North Carolina Schools Trying to Radically Change American History Lessons for its High School Students

They claim this is a matter for open debate. But I have to wonder, what imbecile even suggested this?

Change often leads to controversy and that is certainly the case in North Carolina where an effort to revamp the state's education system has some people outraged that high school students will not learn enough American history.

The formula for teaching American history has been pretty simple. Start at the beginning and go forward. But a new proposal under review in North Carolina threatens to disrupt that standard teaching philosophy. The state's on-going curriculum review hits all subjects but it's the proposed changes for high school students learning social studies that have provoked fears.

Under the new guidelines, students will graduate without learning enough about world history and key parts of American history including Abraham Lincoln, westward expansion or much else that happened before 1877 when Reconstruction ended, critics say.

Right now, high school students learn world history in the ninth grade, civics and economics in the tenth and the entirety of U.S. history in the eleventh grade. Under the proposed change, all ninth graders wouldn't study world history. Instead, they''ll have to take a course called Global Studies focusing on the modern issues like the environment.

Tenth graders will still get Civics and Economics, while the junior year U.S. history class would start in 1877. State officials say events prior to that year will be taught before high school and also incorporated into the sophomore year Civics class.

Education officials acknowledge this is a big change but believe it will allow them to connect with a standard of teaching based on a new national initiative called called Common Core which emphasizes standards to help prepare students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and careers and to be prepared to compete globally.

They want to start American history lessons focusing on the year 1877 onward. That would ignore the American Revolution, the Civil War, Lincoln and a lot of other really good stuff. Frankly, I'm surprised they aren't advocating starting American history from 2008 onward.