Colorado students protest proposed curriculum changes

[Jimaz]

Colorado students protest proposed curriculum changes

For the past week in Colorado’s Jefferson County, more than a thousand students have walked out of their classes at several schools, protesting proposed changes to curriculum in U.S. History classes....

The protests are aimed at new JeffCo School Board member Julie Williams’ proposal, which states, in part: “Materials should promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights. Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law. Instructional materials should present positive aspects of the United States and its heritage.”...

Williams could not be reached for comment, but she said in a statement that new curriculum for the Advanced Placement U.S. history course is revisionist and portrays the nation’s history in a negative context. “I was truly surprised by the reaction of so many people regarding the AP U.S. History curriculum,” Williams said. “I must not have explained myself clearly. I thought everyone, or at least everyone involved in education, understood the huge debate and controversy surrounding the new [curriculum] … Balance and respect for traditional scholarship is NOT censorship.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado has offered its support to the students. “It’s ironic that an attempt to downplay examples of social change being accomplished through civil disobedience has spurred a community-wide crash course in just how important it is to be able to speak out and question authority in a just and democratic society,” ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley said in a statement.

The protests began one week ago when dozens of teachers at Standley Lake High School in Westminster, a Denver suburb, and Conifer High in Conifer, some 40 miles southwest, called in sick Friday, prompting both schools to close for the day. Teachers are riled by two issues: one is an ongoing disagreement over pay and the intentions of the new conservative board members. The other is a board proposal to set up a curriculum committee to review what materials teachers use in the classroom.

Williams has said she’s not trying to eliminate the facts of U.S. history, but shares the concerns conservatives nationally have outlined — that AP History casts some parts of our nation’s past in a negative light, such as the bombing of Hiroshima and slavery.

Oh, really?!

Students Bravely Fight Back Against 1984-Loving Conservative School Board