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High schools students in the U.S. state of South Dakota have the option as of next year of not learning about the historical foundations of their country, including colonial conquest, genocide and slavery.
Indian Country Today reported Wednesday that a group of 35 educators recommended and approved new benchmarks for the social science department late August that make it possible for high school students to choose one of three U.S. history courses as an academic requirement.
While Early U.S. History, which includes U.S. colonialism, slavery and women’s suffrage, is still an option, “they also now have the option of avoiding it altogether, which makes it a ‘non-standard standard’,” said Ben Jones, Dean of Arts and Sciences for Dakota State University in Madison, as told to the Argus Leader.
The move, which comes into effect the school year of 2016-2017, is allegedly intended to teach critical thinking and analytical skills, but according to history professor Michael Mullin, this fails to understand the importance of knowing history.
"History really isn't about yesterday. History is really about understanding today. And I think that is what they forget. They just want to think about today but without a context," Professor Mullin, told KSFY.com
The new social science adjustments also point at something larger, however. It is the hurdles increasingly institutionalized to make learning about the historical foundations of the U.S. more difficult. In 2010, an Arizona law made it illegal to teach African-American, Native-American and Mexican-American studies out of fear that they “advocate ethnic solidarity” and “promote (the) overthrow of the U.S. government.”
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