Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Please don’t try to teach complex subjects too early

As a concerned student and educational advocate, I cannot idly sit as the root of educational foundation withers away under curriculum revisions.

The state school superintendent, in her most recent revisions, effectively deletes necessary instruction in history. We will no longer study the rise of the Roman Empire, the foundation of ancient religions, or even the most influential event in American history, the Civil War.

The revisions for the curriculum commence with world history in the 1600s, while American history ignores the periods of post-foundation to post-reconstruction, over 150 years missing.

The state school superintendent will lead you to believe otherwise. The curriculum will be taught in elementary school. Yet, I pose the question, how can elementary teachers, not even certified in history, effectively teach complex theories and the intellectual implications of such historical and events like the debauchery of the Roman Empire or the social, political, and economic implications of the Civil War? They can’t!

I implore Mrs. Cox, educators, parents, and students to resist this insult to education. If we fail to recognize the evolution of political and social concepts found in world and American history, how we can instill students with the patriotic values of modern American government?

Under the current revisions, we will deem students as culturally ignorant. Only through raised expectations, will we effectively equip students.

Mrs. Cox, challenge me! Don’t undermine my education! Challenge the students and educators across this state to invest time and effort in a synthesis of history and comprehensive instruction. Return the sanctity of our past!

Michael Peaden

Fayetteville, Ga.

[Peaden, a senior at Fayette County High School, is student body president, class president, and a member of the FCHS debate team.]