Re: "Florida's Fear of History" by Robt. Jensen

[Jim Devine <jdevine03@xxxxxxxxx>]

the Jensen story was all analysis and no facts.

here are some facts:

LAWMAKERS MOVE TO TIGHTEN CONTROL OVER THE HISTORY CURRICULUM IN
FLORIDA SCHOOLS

Florida Governor Jeb Bush has signed into law a new comprehensive
K-12th grade education bill – the Florida Education Omnibus Bill (H.B.
7087e3). Buried in the 160-page bill are new provisions designed to
"meet the highest standards for professionalism and historic
accuracy." Some Florida history teachers, though, question the
philosophical underpinnings of the law.

The most controversial passage states: "American history shall be
viewed as factual, not constructed, shall be viewed as knowable,
teachable, and testable, and shall be defined as the creation of a new
nation based largely on the universal principles stated in the
Declaration of Independence." To that end teachers are charged not
only to focus on the history and content of the Declaration but are
also instructed to teach the "history, meaning, significance and
effect of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and
the amendments thereto..." Other bill provisions place new emphasis on
"flag education, including proper flag display and flag salute" and on
the need to teach "the nature and importance of free enterprise to the
United States economy."

Unlike U.S. Senate version of the proposed new federal "Higher
Education Act" (S. 1614) that seeks to define "traditional" American
history, the Florida statute does not specifically define American
history at all, rather, it describes what it is to include: "the
period of discovery, early colonies, the War for Independence, the
Civil War, the expansion of the United States to its present
boundaries, the world wars, and the civil rights movement to the
present." Special provisions mandate the teaching of the history of
the Holocaust, the history of African Americans, and Hispanic
"contributions" to the United States. The role that Native Americans
played in American history escapes mention. In highly prescriptive
language students are to be taught "the arguments in support of
adopting our republican form of government" as embodied in the
Federalist Papers. The proscriptive language causes thoughtful
teachers to wonder whether they are permitted to teach the line of
reasoning advanced by the anti-federalists.

While the goal of the bill's designers is "to raise historical
literacy" concerning the documents, people, and events that shaped the
nation, some history educators question the emphasis on teaching only
"facts." State Representative Shelley Vana, who also serves as the
West Palm Beach teachers union president wonders "whose facts would
they be, Christopher Columbus's or the Indians?"

Theron Trimble, executive director of the Florida Council for the
Social Studies, also questions the bill's provisions that declares
that teachers are not to "construct" history. Trimble asserts that
"American history tends to get reinterpreted and re-reviewed in
cycles...It's a natural evolution, history is as changeable as the
law." Perhaps Jennifer Morely, an American history and government
teacher, best summarized the concerns of her colleagues: "If you just
require students to memorize information, that's not the best way to
create active citizens...we're just creating little robots."

The new law takes effect 1 July. Shortly thereafter, the state
department of education will begin reviewing their standards and
textbooks in 2007.

from http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/26015.html
--
Jim Devine / "You need a busload of faith to get by." -- Lou Reed.