New York Cancels History
And we Yankees all chuckled when the Texas State Board of Education dictated that social studies teachers had to present an even more right-wing version of the past. Now the New York State Board of Regents, the governing body that overseas education in the state, has done Texas one better (or worse) and canceled the teaching of history in grades K-8.
Oh, yes, history will still nominally be part of the curriculum, but student knowledge of history and their use of analytical skills and historical reasoning will no longer be assessed, so teachers and principals hard-pressed to raise test scores and earn bonuses can now concentrate on the rote learning of math and reading skills – the hell with content, context, and citizenship.
Texas schoolchildren my be required to learn that the words “separation of church and state” aren’t in the Constitution and evaluate whether the United Nations undermines U.S. sovereignty, but they will be ahead of New York State children who will never hear about either the Constitution or the United Nations.
Harold
