At a recent press conference in Chicago, leaders were urged to halt teaching unfair history classes in Illinois public schools until a suitable alternative is developed. In his statement to the press, Democratic State Representative LeShawn Ford said,  “I’m calling on the Illinois State Board of Education and local school districts to take immediate action by removing current history books and curriculum practices that unfairly communicate our history.” He calls for a curriculum that does not lead to a racist society resulting in white privilege. Rep. Ford is one of many calling for a replacement of history classes in America’s public schools, of which there are many. One

effort to engage teens to purge current history courses they say are filled with miseducation and systemic racism is Diversity Our Narrative. The web site encourages teens to become community organizers and provides tools to assist them in going forward. With a click, an activist can download email templates, tips on how to conduct a social media campaign, and templates tor community and school board petitions. All the resources a teen needs to implement her version of a diverse history in her high school is at her fingertips.

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Christians have long decried the lack of history and civics classes in public schools but perhaps had no idea where to start to stop the downward trend. Liberals, realizing the void, now seek to take advantage of a rare opportunity to insert their version of history. One side will win, and the end product of what such a curriculum teaches will depend on whether or not the person writing curriculum loves America or considers America a corrupt nation founded by greedy white men.

What Rep. Ford and those who want history revised may not realize is that America’s public schools have not taught American history in earnest for well over 20 years, creating a void being filled with anti-American bias. A 2014 report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed how badly our students fared as only 18 percent of American high school kids showed proficiency in US history. The problem is that our students do not know the history of America because they have not been taught. We cannot sit by and watch as those who attended university social studies taught by professors who filled their minds with hatred for America become the ones who want to rewrite our history with a one-sidedness that will destroy our nation.

Extreme division and the resulting turmoil in our nation have revealed yet another area where our public schools have failed its students. America’s public schools have not taught American history in earnest for well over 20 years. The sharp decline began in 2000 when President George W. Bush introduced his educational initiative, No Child Left Behind. Schools began excessive testing and holding teachers accountable for progress, or lack thereof, of their students. Under pressure to perform, teachers began to teach to the tests, and omitted subjects not tested, like history and civics. The pressure intensified as eighth-graders started participating in international testing that ranked our eighth-grade students against other countries. The US didn’t do very well, so teachers kept up the non-history trend to focus on subjects their students would see on an upcoming standardized test.

SHARE BELOW HOW YOU ARE SEEING THIS FIRSTHAND IN SCHOOLS TODAY.

Universities and colleges have an even worse record in the history department, with significant changes appearing in the 1960s as history departments began presenting history in social concepts. As history merged with other social courses, history departments became Social Sciences, which includes courses like ethnic studies, women’s studies, and gender studies. Many students who graduate from college may do so with no history classes as some colleges no longer require a basic course on Western Civilization, even for history majors.

Even scarier is that the majority of courses in Social Sciences are taught by liberal or socialists professors. According to a study conducted by Neil Gross and Solon Simmons, one in five professors in the social sciences self-identified as “Marxist.” It’s challenging to find a conservative voice in social sciences and humanities, where they have practically disappeared from many areas of inquiry.

As adults with college degrees, the liberally educated take positions of leadership like Rep. Ford and seek to fill the void of history and civic education by insisting public schools immediately implement their version of history. Teachers seeking to fill the void supplement their classroom history classes with material easily accessed from the internet like the 1619 Project and Howard Zinn’s History of the American People. In the process, our nation suffers further division and our motto E puriblus unum (Out of many, one), changes to Unum e pluribus (Out of one, many).

America’s public schools have created a void in educating its people in history and civics. It is precisely because our students have not been taught history that radicals feel free to call for the liberal history they learned while attending our universities to be taught in America’s public schools. The reality is that history will be taught in public schools. What remains to be seen is whose account will prevail.   

Civics desperately needs to be taught in our schools, and our history may need to be revised, but what we need is a history that will call forth great men and women from our youth. Those who will want to make this country great and not focus on its faults in such a way that damages beyond repair structures and institutions that made America great so that we lose our nation in the process. One thing for sure, if true patriots do not get busy and implement a pro-American curriculum quickly, there are anti-American forces who will.

About the Author: Nancy Huff is an educator with a mission to equip believers to pray strategically for the Cultural Mountain of Education. She has authored Taking the Mountain of Education: A Strategic Prayer Guide to Transform America’s Schools. She leads prayer groups to pray at key educational locations across the US. Currently, Nancy serves as the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN) Lead Prayer Coordinator for the Mountain of Education. For additional information go to: https://takingthemountainofeducation.com/author/nancyahuff/
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