PHS Social Studies Department: Empowering Each Student with an Excellent Education

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The Payson High School Social Studies Department, to highlight the accomplishments of our students, will publish monthly updates about their outstanding successes.

The study and participation in a Social Studies program empower students in many ways. Knowledge of history, social norms, government, human interactions, and how the mind works is an essential piece of a complete education. Unfortunately, the social studies are being overshadowed by an emphasis on other more technical subjects. At no other time in American history is it more important to have an understanding of the past, societies, governments, financial institutions, and their impact on today’s society.

Additionally, studying in the social studies develops skills that are critical for today’s citizenship and tomorrow’s job market. Students improve in their oral communication, writing, persuasion, and critical analysis.

Americans are losing communication skills, their sense of identity, the stories of their ancestral heritage, and the concepts of freedom and liberty that have made us who we are today. The lack of social studies learning leads to social misunderstanding, misinterpretation of current events, and a lack of patriotism for those who made America great. We plan to reverse this trend by offering the essential social studies dimension that is missing in today’s technological age.

To accomplish this we offer a variety of courses: American History, Government and Citizenship, European History, Financial Literacy, Psychology, Sport Psychology, and Philosophy. We hope that you will enjoy reading about the young people at Payson High School as we showcase students that are making a difference today. To further guide our efforts, the PHS Social Studies Department has adopted a new mission statement and motto: “Empowering Each student with an Excellent Education,” summarized with “E4,” or E to the fourth power.

Attributions
By PHS Social Studies Dept.