Twenty-five years ago the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) held its conference in Chicago. The president of NCSS that year, and the last New Yorker to hold this office, was Donald Bragaw, who was the head of the Social Studies Bureau of the New York State Education Department. In this article, the author shares the salient points of…

Asserts that negative behaviors and attitudes prevent sustained academic environments. Recommends practical ideas and perspectives to bring changes that contribute to greater student success. Includes two figures depicting an information-constructivist model of school learning and four major components of curriculum decision making. (CFR)

Presents a speech by the president of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), given at the organization's annual meeting. Discusses the national standards movement and contends that the NCSS standards integrate knowledge from the full spectrum of the social sciences and the humanities. (CFR)

Addresses the issue of social studies as an academic field of study and whether or not there is a fixed body of knowledge in the social studies. Examines scope and sequence, the purpose and function of history and social sciences in school programs, and social studies as citizenship education. (LS)