Academia, Bizarre, Politics, Society

Oklahoma Legislator Introduces Bill To Ban Advanced Placement History Classes

Fisher-Danx175Oklahoma State Rep. Dan Fisher presumably has an array of tough issues to tackle for his state from unemployment to the environment to crime. However, Fisher has decided to take on the ignoble task of banning Advanced Placement history classes in the state because he objects to the inclusion of negative aspects of American history and the omission of material embracing “American exceptionalism.” As an academic, I have previously criticized politicians (here and here and here and here) intervening in our school system to impose their own values or priorities on educators. This however ranks as one of the worst such intrusions that we have seen.

Oklahoma has been one of the states rejecting the Common Core curriculum for K-12 programs. There are valid arguments for states in insisting on control of such curricula as a general matter even if one disagrees with the merits of objections to the common core. However, this is beyond the pale. AP classes are a mainstay of our educational system and allow students to get truly advanced studies in given subjects. I have argued for years that we need to ramp up such courses on civics and history. It is therefore particularly distressing to read Fisher’s bill. It is not only would deprive these students of advanced courses but it would place Oklahoma students at a serious disadvantage in college applications which put great weight on such courses.

Fisher’s primary objection is that the AP history courses, in his view, emphasize the wrongs about America. However, these courses allow students to study not just the triumphs but the mistakes of history so history does not repeat itself. We are not a great nation because we did not commit errors and even crimes in our past. We are a great nation because we overcome such history, recognized our failings, and become a better nation despite such failings. The Trail of Tears, Alien and Sedition Acts, Japanese internment camps, Red Scare and other dark chapters reveal both our succumbing to fears and our transcending them. Part of AP curricula is to train students to read history in a critical and objective way. Converting our history into some Disney tale will teach students little about our country or themselves.

The “exceptionalism” of this country is precisely that we are not perfect but strive to be better.

307 thoughts on “Oklahoma Legislator Introduces Bill To Ban Advanced Placement History Classes”

  1. First graders?
    Seriously?
    7 year olds need to know all the warts from day one?

    Giuliani is right.
    And so was Bonhoeffer:

    “Folly is a more dangerous enemy to the good than evil. One can protest against evil; it can be unmasked and, if need be, prevented by force. Evil always carries the seeds of its own destruction, as it makes people, at the least, uncomfortable.

    Against folly we have no defence. Neither protests nor force can touch it; reasoning is no use; facts that contradict personal prejudices can simply be disbelieved — indeed, the fool can counter by criticizing them, and if they are undeniable, they can be just pushed aside as trivial exceptions. So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self-satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take much to make him aggressive.

    A fool must therefore be treated more cautiously than a scoundrel; we shall never again try to convince a fool by reason, for it is both useless and dangerous.“

  2. No Pogo, believing in a Disney version of history is akin to believing in Santa Claus. Kids can love their country despite knowing the truth.

    1. Inga – I have seen Hollywood versions of history, so kinda good, most bad. I do not remember Disney doing a history series.

      1. Paul Schulte

        Hollywood Versions of History

        You will laugh at me. I know you will but I liked Gone With the Wind because Scarlett was like the first Feminist.

    2. I believe people who tell children there is no Santa Claus deserve 80 lashes in public.

  4. It’s kinder to not keep kids believing in Santa Claus for too long. Kids should also be told they are adopted from the get go. The truth can be told in a kid friendly way.

  5. …” the Disneyized version of American history that was taught for so long”

    Giuliani’s recent statement,
    ““I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America”
    stems in part from the incessant US-hatred preached (preached) in US schools. He is one of millions who were taught to think that way from bedside through college.

    Would it kill the warts-and-allers to allow maybe three grades in grammar school where they teach kids to love their country, before donning the hairshirts and whipping themselves?

  6. Davidm,
    I agree with you .
    For example: England’s population was growing fast with fewer jobs for the people. Those getting the best jobs were those who were in agreement with the queen/king. The Puritans were a minority group looking to live and practice their religion freely; they made the journey in search of that life in North America. They were not a perfect people having their own unusual ideas. These ideas and negatives need to be discussed, but they have to be countered with positive results. This is how we were traditionally taught and should be taught in our classrooms today.

  7. Davidm2575

    The pendulum swings equally in both directions. What you find offensive in the stuff taught that you label progressive is most probably a result of a combination of your bias, bent, distance from the middle and the reaction or perhaps over reaction of those that saw such a degree of fault with the Disneyized version of American history that was taught for so long that they went to the other extreme.

    In other words shoot for the middle. However, without the elitist Americans like Washington, Jefferson, etc. there would have been no revolution. They represented that segment of the population most affected economically with the most to gain and the most to lose. They were over all heroes for taking a position that applied to more of the population and a greater integrity than the position of acquiescing to Great Britain.

    1. issac wrote: “What you find offensive in the stuff taught that you label progressive is most probably a result of a combination of your bias, bent, distance from the middle and the reaction or perhaps over reaction of those that saw such a degree of fault with the Disneyized version of American history that was taught for so long that they went to the other extreme.”

      Uh, no. My perspective is based upon rational examination of all the evidence available to me. I find it offensive because it is overtly and unapologetically ideological rather than rational and fact based. And that is me being polite. If I were not being polite, I would say that the producers of the AP curriculum are uneducated.

      1. Davidm2575

        Uh, no. My perspective is based upon rational examination of all the evidence available to me. I find it offensive because it is overtly and unapologetically ideological rather than rational and fact based. And that is me being polite. If I were not being polite, I would say that the producers of the AP curriculum are uneducated.

        Well, I am trying to be polite today and that is what I got too. The adjective that came to mind was stodgy.

  8. Professor Turley,
    You are an intelligent man who defends the saving of the American Constitution, yet you are ready to support a very controversial issue that can brainwash and possibly turn our country into a land of Marxism.

    I must admit since retiring a five years ago, I’ve been out of the loop in knowing much about Common Core. However, recently my daughter gave me several classroom worksheets and tests to evaluate, and I must say that I think the math curriculum is too involved, will take too long to work out, break down and explain, as Common Core expressly wants taught. Unless we have our students attend school all year long, it will be quite difficult for the information to be mastered in all students and to get through extensive curriculum.

    I did do some research on why legislatures are in an uproar over the AP History curriculum. What I’ve discovered is that the information is less on traditional teaching of American History and far more on the negative aspect of American History.
    If these history courses are going to show the negativity of America, shouldn’t they also show the outcome, results, and solutions? Instead, very important documents and important people were left out of the texts. This is definitely a Red Flag and we must ask why, especially in an AP text book and class.
    history curriculum ignored civil disobedience, civil rights movement, and other controversial subjects.
    The RNC blasted the AP courses claiming “deliberately distorts, and/or edits out important historical events.” They said, the framework “reflects a radically revisionist view of American History that emphasizes negative aspects and omits or minimizes positive aspects.”
    Some leftist websites didn’t offer questions or possible solutions, they simply resorted to name calling and blaming the Republican’s–again. Let’s examine what’s going on and stop pointing fingers at the opposite political party. This is serious infiltration of Marxist philosophical beliefs that are definitely not American and every citizen owes it to our country to check out what’s going on and what can be done about it.

  9. Shorter Oklahoma State Rep. Dan Fisher:
    “Why study history when we can relive it?”

    Elected For, By and Of the People…
    … How’d they get this dumb?

    1. Max-1 – Nevada keep re-electing Harry Reid. That is how dumb they can get.

  10. You bloggers might find this interesting.
    David Coleman and Jason Zimba and others founded Common Core, Student Achievement Partners, and Grow Network who partners with McGraw/Hill has a big claim on the publication of History books. Coleman is known for his extremist progressive upbringing and ideology. Coleman is president of Common Core today and responsible for content of the AP exams. He is also in charge of revising the SAT exams.

    Around 2000, The Chicago Public Education Fund negotiated a contract with Coleman and Zimba’s Grow Network. He was never tested or vetted by anyone before he was offered the contract. On the board of directors was Barak Obama and communist and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers along with Bill Ayers dad and brother. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge was created by Bill Ayers and financially supported the network, which has been accused of promoting Marxist-Communist, political, and socialist ideology. The Chicago Public Education Fund has been accused of being yet another corrupt political/educational machine in Illinois.

    It’s important to note that ironically Barak Obama claimed for years of not really knowing Bill Ayers and only met him once or twice. This should give those skeptics a clearer understanding of why this new History curriculum is being debated. For more information see eagnews.org.

    1. Gigi De la Paz
      Although I usually lean left on Social issues, I think that Common Core is dismal in Math and the Bill of Rights issue is worrisome enough to bring up twice in this thread]
      The assignment’s instructions, which include hideous grammatical errors such as the use of the plural pronouns “they” and “their” to refer to the singular noun “government,” tell students that “the government of United States is currently revisiting” the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

      Unknown federal officials “have determined” that the Bill of Rights “is outdated and may not remain in its current form any longer,” the instructions say.

      consequently, the sixth-graders were asked to “participate on the National Revised Bill of Rights Task Force.” They were required to “omit two and add two amendments to the Bill of Rights.”

      At least one local parent is livid about the rights-scrapping assignment, reports Digital Journal.

      Your Tweet has been posted! View it on Twitter
      Who to follow

      EAGnews.org @EAGnews · 66,416 followers · 8,680 tweets
      EAGnews exposes waste in public schools, union tactics and leftist indoctrination in the classroom. Follow founder @kyleolson4, too.

      Get a Tweet Button for your own website!

  11. To clarify Pogo, it was you that said we shouldn’t bring up the bad things that Germans did in WW2 (or something like that, don’t recall your exact example). I wish I could find that thread. Now what is it, do you want the Disney version of History or the real one?

  12. Pogo, does it ever occur to you that there are Americans who do not buy, lock stock and barrel into any ideology completely? I said a while back in a discussion on American History that I wanted my grandchildren to hear the truth, not the ‘truth by the left’, nor ‘the truth by the right’. It was you who said we should not mention the KKK in history books, or in World History, some nonsense regarding Germans and their complicity in the Holocaust. You were the person who said he didn’t want a reasoned, balanced approach, not me.

  13. Pogo hears a who

    American history as theology. History as ideology. History as therapy. Is it possible to have a reasonable balanced, neutral approach to teaching history?“

    Yes – My College Professor Dr. Meyer was an Optimist and he taught us all of these things and made it so I was interested in History as a Story my entire life. But a True Story.

    The glass half full

  14. No ‘oops’ except that, save for criticizing the religious translation of US history, the article’s point was entirely opposite to yours.

    He ended thus:

    “So we have the sanitized progressive version of history, where everybody participated equally in the building of America, and no group ever did anything bad. This is better?

    American history as theology. History as ideology. History as therapy. Is it possible to have a reasonable balanced, neutral approach to teaching history?“

  15. Pogo, there is no oops there. I read the entire article and agree with much of it.

  16. I gave you a link Pogo and my excerpts were already long enough. What I choose to emphasize is my decision. I was interested in this guy’s background. You chose to copy and paste what you think important, I did the same. I’m not about to copy and paste the entire article. I would hope that everyone who sees links to articles with excerpts, reads the entire article and decides for themselves.

  17. And from her same cite:

    “California is notorious for using state law to compel the teaching of history to progressive ends. In 2011, the state passed a law requiring public schools to include LGBT contributions in their history courses. From the NYT’s report:

    California will become the first state to require public schools to teach gay and lesbian history. As expected, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill on Thursday that mandates that the contributions of gays and lesbians in the state and the country be included in social science instruction and in textbooks. “

    Oops.

  18. Inga left this out from the article she cited, not surprisingly (emphasis mine):

    “It should be said that those who are suspicious of the creeping progressivism in AP History courses may not be entirely wrong at all. I mean, you don’t have to believe that America is the New Israel to be concerned. Stanley Kurtz wrote last year:

    It is true, of course, that as on much else, Americans are divided about how best to teach and understand U.S. history. This is precisely why the new, lengthy, and detailed AP U.S. History Framework is such a bad idea. The brief five-page conceptual guideline the Framework replaced allowed sufficient flexibility for teachers to approach U.S. History from a wide variety of perspectives. Liberals, conservatives, and anyone in-between could teach U.S. history their way, and still see their students do well on the AP Test. The College Board’s new and vastly more detailed guidelines can only be interpreted as an attempt to hijack the teaching of U.S. history on behalf of a leftist political and ideological perspective. The College Board has drastically eroded the freedom of states, school districts, teachers, and parents to choose the history they teach their children. That is why this change must not stand.

    So, you don’t have to be a Black Rober to object to the new AP Framework, it seems.“

  19. From EricH’s AP History link:

    “How have gender, class, ethnic, religious, regional, and other group identities changed in different eras?

    Compare the beliefs and strategies of movements advocating changes to the U.S. economic system since industrialization, particularly the organized labor, Populist, and Progressive movements.”

    Yeesh.
    Boilerplate Marxist claptrap.

  20. Isaac, I appreciate your reasoned response.
    And I wish I had time to Fisk your post.

    I’ll let Paul Johnson explain,

    “The point was reiterated more than a century later by President Eisenhower, probably as typical of mid twentieth century American religious attitudes as Lincoln was of those prevailing in the mid nineteenth century. Eisenhower said in 1954 that “Our government makes no sense unless it is founded on a deeply felt religious faith.” He added”and this is still more characteristic””and I don’t care what it is.”

    Eisenhower’s indifference to credal distinctions reflected faithfully the Erasmian nature of religious America. It was and is concerned with moral conduct rather than dogma; American religious groups were judged not by their theology but by the behavior of their adherents. Thus the very diversity of the sects constituted the national religious strength, since all operated within a broad common code of morals, and their competition for souls mirrored the competition of firms for business in the market economy. In both cases the role of the state was to hold the ring and make that competition fair. The First Amendment no more made America a secular state than its antitrust legislation made it a socialist state. By the twentieth century, the American republic had come to rest on a tripod of forces: religion, democracy, and capitalism. All were mutually supportive; each would fall without the others. Indeed, any two would fall without the third. When Coolidge said that “the business of America is business,” he might equally well have added “and the religion of America is religion.”

    “

    Not ideology but morality.

    <blockquote“Under Herbert Hoover, who had overseen some dramatic expansion of government during World War I, Washington responded to the Great Depression by again expanding its power. This, of course, accelerated under Franklin Roosevelt. It was fashionable for New Dealers to talk about Soviet-type economic planning. Government power expanded even more dramatically during the Second World War.
    Yet America never went for statism as much as other countries. Maybe because the spirit of individualism somehow endured, you didn’t have the nationalizations which swept through Britain, Europe, and Asia after the war. On the contrary, many wartime bureaucracies were dismantled. There was some breathing room for entrepreneurs, and they created the postwar boom which opened new markets, developed new technologies, and in many ways helped renew the spirit of individualism.
    Adam Smith remarked that there is a lot of ruin in a nation. People can absorb frightening abuse from government and bounce back if they’re able to preserve at least a little freedom.

    Freedom over against statism.

Comments are closed.