The social science curriculum must be supported by four pillars, the first of which represents value awareness. Social science programs must deal with values in order to help students set goals for themselves as individuals and as members of society. Students should be taught the importance of the values of this democratic society. The second pillar represents a combination of social reality and problem awareness. Social reality awareness helps one to understand that the natural and manmade environments are changing all the time due to natural forces, science and technology, and changes in value preferences. The third pillar represents system awareness, which means that everything is related to everything else. The fourth pillar represents a combination of knowledge and multidisciplinary awareness. Students should be able to discover the underlying conceptual design of this seemingly chaotic world. As a result of increasing specialization, knowledge becomes more and more fragmented. The different branches of knowledge have been captured by specialists, and no networks have been built between disciplines to facilitate communication among specialists. Multidisciplinary awareness must be fostered and must include the humanities in the social science curriculum. Classroom activities are presented that incorporate the ideas presented. An appendix includes charts outlining the fundamental ideas of general systems theory, economics, political science, sociology, cultural anthropology, and social psychology. (JB)