A Wall Street Journal article published last night is giving credence to the controversial move last year by the Jeffco School Board that suggested that the Jeffco community review the Advanced Placement U.S. History curriculum.
The original proposal, by board member Julie Williams, suggested a review of the new curriculum because it left out explicit mentions of important historical figures. The next meeting the proposal was shelved, but not before the Jeffco teachers union glommed on to the proposal shrieking censorship. The union used it as a rationale for walk-outs, despite the fact that walk-outs already were planned in response to new pay-for-performance measures that the Board implemented.
Despite the fact that the board never even brought this up for a vote, they were vilified (and still are) by the press and anyone hoping to dislodge a pro-reform agenda in Jeffco. But, this article undermines the union’s false claims.
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Last year, the College Board, the nonprofit corporation that controls all the high-school Advanced Placement courses and exams, published new guidelines for the AP U.S. history test. They read like a left-wing dream. Obsession with identity, gender, class, crimes against the American Indian and the sins of capitalism suffused the proposed guidelines for teachers of AP American history.
As of a few weeks ago, that tilt in the guidelines has vanished. The College Board’s rewritten 2015 teaching guidelines are almost a model of political fair-mindedness. This isn’t just an about-face. It is an important political event.”
But, we, here in Colorado, are still waiting for an article clearing the Jeffco Board for the mere suggestion that someone take a look at the sweeping changes proposed by the College Board. Which local media outlet will have the cojones to write a mea culpa about the wild (and false) accusations each outlet helped spread?