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Superintendents Condemn Hillsdale Social Studies Standards

The South Dakota School Superintendents Association has formally called for the rejection of the Hillsdale College social studies standards:

Both current and former teachers have told KELOLAND News that they are unhappy with the standards and the amount of memorization they would require. Like other groups and educators, the SDSSA is opposing the standards due to issues with memorization, an overwhelming number of details “many undergraduate college courses do not require” and being developmentally inappropriate.

“I believe that more facts do not necessarily mean better standards,” Schultz said. “We need every minute of the day that we can to make sure our students are leaving those classes at grade level in reading and mathematics so that they have that strong foundation to be successful academic learners later. If we have to take some of that away, because we have to get through… a large number of standards where kids will be retelling things, not necessarily learning them, but retelling listing memorizing [then] they have a lack of balance.”

Schultz and the association are also worried about what the proposed standards will mean for graduation requirements for high school students in the state [Jazzmine Jackson, “Superintendents Join Opposition to Proposed Social Studies Standards,” KELO-TV, 2023.04.11].

Those social studies standards received their final public hearing Monday, April 17, in Pierre.

13 Comments

  1. scott 2023-04-12 07:36

    How long before enough nut jobs get on school boards to fire tue sane superintendents?

  2. LCJ 2023-04-12 09:09

    You mean like the superintendent in Brookings that drove the whole district in the ground? That sane superintendent?
    Get a grip, Scott.

  3. e platypus onion 2023-04-12 09:09

    ICYI, Floriduh’s part time guv Kristi DeSatanist dropped by Hillsdale College recently to rub some stain of brown on his nose.

  4. P. Aitch 2023-04-12 10:18

    The appeal of the Hillsdale Social Studies standards is they are biased towards conservative and nationalist ideology.
    The criticism is that they promote a narrow and incomplete view of American history and government. This can be harmful to young adult students as it limits their exposure to diverse perspectives and critical thinking skills, and may lead to distorted understanding of historical events and contemporary issues.
    – These Hillsdale Social Studies standards are being rightly opposed by many educators, historians, and civic groups who argue that they may be used to justify discriminatory and exclusionary policies, and that they fail to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills to participate in a diverse and democratic society.
    – Overall, the Hillsdale Social Studies standards have been controversial and criticized for their ideological bias and potential harm to students’ learning and civic engagement.
    – Please choose the right thing, South Dakota. The education you’ve provided is what expatriate adults embrace most about growing up there.

  5. John 2023-04-12 10:49

    Fascism is spreading under the guise of “patriotic education” – which is laughable since few republicants are patriotic as evidenced my few having served in any public service forum.
    https://truthout.org/articles/us-fascism-is-spreading-under-the-guise-of-patriotic-education/

    “…the far right GOP has deemed education to be the most powerful tool for creating a public that is neither informed nor willing to struggle to keep a democracy alive. This is particularly evident in the right-wing war on education, which aims at replacing public education with charter schools, fashioning public and higher education into centers of far right indoctrination, and destroying higher education as a democratic public good. Central to such an attack is a war on critical thinking, troubling knowledge, historical memory and any form of education that address social problems. Extremists in the GOP fully embrace both white nationalism and white supremacy while simultaneously supporting a culture and society in which the distinction between lies and the truth disappear. What they would also like to see disappear in their reign of domestic terrorism are the educators, institutions, and other public spaces that resist this ongoing tsunami of authoritarian ideas, acts of repression, and war on critical intellectuals, dissidents and educators.”

    Joseph Goebbels would be proud.

  6. Mark Anderson 2023-04-12 10:58

    Hillsdale College is so conservative that they won’t even change their name to Hillsdale University. That’s a joke. It’s run by Larry Paul Arnn, well known idiot. He’s a Trumper and headed the 1776 Commission. He believes anyone can educate children and is out to prove it. He’s an arrogant conservative, it runs in the conservative family. If his standards are adapted it’s bye bye out of state University’s South Dakota students but you would be welcomed at Hillsdale College. Larry IS a self serving little beard twister isn’t he Ian.

  7. David Newquist 2023-04-12 11:33

    Hillsdale College is not a research university devoted to producing and refining knowledge through the processes of critical dialogue about verifiable evidence. It is the outgrowth of a faction that wants to deny that slavery, segregation, and the exclusion of indigenous people were ever official American policy, but still lusts deep in their hearts for a feudal system composed of a hierarchy of masters. At research universities, the emphasis is on established facts and at what point in the curricula students are capable of dealing with them. Critical Race Theory is a concept from law schools to see how many vestiges of feudalism linger in our current body of laws and organizations, and how they might subvert democracy. The Hillsdale mentality wants to deny that the Constitution once dictated what fraction of a person a Black was, or that state laws had criminal penalties for a person of color who went toity in a place designated for whitey’s waste. We are still passing laws of outrage at the thought that some adolescent with gender issues might sneak a leak in a place labeled for a gender that doesn’t fit that particular kid.

    I am not suggesting that our public universities are necessarily trustworthy and competent in their handling of knowledge. The firing of Dr. Tim Downs from NSU two years ago has left it with a Hillsdale taint because some politicians and some obsequious faculty objected to his attempts to maintain diversity at the university. Ironically, he is returning to these northern plains to head a rival university, Moorhead State in Minnesota.

    Noem the Hun insulted education profession of this state by bringing Hillsdalean warriors in to quell any assertions of the liberal arts in South Dakota schools, but they are meeting resistance. Note how strenuously her department of eradication tries to avoid real scholars and teachers in setting the curriculum standards. And by the way, if there are any doubts about the scholarly standards of South Dakota higher education, they are raised by how and when she received her degree.

  8. M 2023-04-12 17:53

    Hillsdale really looks forward to selling the state all the curriculum and testing materials. Imagine the money involved with changing resources in every single district in the state to match Noem’s unrealistic dreams.

  9. Arlo Blundt 2023-04-12 21:54

    M–they are starting with a $900,000 contract which involves the adoption of the “canned” standards and an undefined amount of teacher training. That’s just the beginning. They are like an elephant who gets their toe in the door.

  10. John 2023-04-13 08:48

    Meanwhile, US Representative Ro Khanna is doing rural technology development. One is not surprised that he’s doing this in flyover country. US Representatives based in and from flyover country are too bust chasing imaginary trans golblins to accomplish meaningful legislating or economic development.

    gift article, paywall: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/13/california-tech-education-jobs-ro-khanna-rural-america/

    “Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one of the bright lights in the Democratic Party, represents a district smack in the middle of Silicon Valley, the area where tech giants including Yahoo, McAfee, Google and LinkedIn are headquartered. So why is he spending time this week in rural areas of Iowa, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, where there is very little tech industry?
    He’s there precisely because there is so little tech — and so many people missing out on the renaissance in advanced manufacturing, high-paying tech jobs (many that don’t require a college education) and a sense of belonging in the 21st-century economy.
    He backed a program with buy-in from Google and TechWise. “The essence of the program is to get tech jobs to communities that haven’t had access to them before,” he told me in a phone interview. But to get the jobs, you first have to have tech-trained workers.
    Khanna has helped to put together a collaborative effort among the tech companies, local governments and community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, and Hispanic-serving institutions that specialize in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math. The tech companies put up $5,000 per student (to allow them to focus on studies full time), work with the schools to construct an 18-month tech-training course and assign a mentor to check in regularly with students.”

  11. leslie 2023-04-13 10:32

    Is Professor Newquist a treasure here or what??!!

    “Noem the Hun insulted education profession of this state by bringing Hillsdalean warriors in to quell any assertions of the liberal arts in South Dakota schools, but they are meeting resistance. Note how strenuously her department of eradication tries to avoid real scholars and teachers in setting the curriculum standards. And by the way, if there are any doubts about the scholarly standards of South Dakota higher education, they are raised by how and when she received her degree.”

    Instead Cory wastes our time everyday ladling on grdz’s warped politics. Noem is indeed a hun. She earns that rap every day.

    I awoke this morning, curiously (my new favorite word it seems) this morning (Fruedian fear?!) to the following dream:

    Standing at an airport baggage claim, making conversation (likely mildly political, given our public presence) with a young woman, noticing Kristi Noem, standing next to her (dyed hair, brand-spanking new Patagonia top-of-the-line mountaineering puffy jacket and designer jeans probably (i didn’t look down), facing away from us; neither of us knew her or acknowledged her, but in a break in the convo I excused myself for the rest room. My companion (a favorite grandchild in appearance/fon’t tell anyone :) showed up there a few moments later as I was wondering to myself whether Noem would ask her my name in my absence.

    “SHE DID”, my companion capitulated, with an apology for having given up my anonymity!

    What would Noem do with that knowledge, given my constant criticism of her incompetence? Weird, huh.

  12. leslie 2023-04-15 11:30

    The Doom Loop. An attention grabber.

    Red States, Blue States. Off-shore banking. Democracy, no its a Republic. Founders, patriots, insurrectionists, tea party. Confederates, Unionists, slavery, freedom for all. Weaponization of SCOTUS. Weaponization of IRS, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Sara Palin, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Kristi Noem, RAGA, William Barr, “Liar!” Treason-ist, infidelity, impeachment, Putin’s Puppet. Witch Hunt, Hillary and Nancy are witches. KKK, Hitler, Joe McCarthy, Roy Cohn, Roger Stone, Proud Boys, “well regulated” militias, NRA, mass shootings of children, teachers, at churches, shopping centers, theaters and concert audiences, gay night clubs. Wealthiest nation. Highest imprisonment. Embedded law enforcement. Lincoln Republican. Southern Democrats. Assassination of abortion doctors. Demographics. Immigration. War. Politics. Reparations. The Pope. Pe’ Sla. Sanctuary Cities. Expulsion of legislators for incompetence or revenge. Vilified education. Noam Chomsky. Rush Limbaugh. Rupert Murdoch, Koch Brothers, Robert Mercer, George Soros, John Thune. Coal. Solar power. Ocean gyres of garbage. Fresh water. Eight billion people.

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