Welcome

Does United States history still begin in 1877? In this week’s newsletter, read about proposed changes to North Carolina’s social studies standards.

 

Bulletin Board           

  • The E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders is now accepting applications for the 2010-11 class. Applicants must be between the ages of 25 and 40, reside in North Carolina, and commit to a yearlong program of activities designed to examine, develop, and enhance their leadership skills. There is no cost to individuals accepted into the program. For additional information, please visit the E.A. Morris website at http://www.eamorrisfellows.org.

  • Become a member of JLF’s Freedom Clubs! We have seven regional clubs covering every part of North Carolina, so there is one near you and your like-minded conservative friends. For more information, visit https://www.johnlocke.org/support.

  • Are you a busy school board member looking to enhance your professional development but don’t want to miss a full day of work to do so? The John W. Pope Civitas Institute will be offering school board member training on Friday, November 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Crabtree in Raleigh. If you register by November 5, the cost (including lunch) is $50 (after Nov. 5, the cost is $60). Speakers include Kaye McGarry, member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education; Jason Kay, attorney at the Institute for Constitutional Law; and Tammi Sutton, Principal and Founder of Gaston College Prep charter school. For additional information and to register, visit: www.nccivitas.org/events.

 

Are you kidding me?

The N.C. Department of Public Instruction finally released its Draft 2.0 of the state social studies standards. The most notable change is the addition of a United States history course at the high school level.

It is no accident that the second draft proposal would require students to study the Founding Era three times between fourth and eighth grades and again in high school. DPI spurned the American Revolution and the Founding Era in its first draft and faced immense (and much deserved) criticism for it.

The Draft 2.0 sequence and periodization is as follows:

  • Kindergarten through Third Grade
    Concepts in history, geography, economics, politics, government, etc.

  • Fourth Grade
    North Carolina history from pre-colonial to Reconstruction (1877)
  • Fifth Grade
    United States history from pre-colonial to Reconstruction (1877)
  • Sixth Grade
    World history, geography, and culture from early civilizations to 1450
  • Seventh Grade
    World history, geography, and culture from the Age of Exploration (1400-1800) to the present
  • Eighth Grade
    Integrated North Carolina/United States history from the American Revolution to the present
  • Ninth through Twelfth Grade
    World history — Early civilizations to the present (with special emphasis on the 1450s to the present)
    Civics and Economics — American government, economics, and personal finance
    United States History I — European exploration to Reconstruction (1877)

    United States History II — Late nineteenth century to the present

Similar to the first draft of history standards released earlier this year, the second draft would require students to take world history courses in the sixth and seventh grades. Structurally, the elementary and middle school sequence is somewhat unusual. Two years of world history (sixth and seventh grades) are sandwiched in between a fifth grade United States history course and an eighth grade North Carolina/United States history course. It is not clear if teachers would be able to integrate the content of the world history and United States history courses.

For the eighth grade social studies requirement, DPI replaced the ill-conceived Global Community course (1970s to present) with an integrated North Carolina/United States history course (1776 to present). This is a welcome change.

The course integrates the history of the state and nation as mandated by Session Law 2009-236/House Bill 1032 ("An Act Modifying the History and Geography Curricula in the Public Schools of North Carolina"), but the fourth and fifth grade courses do not. In addition, HB 1032 requires an identity politics — sorry, a diversity component. The bill states, "The course of instruction shall include contributions to the history and geography of the State and the nation by the racial and ethnic groups that have contributed to the development and diversity of the State and nation. Each course of instruction may include up to two weeks of instruction relating to the local area in which the students reside."

Finally, I feel the need to offer one observation about the proposed high school world history course. As written, Standard WH 6.1 asks students to "Explain how new ideas and theories of the universe altered political thought and affected economic and social conditions, e.g. … woks of Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Bolivar, Jefferson, Paine, Adam Smith, etc." I did not know that some of the world’s greatest thinkers dabbled in Chinese cooking.

 

Facts and Stats

32 — The number of times the phrase "freedom and equality" appears on the six-page draft standards for the Twentieth Century Civil Liberties and Civil Rights elective course.

Mailbag

I would like to invite all readers to submit announcements, as well as their personal insights, anecdotes, concerns, and observations about the state of education in North Carolina. I will publish selected submissions in future editions of the newsletter. Anonymity will be honored. For additional information or to send a submission, email Terry at [email protected].

 

Education Acronym of the Week

SCOS — Standard Course of Study

 

Quote of the Week

"What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child." — George Bernard Shaw