Apr 12, 2004

Alabama Course of Study: Misunderstandings Continue

by Liberty and Power

Our (partly) successful effort to revise the Alabama Course of Study continues to be mischaracterized and misunderstood. Here is an example from the Mobile Register . Our response is shown below:

To the Editor:

We are the chairs of the Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the Alabama Course of Study which has worked in cooperation with Margaret Brown of the Eagle Forum on this issue since February.

Your editorial of April 8 gave several examples to illustrate the"balance and thoroughness" of the Course of Study. It cited the following: the mention of John Locke as an influence on the Declaration of Indepedence, loyalty oaths under Truman, and Reagan's"tear down the wall speech."

Unfortuantely, the editorial neglected a crucial detail. It did not mention that our Ad Hoc Committee was responsible for the inclusion of each and every one of these facts. These and over two hundred pieces of additional changes only appeared because of pressure brought by our committee and Eagle Forum in February and March and the intervention of Board of Education Secretary Joseph B. Morton on our behalf.

Sincerely,

David T. Beito, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Alabama and, Co-Chair, Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the Alabama Course of Study.

Charles W. Nuckolls, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Co-Chair, Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the Alabama Course of Study.