According to the American Historical Association, states have been busy in recent years adding new requirements to the social studies curriculum:
Since 2017 there's been an uptick in the number of states requiring the study of specific groups (Black, LGBT, etc). Since 2012 there's been a steady increase in civics and US government requirements. In the entire period since 2000, diversity wins have outscored civics wins 155-110.
Kevin throwing more chum in the water, presumably to keep his conservative friends and trolls tuning in to his blog.
There’s nothing wrong with adding more diversity to curriculums, nor with adding more civics lessons, nor with adding both but in unequal amounts especially given that “specific groups (blacks, LGBT, etc)” had zero or near zero representation in curricula when I was in school decades ago. Percent and absolute increases always appear high when the starting point is/was near zero… a self professed wonk like Kevin should know this.
The text says additions.
The chart says changes.
A change could be either an addition or a deletion, yes?
As a high school history teacher for 25 years, I can't emphasize enough that state curricula don't tell the whole story. They are not like elementary level reading curricula. State history curricula committees tend to throw way more content in than it's humanly possible to teach, especially when most of your students, while scheduled for 180 days or so of school are out of class about 30-50 of those days, often for excused absences or standardized tests. Some new teachers try to address the whole curriculum, but they quickly realize that it's impossible, so they teach more selectively as they learn how to engage students. I recently tutored a couple of 10th graders from a wealthy family who attended school in a large, well-off Florida district. They couldn't tell me what the Revolutionary War was about. All they knew of the Civil War was slavery and Harriet Tubman. They were headed into Advanced Placement US History, lord help them.
Ughhh. I knew a co-worker that was subbing for a while. He tried to teach the Lost Cause as valid history, not as the attempt rewrite it. He's not subbing anymore.
For the old days files, Four Yorkshirestudent folder, when I was in high school, we took “Omnibus History.” It prepped us for both the US, and European History AP exams…
35 years ago my supervising teacher had me teach the class alone while she went over the new middle school US History text. After three days she came out shaking her head--there was no way it could be taught in one year.
Of course doing justice to history will mean taking away time from something else newer and hotter, like coding.
>State history curricula committees tend to throw way more content in than it's humanly possible to teach,
Case in point: Item 12.9.1 of the California standards for its one-semester US Govt course is:
>Explain how the different philosophies and structures of feudalism, mercantilism, socialism, fascism, communism, monarchies, parliamentary systems, and constitutional liberal democracies influence economic policies, social welfare policies, and human rights practices.
https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/histsocscistnd.pdf
... curricula