education.” It would take several decades for that thinking to change. Key in this regard was the creation and early development of the National Council for the Social Studies.
The first steps toward establishing the National Council for the Social Studies, were taken in 1920. Its stated purpose was "to bring about the association and cooperation of teachers of social studies (history, government, economics, sociology, etc.) and of administrators, supervisors, teachers of education, and others interested in obtaining the maximum results in education for citizenship through social studies."
The National Council for the Social Studies began as a service organization that would both bridge the gap between social scientists and secondary school teachers and re-examine knowledge within the disciplines in light of potential use in schools. ( Murry R. Nelson, "NCSS: The Early Years: 1921-1937," Social Education, November/December, 1995)
One of the key victories of the NCSS was the acceptance of the term “social studies” by college faculty and education professionals around the nation. University faculty were often departmentalized in more specific disciplines, like history, geography, or political science. College entrance requirements, as well, typically spoke to the completion of high school units or hours of history, geography, et al.
Over the second and third decade of the 20th century, NCSS led the battle to achieve the same status for “social studies” education that had been historically granted to mathematics, science, language arts, music, and physical education. Price Lab’s unique character as a laboratory for teacher educators prompted early teachers of the Social Studies to stay current in the early literature of NCSS. It also prompted individual research and service to the Iowa Council for the Social Studies, founded in 1941, as did strengthening their ties to ISTC’s Departments of History, Political Science, and Geography.
While no mention of a specific “social studies department” appears in the literature yet, this newfound importance of social studies in the life of the Laboratory School (called then the Training School or the Campus School) can be seen in a number of early anecdotes.
Clearly, the spirit of patriotism and citizenship was evident in the Lab School in those decades. Yearbooks from the early 20th century often began with a picture of the American Flag and some kind of dedication to American patriotism and citizenship, such as the following from 1916:
To Our Flag "Beautiful as a flower to those who love it, terrible as a meteor to those who hate it, a symbol of the power and the glory and the honor of one hundred million Americans"- we, the class of 1916, dedicate this, our first, Courant.
Only one faculty member is credited with teaching “social studies” in that yearbook; that was Elizabeth Hughes, who is credited as “B. Ph., 1886, Eastern Iowa Normal School; M. Di., 1889, I. S. T. C.; B. A., 1908, I. S. T. C. Critic of Geography and History.”
The two world wars of the early twentieth century helped to cement the tie of social studies instruction to teaching “the American Way.” Pictures of student clubs and organizations often evidenced the same theme of national pride and unity. Social Studies faculty often were advisors and sponsors. One such club was the Hi-Y Club, begun in 1921. The following excerpt from the 1923 yearbook, The Little Tutor, clearly embodies the political culture of the time and the members’ interest in studying “The Life Problems”:
HI-Y
Purpose: To create, maintain, and extend throughout the school and community high standards of Christian character. The Hi-Y Club was started in the High School about two years ago. The club when first organized had three members….The club gradually began to grow, and kept growing and this year it is in full swing…. The Hi-Y is one of the most active organizations in the school. In its regular weekly meetings, half of the hour is spent in singing and discussing business, and the other half devoted to Bible Study. Professor Buffom has kindly given his services in teaching the Bible Study class, that is, he has led the study on The Life Problems.
Social Studies instruction in the specific areas of geography and history focused largely on American and World History and World Geography. Discussion of current events was woven in when relevant. Course offerings tended to be “required” for all learners, as the concept of social studies electives was still in the future.
One teacher, Alison Aitchison, joined what was then the Iowa State Normal School in the fall of 1903 to teach Geography in the Training School’s grammar grades. She earned her doctoral degree from the University of Chicago in 1914, her dissertation titled “Geographic Factors in the History of Dubuque County Iowa.”
Aitchison taught at the College until 1955, but we are unsure how many of those years beyond the Fall of 1903, she directly taught at the Laboratory School. What is clear, however, is that across her long career she published books and articles on geography instruction in the elementary and secondary schools including, revealingly, a 1947 article in the Journal of Geography titled “An Iowa Course in Social Studies.” She had grown with the times. The degree to which Aitchison’s publications were “field-tested” at the Lab School we do not currently know; however, her books and articles are numerous as seen in her faculty profile here (link to be added).
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