Social studies is a broad word with different undertakings.

It has played a huge

role in unraveling mysteries that holds answers and that of with great importance and
contribution to how we understand society as it is in today’s time. Social studies as we
know it has different branches under its umbrella. Among which are, Anthropology,
Sociology, and Political Science. Each have different lenses used to understand a
concept or a theory about an aspect of a society and its people. These three important
branches have served a foundation to how we look and study society, and here’s why;

For Anthropology…
As we know it, Anthropology attempts to study people and society through the
means of culture and how they organize themselves through social groupings which
thus leads to understanding why and how people behave in their proximity. If we try to
review the definition of social studies, Anthropology somehow unlocks to the
understanding of a certain part where the term Social Studies is somewhat vague or too
complex.
Also, Anthropology as discussed in the previous meetings has two major
divisions. Social Anthropology and Cultural Anthropology. In my TEDxTalks stint, I put a
limelight on Cultural Anthropology. Cultral Anthrolopy is the study of individual cultures.
It usually involves more ethnology than social anthropology and is usually more focused
on using artifacts or living people to understand how societies and cultural perception
works, (ideas about family, marriage, clothing styles, religious preferences). Social
anthropology on the other hand tends to focus more on how society structures. And
how people evolve and behave within social structures. It’s kind of like sociology. Social
Anthropology studies how society structures affect culture. How the systems that rule a
particular society will influence it’s cultural methods and ideologies. For example, how a
government structure might effect the farming practices.
All of these concepts such as Human Natures and Cultures are important in
understanding the behaviors of other people. In that way, we establish this so-called
“cultural sensitivity” which is very important in the adaptation of us human beings.

For Sociology…
Sociology is the study of the social relationships of people and organizations.
Teachers and students do not function in a vacuum, but in the social relationships of
their milieu. Therefore, sociology is of profound importance to a teacher. First, a good
teacher needs to understand how his or her own students' sociological backgrounds

Martinez, John Patrick S.

SS101
have an impact on their educational experience, second, the teacher needs to attend to
the sociology of the classroom as an organizational entity, and third, the teacher is
empowered by having insight into the sociological environment of the school and the
school district.
Students come from a variety of sociological backgrounds, and in order to
connect and engage with each student, the teacher must have some understanding of
those backgrounds. This enables the teacher to best tailor learning to meet each
student's particular needs. A student from an impoverished home and a student from a
wealthy home are likely to have significant differences, for example. A student from an
impoverished home might have some serious learning deficits and need more time and
care, while a student from a wealthy home might very well need greater challenges
than the regular curriculum. (I realize this sounds off-putting, but the statistics bear it
out.) Students who are from different cultures might have a hard time acclimating to
the dominant culture in the classroom, and students from different races often have
different ways of showing respect, for example, having been taught it is rude to make
direct eye contact with those in authority. A teacher who has no knowledge or insight
into sociology is not going to be able to do a very good job of understanding or
engaging any student.

For Political Science…

Political science is also a social studies subject. Political science involves the
study of people within a society as well abroad, and the type of system they live and
work in, how they socialise and the economic, education, legal systems, and how these
can best be organised, regulated and governed based on chosen political system, which
are determined by the choice of the people.
Some political systems, are called the liberal democratic systems, operating
under a freer market system, the leaders of which are chosen by the citizens of the
country. Other political systems are planned and operated predominantly by a few
leaders, which may operate a socialist or communistic system, where the economic
system is planned by a group of leaders, compared to a capitalist system, operated by
the market forces of demand and supply and profit motives.

Martinez, John Patrick S.

SS101