The AHA continues to monitor state-level activity relating to history education. We don’t just lament the state of affairs; we are out there on the ground trying to make a difference. On November 18, AHA senior program analyst for teaching and learning Julia Brookins testified before the Texas State Board of Education about proposed new reading and language arts instructional materials. This curriculum includes a significant amount of history, and Dr. Brookins labeled it “a great disappointment. . . . The Texas Education Agency [producer of the materials] has missed an opportunity to help districts provide students and teachers with clear, well-evidenced historical content in so much of the curriculum.” Referring to “widespread weaknesses in the history lessons” she invoked an AHA aphorism: schools should “teach students how to think, not what to think.”
Much of the debate in Texas and elsewhere relates to patriotism and national purpose. The AHA is opposed to neither. As Julia explained, “The best kind of history education to teach informed patriotism is simply the best history education.”
State education departments and legislative committees hold hearings on curriculum and relevant legislation. In some cases they even travel around the state enabling residents to testify without traveling to the capital. I encourage all AHA members to watch this short video and realize that you too can participate.
~Jim Grossman, AHA executive director