Conservatives have long protested the way science is taught in public schools. From evolution to sexual education, there have been many a school board meeting where educators learn that there’s now one less thing they are legally able to teach their students.
Unfortunately, conservatives have now moved on to history — Advanced Placement U.S. History, to be exact. Claiming the new curriculum is anti-American, activists are trying to make sure that high school teachers don’t use the College Board-created outline for the class.
With a quick study of the practice exam that the College Board recently released, no controversial topics can be found. Unless speech excerpts from George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt are considered anti-American, I don’t see any glaring issue with the new curriculum.
Last week, Jefferson County students in Colorado began protesting after a proposal was introduced that would make sure all AP U.S. History materials and subject matter would promote “respect for authority” and discourage “civil disorder, social strife, or disregard for the law.”
Whoever wrote this proposal probably didn’t read “Fahrenheit 451” or “1984” for their AP Literature class.
In a statement of solidarity with the protestors, the College Board said, “Civil disorder and social strife are at the patriotic heart of American history — from the Boston Tea Party to the American Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement. And these events and ideas are essential within the study of a college-level, AP U.S. History course.”
There’s the saying that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. While it’s definitely catchy, it’s not really accurate.
If these next generations of high school students are ignorant to the history of American politics and events, they will be clueless when it comes time for their own political decision-making. Not only will they be oblivious to the fact that it has historically been young people who have helped change the world, they will be discouraged from taking action entirely.
Last month, Jane Robbins, a member of the American Principles Project, told The Huffington Post, she believes the new AP U.S. History course has a “leftist revisionist slant on history.”
I don’t know if actual historical facts can even have a slant, but OK.
It’s almost as if conservatives recognize that America, as a nation, has a few skeletons in its closet that would put us on par with the countries we constantly scrutinize. America likes to pretend it has nothing to hide and that anything resembling an atrocity was somehow justified. These activists apparently want this course to be American Exceptionalism 101.
Julie Williams, the school board member leading the proposal, told Chalkbeat Colorado, “We shouldn’t be encouraging our kids to think that America is a bad place. When [the course questions] our American values … that’s concerning to me.”
Is it questioning American values when we are completely transparent about our past and encouraging “our kids” to question authority, something that led to the creation of this country in the first place?
It seems like these conservative school board members are reinforcing these students’ negative perceptions of the country. Nothing says “Please don’t think bad things about America” like good ol’ censorship.
Maggie Ramseur, a senior at Dakota Ridge High School, told The Huffington Post, “Teaching students about [civil disobedience] does not encourage them to become anarchists. It encourages them to speak up about policy and make the government serve the people, which is what our democratic republic was designed for.”
Ramseur is right about that, and this gives me hope for our future generations of American high schoolers. So much of America’s history has roots in civil disobedience, as the College Board noted in their official statement.
Learning the negative sides of our nation’s history won’t foster any sort of terrorist-strength hatred of America in our high school students. What it will do, however, is encourage them to improve themselves to create a better future for tomorrow.
Maybe in a few generations, there won’t be any skeletons to cover up.
SidneyRose Reynen is a 19-yearold film and media arts and art history sophomore from New Orleans. You can reach her on Twitter @sidneyrose_TDR.