Advanced Placement classes, usually known simply as AP, have long been a rite of passage for the gifted and talented among high school students. AP classes are college-level courses that allow students in public and private schools alike to challenge themselves, possibly gain credit for taking college courses, and “learn new skills in the subjects you care about,” according to College Board, the company that controls AP.
Advanced Placement classes are a great opportunity for a lot of students in the United States, so a lot of people were pretty shocked at an Oklahoma bill that proposes to eliminate funding for AP US History and replace it with a state-mandated course instead.
The new bill, authored by Oklahoma Representative Dan Fisher, is called HB 1380 and “[directs] the State Board of Education to adopt a certain United States History program and assessment; prohibiting the expenditure of funds on the Advanced Placement United States History course.” According to many education professionals, APUSH — as the course is often affectionately called — promotes “revisionist history” and emphasizes only the bad things Americans have done. It’s true that the course material — which begins in the year 1491 and continues on to the present — places a lot of emphasis on the American issues of slavery and indentured servitude, on the consequences of Manifest Destiny and westward expansion, and on the nation’s poor treatment of ethnic and racial minorities. All of which, of course, are terrible things that actually happened in the United States and that students need to learn about.
Bruce Niemi, a former legislator and current history professor, wrote in an opinion piece that the current APUSH curriculum “tells an inclusive story of workers, popular culture, women and the oppressed, rather than the old ‘history from above’ of great men, governments, military battles and heroes.” The proposed new curriculum, effective starting the 2015-2016 school year, places an emphasis on the founding fathers, the origins of the United States, and “American Exceptionalism.” It includes a list of pertinent historical documents students taking the course must read, a few of which include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Mayflower Compact, the Northwest Ordinance, and Common Sense by Thomas Paine.
The bill has garnered media attention lately due to a Change.org petition authored by a high school girl from Oklahoma who is currently taking 5 AP classes and whose dream is to get into MIT. She addresses her petition to the Oklahoma governor, the State Senate, and the State House. The petition, “Don’t Ban AP Courses,” states,“Taking a college level class in high school, working hard to achieve your dreams, should not be controversial… What is happening in Oklahoma will not stay here.” The petition has roughly 29,600 online “signatures” as of the time of writing this article, but the numbers are constantly growing and getting closer to its author’s goal of 35,000.
While it’s definitely up to the reader to decide which curriculum they support or how they’d prefer to have the nation’s students be taught, there is something to be said for balance. We can learn about the generations of oppressed and disadvantaged without denying the beauty of America’s founding principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We can learn about the great leaps forward that the United States has achieved in its history while still learning about the mistakes our leaders and lawmakers have made. But most of all, we need to allow students to take advanced classes that challenge them and give them the skills to ensure that we don’t repeat history (at least the bad parts).
Susannah, I’ve been reading your posts on Germ and I’m so impressed with all of the issues you’ve drawn attention to! I’m especially intrigued with this article, and I completely agree with your concluding opinions. I do, however, understand why Oklahoma would try and mandate a more “balanced” curriculum in regards to what is covered in history in high school classrooms. Oftentimes, students don’t hear about the histories of those that have been marginalized in the United States until they get to college. And who is to know whether those that choose to go to college will decide to enroll in a course that would cover the colorful tapestry of American history when they just took American history in high school? While I agree with you that students should be allowed to take AP classes that challenge them, I also think that all students should be exposed to the rich histories that have long been ignored by the traditional curriculum. It’s a tough issue when it comes to government funding for public schools. Do we fund classes for the few public school students who “make the cut” and are “smart enough” to get into AP courses? Or do we fund a state-endorsed curriculum that seeks to present a more balanced view of history for the non-AP students that make up the large majority of the student body? I really don’t know…I used to be one of those AP students from a public high school, and I got a lot of opportunities because of that. Great job Susannah!