Mr. Jose Companioni, JD, Esq.

Social Science is an art much more than a science. It is open to interpretation and discussion, and ultimately the answer reveals as much about the person attempting the problem than the problem itself. However, social sciences are like mirrors to look into our human potential. They offer ways to learn more about the human animal. They allow us to dive into questions such as: Who am I? What do I want? What can I accomplish? What is right? And What is wrong? Along with these and many others, they allow us to traverse the human experience. We come face-to-face with our ancestors. We learn about their story. Likewise, we can examine their successes and failures. This prepares us to experience our own journey.

The slices of the social sciences that I was tasked to guide our students in are AP US Government and Politics, Economics and International History. It is important to note that although schools by necessity and convenience compartmentalize education into distinct categories or subjects. In reality, there are no natural dividers between any subject. Even though students assigned to me can expect to get a great deal of government, economy and history, they will also be exposed to Math, Physics, and Science.

I find that unraveling the multitude of factors that are both causes and consequences is very important. This often responds to the question many students will either ask or think about: Why is this important to me? The object of these classes is to form better thinkers, problem solvers, and the end people. The object of these classes is to provide the students the tools that they can use in real life.

A successful student is one that questions causes and effects, does not take for granted what is, and can think of what can be. A successful student is one that understand how to identify a problem and a valid question from the static of information, and therefore puts themselves in a position to obtain the answer.