A bill in the Oklahoma state’s education committee to ban Advanced Placement United States History from high school curriculum has made national news and resonated with educators here in East Lansing.
The bill, which passed easily in an 11-4 vote, proposes legislation to eliminate all funding for AP history courses in the state. The College Board, who design the curriculum for AP history, recently changed the course in 2012 and Oklahoma Republicans believe the courses teach students ‘what is bad about America’ and highlights negative aspects of the country’s history.
HB 1380, the bill brought forward by Rep. Daniel Fisher, not only bans AP history courses but amends the current list of documents required for students in normal history courses to include George W. Bush’s speech from Sept. 11, 2001, three speeches by Ronald Reagan and several Christian sermons.
Thomas Summerhill, an associate professor of American History at MSU, said this particular case is not the first nor the last time the debate about how we teach our children history will be brought up.
“There frequently have been periods when citizens or politicians have feared that US History is taught in a way that is too negative,” Summerhill said, while noting the crucial benefits of these teachings. “History, the arts, humanities, and social sciences have been shunted aside by degrees in the K-12 system in favor of math and science, yet are absolutely critical to each student’s education and path toward adulthood. Specifically in the field of US History, it helps them appreciate that history is more than a set of facts; and (that) translates across disciplines when one reaches college and forms the basis for undergraduate success.”
At MSU, incoming students can use AP history credits to get out of required courses in the IAH and WRA department.
Emily Tabuteau, the Undergraduate Advisor and Director for the History department, believes any attempt to ban AP US History would be doing students a great disservice.
“It saves a lot of money and time, which are very valuable resources to college students,” Tabuteau said regarding AP credits taken in high school. “A lot of students, not just history majors use this important opportunity.”
It is currently unclear if the bill will hold traction in the state House and Senate but that has not stopped it from coming under national attention. However, Oklahoma citizens and people all across the country have spoken out in defiance of this idea. Both parents and students value the lessons AP US History provides for education and citizenship.
Rep. Daniel Fisher has since stated that the bill will be ‘reworked’ to avoid some ambiguous language and potentially rework curriculum rather than cut funding entirely.
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