Almost the end of October

WOW!  Where does time go?  Can you believe that it is almost November?  Before we know it, Block will be over.  I just can't believe it. 
     I was in my 2nd grade classroom Thursday and learned something very disturbing.  My teacher left for the day and it was just me and the teacher's aid.  I have learned that Social Studies is not very important in the classroom and is not incorportated much in the classroom either, but today we were going to spend 25 whole minutes on it.  So the children got their books out and opened it to the correct page.  We were looking at maps and map keys.  The map key consisted of a star which was for capitals, a star with a circle around for the national capital, and a dark line for boarders.  The first question that we asked the class was, "Can anyone tell me Tennessee's state capital?"  The children begin calling out anwsers, "Johnson City," "Kingsport," "Elizabethton."  Not one child knew the correct anwser.  We also asked, "What is the National capital?"  Again, not one of the children knew the correct anwser.  The children laughed because they didn't know the anwsers, but it really upset me.  I think knowing about our country is very important! I will remember this and when I have my own classroom, I will make sure I teach Social Studies for more than 25 minutes every couple weeks.