curriculum

North Carolina Introduces its own History Bill; Historians Call Foul

State legislators say they are ensuring that students at North Carolina colleges are taught core concepts in American history. Historians Jay Smith and William Sturkey argue that, since the legislature would determine the content of a mandatory course it amounts to indoctrination and token coverage of Black history. 

1776 vs. 1619: Hillsdale College Enters the History Wars

by Adam Hochshild

If conservatives are against "woke" history education, what, exactly, are they for? There's much to be learned from the curriculum created by the Michigan christian college, which presents a jarring contrast with the themes presented in the new Hulu documentary series based on Nikole Hannah-Jones's 1619 Project. 

Teaching the History Wars

by Megan Threlkeld

Teaching first-year undergraduates about the recurrent conflicts over their curriculum takes them from not knowing what the "history wars" are to asking challenging questions about what counts as history. 

Adam Laats Connects Current Course and Book Controversies to Past School Wars

The education historian joins Soledad O'Brien to discuss past controversies over how the past is taught. 

On Florida's Erasure of Black History

by Lynn Pasquerella and Mary Dana Hinton

The Florida AP decision raises a host of troubling questions about what the state hopes to accomplish, with ominous implications for political enfranchisement, democratic deliberation, and civic connection. 

Third Draft of Virginia History Standards Incorporates Responses to Some Criticisms

After appointees of Glen Younkin rejected the detailed standards developed in consultation with historians, educators and museum professionals in favor of a stripped-down document with little attention to the history minority groups, a new draft has explicitly mandated discussions of racism in the K-12 curriculum. 

Hillsdale College's New Strategy in the School Wars Merges Curriculum and Privatization through "Choice"

by Megan Threlkeld

During the Progressive era, as today, American education reformers examined the connection between schooling and the cultural and political divisions affecting the nation. Today's conservative agenda, however, openly rejects the idea of public schools as a force for unity and democratic culture. 

AHA Project to Determine What Happens in History Classrooms

Hoping both to fight media panics over "indoctrination" and guide policymakers and teachers toward better practices, the AHA will undertake a two-year project to investigate state curriculum decisions and classroom activities. 

Virginia's "Guiding Principles" are a Right-Wing Fantasy of History

by Alan J. Singer

Governor Youngkin's allies on Virginia's commission to review state social studies standards have hijacked the process to advance a right-wing vision of history education in the state that expunges "divisive concepts" from the curriculum. 

What Links COVID and Curriculum Conflicts in Schools?

Education historians Jack Schneider and Natalia Mehlman Petrzela explain why there's a significant overlap between parents, especially conservatives, who objected to pandemic school closures and those who are demanding more control over curriculum decisions. 

U of Alabama Gen Ed Curriculum Under Debate Could Strip out English, Humanities Requirements

"If faculty approve the current proposal, some students may be able to graduate without taking a college-level history, literature or language course."

Nat'l Teacher of the Year Has No Plans to Stop Teaching Controversial Material

“I don’t want to be defiant, said Russell. “My sole purpose as a teacher is to provide my students with a holistic education and I don’t believe -- through my lived experience -- that taking away certain subjects or certain books will do so."

Partisan Politics on a State Standards Revision

by Stephen Jackson

The South Dakota Department of Education discarded the recommendations of a work group of scholars, educators and elected officials in favor of a second group appointed by the governor, including political allies and an emeritus professor from Hillsdale College, seriously undermining rigor in the state social studies curriculum. 

BOE Member who Wrongly Identifies Nazis as "Socialists" Shapes How Colorado Students Learn Holocaust History

Historians and teachers argue that tying limited space for Holocaust and genocide education in the curriculum to a crusade against leftist politics is distracting and an antisemitic hijacking of education by politics. 

Stanford's New First-Year Curriculum Wants to Leave the Culture War Behind, if Culture Warriors Will Let It

by Dan Edelstein

A Stanford professor explains how the university is seeking to leave the culture wars behind and offer a first-year course series offering a campuswide shared intellectual experience, respects diversity, and gives STEM-oriented students permission to think deeply about subjects that aren't instrumental to a career.

Confronting History Should Make Us Uncomfortable

by Kevin M. Levin

Good teaching requires leveraging students' emotions to engage the past. 

Lessons from the History Textbook Wars of the 1920s

by Bruce W. Dearstyne

Historians helped defuse a national tempest over allegedly unpatriotic textbooks in the 1920s by explaining the nature of professional historical research, interpretation, and dissemination, and insisting on the right and duty of professionals to exert expertise. That kind of work is needed again today. 

New Laws have Teachers Confused, Scared, and Self-Censoring

Few new laws have (yet) impacted the curriculum or resulted in the prosecution of teachers. But nevertheless, history and social studies teachers across America report a real chilling effect from laws that subject them to community surveillance and censure. 

How Will K-12 Book Bans Impact Higher Ed?

Social media are enabling like-minded parents to network and amplify calls to remove books from schools and libraries. Experts argue that parents' success will fail children's intellectual development and college readiness. 

Texas Social Studies Curriculum Review Led by Scholar who Called Biden Election a "Literal Coup"

Stephen Balch, a founder of the conservative National Association of Scholars, is part of the panel advising Texas on its curriculum standards. He has amplified Trump's false claims of election fraud among other controversial positions.