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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. 



  • 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. 



  • 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. 



  • 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. 



  • 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. 


  • 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.