What’s Behind the Pressure to Censor Social Studies? American Cultural Mindsets
We can argue about what should or should not be in a school curriculum, but the real work also lies as much in changing the culture that these arguments rest upon.
The College Board — the organization that designs the Advanced Placement college-level curricula for high school students — recently removed a number of terms from a draft course on African American studies. One of the key words that disappeared? “Systemic.”
In editing out this term, the College Board lost an opportunity to help young people learn and think critically about the connection between the design of our institutions and the uneven way in which opportunity and resources are meted out in America.
These language changes speak volumes about the current state of American culture and what’s required to move it forward.