‘Embracing patriotism’: Idaho governor, top school official tout new history curriculum
Trumpeting what they called “fair, factual” content and even “values of embracing patriotism,” Idaho’s governor and education chief on Thursday announced a new supplemental U.S. history curriculum available to schools this fall.
It’s the first time a curriculum has been offered as supplemental material, said Debbie Critchfield, Idaho’s superintendent of public instruction, meaning the State Department of Education vetted the program to make sure it meets the state’s standards.
The state’s purchase of the curriculum, called “The Story of America,” removes a financial hurdle for many school districts that can’t update curricula over time because of costs, Critchfield said. That obstacle often leaves teachers searching for supplementary material on their own, she said.
The curriculum, available for use in middle and high school, was purchased for three years using $3 million in COVID-19 relief funding, after which it will be evaluated to determine whether it should be continued, according to Critchfield. The materials are not required for districts to use.
“This helps our boards take some pressure off of districts who are looking to supplement curriculum,” Critchfield told the Idaho Statesman in an interview. “It definitely takes pressure off our teachers as they go out to find ways to fill in gaps in their own lessons.”
In a news release, Gov. Brad Little said the program offers “a picture of America that aligns with our Idaho values of embracing patriotism and a sense of pride about the success of our great country, and it teaches American history in a fair and factual way.”
Critchfield said that while she and fellow Republican Little were traveling the state during the 2022 election season, they were hearing from some communities that American history was not being portrayed in a respectful way. She said some parents were concerned about an anti-American ideology that they claim to have seen nationally, and wanted to avoid that in Idaho classrooms.
Critchfield acknowledged that she had not “come across a teacher that is out to have that as the theme of their history class” in the Gem State. “And we want to keep it that way.”
The Story of America was launched by conservative author, politician, TV commentator and radio host Bill Bennett, former education secretary under President Ronald Reagan and author of books such as “America: The Last Best Hope” and “The Book of Virtues.” The program’s website states that stories from those books are part of the lessons.
When first promoting the curriculum, Bennett — who switched from the Democratic Party to Republican in 1986, while he was in the Reagan Cabinet — claimed that “an anti-America ideology that radically misrepresents U.S. history has infiltrated our education system.”
The news release from Little and Critchfield pointed to statistics on declining history and civics scores across the country as reason for providing the supplemental material, and said it also encompasses writing and critical thinking skills. Average eighth-grade U.S. history scores have decreased by nine points compared to 2014, and average civics scores have decreased by two points since 2018, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Idaho school districts and teachers unions just heard about the supplemental offering this week and said they had not reviewed it.
“Before we can comment we will need to ensure that it is thoroughly reviewed by our highly qualified staff and meets the level of quality our students, parents and families expect from the Boise School District,” wrote Dan Hollar, public affairs administrator for the district, in an email to the Statesman.
Mike Journee, communications director for the Idaho Education Association, the state’s union, said the curriculum was brand-new to the IEA. The group would expect parents and educators to be fully involved in discussions about the curriculum if a school district were to consider using it, he said.
“We do expect that the teaching of history should be accurate and reflect the true impacts of all the events that have occurred in this great nation’s history,” he said.
Zach Borman, president of the West Ada Education Association, said he’d be interested in seeing the material and getting feedback from the teachers union before making a determination on its value.
