Two weeks after the story broke, the NC Public School Forum finally responded to proposed changes in the state’s social studies curriculum. According to the editorial comment published in their Friday Report,

Some of those being critical came as no surprise.? The Locke Foundation, for instance, whose very name implies a bias toward remaining fixed in the 1700 and 1800?s, was among them.? Others, however, including Senator Mark Basnight, voiced legitimate concerns based on the information DPI had presented.? DPI, in response to the firestorm that had been sparked, quickly announced that they are going back to the drawing boards and the issue will be reconsidered.

I have to admit that the notion that our name “implies a bias toward remaining fixed in the 1700 and 1800?s” is pretty comical and some may even consider that a compliment. (Don’t forget the 1600s when, you know, John Locke was alive.) It is akin to saying that the Public School Forum has a bias toward remaining fixed in 500 BC because the word “Forum” originated from open space built into the middle of a Roman city. I would hate to hear what they believe the name of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) implies.

All kidding aside, there is nothing in the mission of our organization that implies “remaining fixed” in any period. But you knew that.

The writer calls for “a reasonable mid-point,” but the following passage sounds like an endorsement of the DPI proposal, rather than attempt to find a compromise. (Note: June Atkinson, Superintendent of Public Instruction, is a Forum board member.)

?If we want young people to leave high school with a solid grasp of the historical?events that we now confront, our history curriculum is going to have to place more focus on the history and forces that are shaping the world we live in.? We can?t presume that more time on our founding fathers and the drafting of our constitution will put today?s economic crisis, much less two war fronts, in perspective.? After all, when the constitution was drafted women were denied the right to vote.? Slavery was legal and widespread.? The world in 2010 is a far cry from the world of 1776 and our teaching of history needs to keep up with the world as it is today.

I will leave this one to Holly Brewer, associate professor of Colonial and Revolutionary American history at N.C. State. Dr. Brewer wrote,

History, and the arts and humanities, foster a spirit of inquiry and an ability to synthesize and understand complex ideas. These are skills that are more and more in demand. Math and literacy are indispensable, but the context, the knowledge, the lessons that history also indispensable for our citizens in the 21st century.

Most important of all, we should remember the reason why public schools were established in the United States after the American Revolution. The purpose was to teach history so that the young Republic would be sustained by an informed citizenry. That purpose is as important today as it was then.

Thank you again, Dr. Brewer.