At the State Board of Education meeting today, it became apparent that the Department of Public Instruction is in full spin mode. State education officials argue that this hubbub about the proposed social studies standards is just a big misunderstanding blown out of proportion by the conservative media.
I have read the draft standards a number of times. Here are some facts about the proposed high school social studies curriculum:
1. 9th graders would take a Global Studies course, 1945 to present. Topics include globalization, human rights, climate change, international organizations (UN, IMF, World Bank, etc.), technology, and political, social, and religious changes occurring in the second half of the 20th century.
2. 10th graders would take a Civics and Economics course. The curriculum DOES include the U.S. Constitution and various concepts like republicanism, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, Rule of Law, Limited government, democracy.
The proposal DOES NOT mention the first 250 years of American history. Even if it did, it would have to compete with a significant amount of content (including economics, American government, citizenship, and personal finance). The historical context behind the founding documents is nowhere to be found.
3. 11th graders would take U.S. History from 1877 to present.
Claims that DPI removed the U.S. Constitution from the high school curriculum are false. But there is nothing in the first set of draft standards for high school social studies that mentions colonial, revolutionary, antebellum, civil war, and reconstruction history.
And if you don’t know the historical context surrounding the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, what do you really know about the documents themselves?
