Network Schools – Wayne Gerseny to https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/03/magazine/thomas-piketty-interview u w B l.html?h I’ll smid=url-share the Is for

I read an AP article in today’s NYTimes education newsletter describing a recent law enacted in the Wisconsin House that mandates a statewide civics curriculum. According to the report,

A statewide civics curriculum would be created that all Wisconsin public and private schools would have to follow under a Republican-authored bill the state Assembly passed on Tuesday.

The measure would also require all public school students to take at least a half credit in civics education in order to graduate.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos introduced the bill, saying the country faces a “civics education crisis.”

The Wisconsin Association of School Boards says nearly all school districts are already providing civics education and if the bill were to become law, they would hope those districts could continue using the same curriculum.

The measure is also supported by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

Under the bill, the required civics curriculum would have to include teaching the history and context of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and “a sense of civic pride and desire to participate regularly with government at all levels.”

Living in a state led by a GOP governor and governed by a GOP legislator, I fully expect a similar bill to be headed are way. Why? Because I assumed that ALEC— the American Legislative Exchange Council— was the force behind the bill… and a quick look at their web page confirmed my suspicions. Here’s ALEC’s (ahem) thinking on this issue:

Americans take personal pride in the diversity of their ethnic and cultural backgrounds. However, as a nation, we possess a singular political heritage based on the principles of life, liberty, justice, and equality of opportunity as defined and expressed in the Declaration of Independence, codified in the Constitution, and defended in the Federalist Papers. Thomas Jefferson, recognizing the future need to protect America’s political heritage, prescribed a general education for all citizens, “to instruct the mass of our citizens in these their rights, interests, and duties, as men and citizens.” However, today, and for too many years, our students have been denied the basic education required to develop a command of and commitment to the ideals essential to a democratic form of government. The extent of civic illiteracy in America is large and growing. The results of various surveys have confirmed the lack, especially among young Americans, of even a basic knowledge about our Constitution and the structure and function of our government…

Nevertheless, a reversal of this trend may take place only if legislators enact new laws, which provide clear and detailed instructions about (1) curriculum and other related matters, and (2) sanctions and appropriate enforcement mechanisms.

And in ALEC’s world, even though they do not support any kind of mandates or regulations for businesses and even though they view public schools as “failing” they want those “failed public schools” to require their students to learn about civics. To that end, they have developed a curriculum that will accomplish the seemingly high-minded goal of inculcating today’s youth with “...a singular political heritage based on the principles of life, liberty, justice, and equality of opportunity as defined and expressed in the Declaration of Independence, codified in the Constitution, and defended in the Federalist Papers.”

All of this will be accomplished with guardrails, though… because ALEC’s think tank expects teachers to provide students with an interest in government without engaging them in any controversial topics… like the topics regarding slavery, prohibition, the expansion of the number of eligible voters, and the number of terms a president can serve— you know, those things that led to amendments to the constitution. And should a teacher fail to follow the “clear and detailed instructions” about curriculum and other related matters, I’m sure that some bill will pass providing a bounty for those who report such a failure and “…sanctions and appropriate enforcement mechanisms” will be put in place so that such deficiencies can be addressed. After all… we wouldn’t want our students to believe that independent thinking was valued by the Founding Fathers….