Joseph O. Iannacone

A “…literate culture has become the common currency for social and economic exchange in our democracy, and is the only available ticket to full citizenship.... Membership is automatic if one learns the background information and the linguistic conventions that are needed to read, write, and speak effectively." This quote of E.D. Hirsch best fits my own philosophy of social studies education. Being able to fluently converse, read, write, and think are great skills; these skills are also the foundation stones of democracy. I want my students to have a firm grounding in the events, persons, and ideas that have shaped our past, so that they can better understand and shape the world in which they live. For example, I want my students to be able to freely and wisely think about, write on, or talk about the ideas and events of the Glorious Revolution and their impact on the US Constitution. Why? These are the notions, or common currency, that link our current society to history.

I teach, not only so that our world might have progressive citizens, but also because I love ideas, writing, reading, discussion, and scholarship. I want my students to go way from my classes with a zest for learning and a feeling that education, and particularly the study of history, is a life long exciting thoughtful adventure.