From the Dec. 18, 1996 Daily Report Card:
-> *3   HISTORY STANDARDS:  TOUGH GOING IN MASSACHUSETTS
->    The Mass. state Board of Education last week proposed a new
-> social studies curriculum that already is stirring controversy
-> (Avenoso, BOSTON GLOBE, 12/13).  Board members based their
-> curriculum on history standards already in place in Va., which
-> were developed by educator E.D. Hirsch.
->    The new curriculum focuses on Western history and outlines a
-> "set of key events, ideas and places that will be the focus of a
-> statewide test," reports the paper.  Critics claim students will
-> loose interest in history because the standards reduce the
-> subject to memorization of dates, places and other facts. Others
-> argue that the curriculum does not adequately cover economics,
-> geography, sociology and other areas of social studies.  Some
-> teachers add that the curriculum's emphasis on Western history
-> neglects issues of multiculturalism.  "These standards don't
-> speak to the many different people who make up our country and
-> our world," said Wendell Bourne, a social studies teacher at
-> Weston Middle School.  "I think children need social studies to be
-> more related to life and reality in the 21st century,
-> including the ethnic groups that are part of their own
-> communitites," he added.
->     Supporters counter that students need to know basic
-> historic facts, and are being academically harmed by the current
-> curriculum that has been described as a "mishmash of electives on
-> multiculturalism and self esteem."   "The sense has been that if kids
-> knew how to think about ideas, they could always look the
-> information up," said Walter Lambert, senior program coordinator for
-> social studies in the Boston public schools.  "But history is not an
-> amorphous set of personal opinions.  It's solid content. And kids
-> can't develop critical thinking if they don't have
-> anything to think about."
->    The board anticipates voting on the new curriculum early
-> next year, reports the paper.
--- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10
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