Overview
At Academy 4SC, we are dedicated to delivering an all-encompassing, interdisciplinary civics education for everyone. Our mission is to empower students with essential skills and knowledge, enabling them to become effective civic leaders in today’s dynamic world.
We teach content from diverse disciplines, including philosophy, psychology, rhetoric, economics, history, and more. By showcasing the practical applications of these subjects, we inspire students to incorporate this knowledge seamlessly into their everyday lives, fostering a new generation of informed, responsible, and engaged citizens.
Why Philosophy?
From logic, rhetoric, and reasoning, to morality and ethics, to politics and education, philosophy impacts and informs just about every other field of study. Philosophy is too often taught as the ideas of a few men who lived thousands of years ago, but those ideas are still relevant today and have impacted the course of human history. From the words we choose to how we judge right and wrong, philosophy is everywhere!
Why Psychology?
By understanding key psychological concepts, we can spot them at play in the world around us. The field of psychology teaches us how humans make decisions, form belief systems, and react to new situations and information. The concepts covered in these videos intersect with the worlds of politics, marketing, religion, and more.
Why History?
Too often, history is taught as disjointed, unconnected to the present, and from the perspective of privileged groups. The videos here attempt to combat those narratives by drawing clear lines between historical events and their relevance today, telling stories of figures who are too often left out of textbooks, and examining well-known events and figures through a nuanced lens.
Why Economics?
Economic principles shape our lives, from the taxes we pay, to the decisions we make about what to purchase, to how our country and community relates to others around the world. Everyone should learn to spot the economic forces at play in their everyday lives in order to make informed decisions and understand the impact of choices made by powerful individuals and institutions.
Why US Government?
The institutions and systems that govern our lives shape the rights and freedoms that we have access to. From the writing of the constitution, through every supreme court case, every law that has and hasn’t passed, and the individuals who run our government agencies, it is critical that we understand how our government works. The more we know, the better we can stand up for our rights and the rights of others and hold those in charge accountable.
Why Data Science?
In order to be an informed consumer of news and media, and engage effectively with everything from statistics about public health to algorithms used by social media companies, we must understand how data can be interpreted and manipulated by those who create and present it. Understanding common graphs and charts, as well as how they can be used to mislead the public, enables us to combat false information and be a more educated citizenry.
Why Media Literacy?
We live in a digital world and are constantly confronted with information coming from the news and social media, with little to no emphasis on the need to think critically about its source and accuracy. Understanding how to interpret this information, decipher fact from fiction, and combat misinformation is essential to being an engaged and informed citizen of the world.
