The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would suspend for two years the implementation of Gov. Walz’s controversial new K-12 social studies standards. The proposed changes have drawn criticism for advancing a non-academic political agenda at the expense of landmark historical events such as the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I and II, and the Holocaust, or important historical figures like George Washington or Thomas Jefferson.
“Do we send our children to school to teach them the skills, knowledge, and understanding they need to become successful adults, or do we send them to school to instill in them an activist ideology?” asked Senator Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson) “The new standards are long on ideology and short on accurate history and knowledge-based learning. We are open to new ideas and new perspectives, but not at the expense of fundamental topics and fairness. There is no room for activism in our schools; we have to focus on the essentials. Delaying these standards for two years will give parents time to familiarize themselves with the proposal and provide critical input to the Department of Education.”
The first draft of the proposed standards omitted several major historical events, which robs students of basic knowledge and an understanding of their shared cultural heritage. Under current law, the Minnesota Department of Educations is authorized to “review” and “revise” state social studies standards on a regular cycle. But that law was only intended for necessary corrections and updates. It was never meant to give a governor the authority to radically change the curriculum for every public school student in Minnesota.
While benchmarks for several major historical events were omitted from the first draft of the proposed standards, the draft does include new and revised benchmarks tailored to social justice and equity, including the following:
- Explain how systemic inequity has been a barrier to accessing credit
- Learn to recognize unfairness, stereotypes, and bias on the individual level (e.g., biased speech) and injustice at the institutional or systemic level (e.g. discrimination)
- Describe the tactics used by the United States government to claim indigenous and Mexican land, including but not limited to an analysis of the ideology of Manifest Destiny and its relationship to whiteness, Christianity, and capitalism
- Define freedom and democracy, and examine how different groups have been included or excluded from the ideals over American history
- Develop a respectful awareness about how ideas and norms about gender have changed over time, and how members of the LGBTQ+ community have responded to persecution or marginalization by building coalitions in order to promote gender equality/equity