{"id":80307,"date":"2024-08-26T14:27:32","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T18:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/?p=80307"},"modified":"2024-08-26T16:50:25","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T20:50:25","slug":"aha-urges-oklahoma-retain-current-social-studies-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/news\/aha-urges-oklahoma-retain-current-social-studies-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"AHA Urges Oklahoma Retain Current Social Studies Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"

The AHA has sent a letter to Oklahoma Governor J. Kevin Stitt and the members of the Oklahoma Board of Education expressing alarm <\/span>about<\/span> State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters\u2019s plans for a<\/span> \u201ccomplete<\/span> overhaul\u201d of Oklahoma\u2019s existing state academic standards for social studies, urging the state to instead retain their current standards.<\/span> \u201cThe<\/span> Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies are among the best in the nation,\u201d the AHA wrote.<\/span> \u201c[Walters]<\/span> would sacrifice historical accuracy and carefully framed learning outcomes to his extreme ideas about<\/span> \u2018American<\/span> exceptionalism\u2019 grounded more in ideological commitments than in historical evidence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

August 26, 2024<\/p>\n

Gov. J. Kevin Stitt
\nOklahoma State Board of Education
\nOklahoma City, OK<\/p>\n

Dear Gov. Stitt and Members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education:<\/p>\n

The American Historical Association views with alarm State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters\u2019s plans<\/a> for a \u201ccomplete overhaul\u201d of Oklahoma\u2019s existing state academic standards for social studies. He would sacrifice historical accuracy and carefully framed learning outcomes to his extreme ideas about \u201cAmerican exceptionalism\u201d grounded more in ideological commitments than in historical evidence.<\/p>\n

In a press interview<\/a>, Walters claimed, with no evidence, that \u201c[t]eacher\u2019s unions have been rewriting history, teaching students to hate America.\u201d According to Walters, this dystopian view justifies radical reform to the structure and content of Oklahoma\u2019s history curriculum. \u201cThe executive committee that we\u2019ve assembled\u201d to rewrite the standards \u201care experts in American exceptionalism, our Founding Fathers, and historical documents like the Bible. These things are essential to understanding our history.\u201d<\/p>\n

The American Historical Association will publish in September a report<\/a> based on the most comprehensive study of US history\/social studies education that has been undertaken in this century. Our exhaustive research documents a landscape of history education that departs dramatically from Walters\u2019s inflammatory caricature. Almost all of the 3,000 teachers we surveyed cited critical thinking (97%) and informed citizenship (94%) as the top learning goals for their students. Standards should support these goals and encourage teachers to model independent thinking by affording them the trust and freedom to make decisions. Oklahoma\u2019s current standards make this possible.<\/p>\n

The Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies are among the best in the nation. They succeed on the terms laid out in their introduction, focusing on the four strands of social studies, to provide \u201ca balanced study of history.\u201d In every course, they return to the core practices of social studies that include using evidence and reading critically. These standards are comprehensive in their coverage of US history without being excessively detailed, moving at a steady pace, with examples that teachers can ground their lessons in. The state\u2019s history receives sustained attention, not only in the Oklahoma history sequence but also within the teaching of US history, offering specific examples that connect to national topics.<\/p>\n

Alongside its report on social studies education, the AHA is completing a separate assessment of all 50 state standards in middle and high school US history. This assessment evaluates standards on their own terms while also appraising their treatment of nine topics in American history, the use of state history, and historical skills. While standards should be continually revised and debated, Oklahoma received the highest green rating on all nine of its content areas for their clear and comprehensive coverage without any evident partisan framing. The current standards also acknowledge that students should learn how interpretations of history do change over time, such as \u201cthe role labels play in understanding historic events, for example \u2018riot\u2019 versus \u2018massacre.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The greatest strength of the Oklahoma standards is their consistent reference to the relationship between Oklahoma and United States history. Specific topics in Oklahoma\u2019s history such as the Oklahoma City lunch counter sit-ins led by Clara Luper are connected to the national civil rights movement. State history helps to engage students with their local context and explains a core reason why each state has its own social studies standards. Standards should reflect each state\u2019s unique history and its national context. While textbook publishers and other resource developers may publish a single national curriculum, or tailor it to the largest states, every state can highlight its particular history through its standards.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Superintendent Walters explained<\/a> that he was \u201cvery pleased\u201d with the social studies standards that he now opposes so vehemently. The state\u2019s foundational guidelines for history and social studies instruction \u201cprovided a clear, concise guide for teachers to design their lessons and classes.\u201d Oklahoma should be proud of its work and reject efforts by ideologues to undermine the integrity of the state\u2019s public schools.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

James R. Grossman
\nAHA Executive Director<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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