Riordan High School offers a variety of learning opportunities for each of its students. From sports, mathematics, literature, science, art to social science. 

Each academic department brings numerous fundamental factors to the Riordan community. For instance, Social Science, or as many individuals know it as history class, has more to offer than documents, essays, and lectures. Students also learn about empathy, change, and connections to the past. 

The teachers hope to open up students’ minds, souls, and perspectives to value history more than a memory, but as sources of knowledge, wisdom, and guidance to create positive changes. 

Social Science Department Chair Cory Nelson said, “In life, we need to learn from our mistakes to make the world a better place, not forget them. We should know everyone’s history, all groups of people, all perspectives, to make an impact on students to create a better world for the future, having students leaving my class more empathic of everyone’s lives.”

This reflects the objective behind adding the Global and Ethnic Studies course ???? years ago, before the state of California mandated it for all schools. 

Social Science teacher Mike Kennedy said, “Conjunction with other understandings of the world, whether that be math or logic, brace or scientific base, it’s a powerful tool in thinking and making arguments about the world around you by backing those arguments with evidence from diverse sources.” 

He continued, “It’s also like a Library of human thought is what history is. It’s by taking all those different thoughts and making them useful.” 

Joseph Zuloaga ’23 said, “The main objective of American history in the classroom is to give a complete and true view of the events that have shaped America, both in its highs and in its lows.”