Charlie Best

Professor Sarah Haak

English 1510

13 March 2018

The Importance of Curriculum in America

What schools teach in the classroom has been a topic of debate since pretty much the

start of modern education. For most of history in the U.S., state governments have decided

what to include in their school’s curriculum. What schools teach students can have a major

impact on not only the individual but our nation as a whole. How does differentiated

curriculums impact Americans and would a more centralized curriculum improve the way

Americans interact with one another.

The United states is known for providing Americans with one of the best education

systems in the world. That traditional system for educating young people in the U.S. has always

given power to state governments when it comes to deciding what they teach in their own

schools. The federal government surprisingly has little to do with creating education plans in

state schools. The reason for this is quite simple and makes a lot of sense. Control was given to

states because important factors such as climate, history and diversity differ from state to

state. These factors influence the way students learn and grow so giving power to state officials

(the people who understand that state best) should be the best way to determine what

students learn.

In the 2012-2013 school year, an estimated 1.15 trillion dollars was spent on the

education of students of all ages. Much of this funding, 92% to be exact comes from private,
state and local sources. The other 8% comes from is what is provided by the federal

government. (US Department of Education) That 8% is divided up between multiple

departments including; The Department of Education, Department of Health and Human

Services, and the Department of Agriculture’s School Lunch program. Overall the federal

government works hard to utilize tax payer money to support important aspects of education

but has little to do with deciding what and how schools teach. The federal Government has one

major mission and that is to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed and

stand out in academic excellence.

State curriculum is based mostly on the needs and location of the state. Curriculum is

developed by the combination of the school district, administrators, teachers, and education

experts. The teachers are often provided with a general structure regarding what to teach by

the school district and it is the job of the teacher to decide how to present and teach those

lessons to their students. States also implement standardized tests which can be useful for

tracking how well students are learning information. Since standardized testing is so important

to individual school’s teachers try to prepare their students to perform in areas that will show

up on these tests.

Textbooks are another way of deciding what students are taught in state schools. What

textbooks are being provided to students is a great indicator as to what the state wants its

students to learn. Textbooks can teach many different topics or sometimes the same topics

with slight variations. Textbooks are a great resource for students of almost all ages because

they should give thorough descriptions of exactly what a school wants their students to be

learning. Not only do they provide students with valuable information for studying but they also
can give exercises and activities to test students on their knowledge before taking a test. A

textbook is one of the most essential resources that a student can often utilize. In today’s world

with the advances in technology many textbooks have improved even further by moving to an

online platform. Now textbooks are more interactive then ever and can help students learn

faster and more productively.

Texts books are created by private companies by a team of topic experts and education

specialists. School districts review many textbooks and choose which textbook is best suited for

their school and curriculum. There are multiple factors that influence how a textbook is

selected such as; topics discussed, activities provided, price, and level of difficulty. With so

many options to choose from schools often teach many different variations of the same subject

because no two textbooks are the same. Variety is often a good thing because it provides

schools with options to customize their own style of learning and keeps competition between

textbook companies fierce forcing them to constantly improve and adapt. In the new era of

textbooks updates are becoming increasingly more frequent and information is constantly

changing. Unfortunately, not all variation is good.

Text books vary in many ways but one way in particular, can sometimes go unnoticed.

Some textbooks teach lessons with political agendas in mind. This is a major issue because

young people are very impressionable and such strong influences can sway them from making

their own decisions about very important issues. In the summer of 2015 a heated debate arose

regarding new textbooks in Texas schools arose. These textbooks were put into the hands of an

astonishing 5 million students in the state of Texas. The issue stems back from 2010 when the

Texas State Board of Education decided to implement new a learning agenda. This new way of
teaching was more conservative than before and would down play historic topics such as

slavery and Jim Crow laws and focus on the issue of state rights as being the lead cause of the

civil war. Samantha Manchac a history teacher in Texas is fearful of how students will interpret

the new books. She says, “The first lesson she says she'll give her kids is how textbooks can tell

different versions of history.” (Isensee) She wants to make sure her students learn the

information but at the same time be critical of the way it is presented. The bottom line is

history is history regardless of how good or awful some events may be and it is the right of the

student to learn the truth.

There are two sides to every story and just as the left has accused the right of trying to

whitewash U.S. history the right has its own accusations. The right believes that attempting to

show the good, bad and the ugly of American history educators could be destroying a sense of

American patriotism. A prime example of this comes from the debate on changing how

Advanced Placement courses teach history. Advanced Placement courses or AP courses are for

high achieving students who have succeeded in a subject area and feel confident enough to

take courses that transfer into college credits while they are still in high school. The students

who can and do take these courses often must put in lots of hard work and dedication into

these classes to succeed. This being said, students review this material heavily so it is important

to keep political influence out of the class. The Republican National Committee is upset with

how these classes have portrayed history and demand change. They are most concerned with

how AP U.S. History or APUSH classes are teaching about manifest dynasty which is “the belief

that America had a mission to spread democracy and new technology across the continent.”

But conservatives feel that APUSH has described it as “built on a belief in white racial
superiority and a sense of American cultural superiority.” According to retired high school

teacher Larry Krieger. (Hochstadt) Many circumstances surrounding the idea of manifest

dynasty were horrible such as relocation of native people, slavery and forcing other to adopt

American culture, shouldn’t students have the right to learn about all aspects of history?

The Common Core State Standards initiative is a set of standards for English and

mathematics to be utilized by students in grades ranging from kindergarten to 12 th grade. It was

Developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governor’s Association

in 2009. The actual standards were created by expert teachers and education specialists who

share a goal in preparing students for the future. This option is by no means mandated by the

federal government or anyone else, instead it is a learning option that schools can adopt if they

so choose. While the Common Core is not a curriculum it is a detailed description of what

students should know at particular levels of their education. Curriculum is still left in the hands

of individual schools but the CCSSI hopes that these standards will lower educational inequality

between schools and states. As of the 2015-2016 school year 43 states have agreed to

implement the common core standards in their schools. Many people are afraid that the State

Governments are losing their right to educate their residents. Although the Common Core State

Standards are not forced many states have agreed to make the switch to be in a better position

to receive federal money.

The issue about what school systems teach in their schools across the U.S. is something

that has been extremely important to Americans throughout history. In recent years with the

implementation of the Common Core State Standards in some states, the debate has become

more heated than ever. Many people have been opposed to the new system because with
change comes uncertainty. One major issue is some students who have been decent or even

great students all their lives are struggling to adjust to the Common Core Standards. Many

parents are unhappy to watch their children struggle and complain about having to pay tutors

to help their children when before they may not have had to. However, the CCSSI mission is to

prepare students to be not only ready for college and the workforce but also be able to

compete with students all over the world on the global scale. With any major change, it is only

natural to experience an adjustment period. The Common Core is confident that eventually

their plan for national educational equality is the best way to reach this goal.

Curriculums are an extremely important aspect of education and need to be handled

with careful attention to every possible interpretation to what is being taught. Student all over

the nation deserve the right to as equal of an education as possible so children in every state

are ready to compete in today’s highly competitive highly competitive workforce. Not only is

this an issue of equality but children are highly impressionable and they deserve to be taught

factual evidence without political agendas so they can grow and make their own educated

decisions. We have seen how the way history is taught throughout the U.S. can vary

tremendously and how the Common Core has worked to bring a more equal education to

American students in the subjects of math and science. Is the next step creating an unbiased

and factual standard for the way history is taught the next step to a greater understanding of all

Americans, our own nation’s history, and a more equal education system in America?
 References

Boslaugh, Sarah E., PhD. "Common Core State Standards Initiative." Salem Press Encyclopedia,

2013. EBSCOhost, www.library.ohio.edu/ezpauth/redir/athens.php?http %3a%2f%2fse

arch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3ders%26A%3d89677532%

26site%3deds-live%26scope%3dsite.

Hochstadt, Steve. “US Whitewashed History.” LA Progressive, Dick Price and Sharon Kyle, 8 Oct.

2014, www.laprogressive.com/us-history-curriculum/.

Isensee, Laura. “How Textbooks Can Teach Different Versions of History.” NPR, NPR, 13 July

2015, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/07/13/421744763/how-textbooks-can-teach-

different-versions-of-history.

US Department of Education. “Federal Role in Education.” Home, US Department of Education

(ED), 25 May 2017, www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html.

“Why Does Every State In The U.S. Have A Different Educational Curriculum?” Teach-Nology,

Teachnology, Inc, www.teach-nology.com/teachers/government_agencies/.

 Reflective Statement

I chose my research topic because of an experience I had in my English 1510 class. I

raised my hand one day to respond to a question that seemed so obvious to me that it was

almost rhetorical. The question was, “Who here has ever heard of Langston Hughes?”. To my

surprise, I was the only person in the class who had raised their hand. Astonished, I looked

around at the blank stares on my classmates faces I knew that I truly was the only person who

had ever heard of him. After class I remember being so thrown off that I called my mom to tell

her what had happened. For the rest of that day I asked pretty much everyone I knew if they

had ever heard of Langston Hughes but I always received the same response, “No”.

I am from a very culturally and racially diverse town right outside New York City. In

school, we had been learned about Langston Hughes and his impact on history from as long as I

can remember. Coming to Ohio University has been somewhat of a culture shock to me

because I feel there is little interaction between different races, and interracial communication

has been challenging to say the least. As I thought about what had happened in class I began to

wonder if the education system within in the state was somewhat responsible for this divide

and if so what other impacts has differentiated state curriculums had on Americans. I quickly

became very interested about how why states choose to educate students in some areas but

not others.

When we were given this assignment, it was not challenging for me to get started

because it was already something I had had on my mind, however as I began to do my research

I was quickly discouraged. I found that there was no clear answer for the question I had been
asking myself. Through my research, I began to find information regarding; curriculum, the role

of government agencies and school systems, and attempts reduce educational inequality across

the nation such as the Common Core State Standards Initiative. I also found many articles on

the ways education can divide people or be used to influence young people to think a certain

way (political agendas). After doing all the research I could I realized what I was left with was

great material to educate others on the tremendous impact a curriculum can have. Since there

is not yet a clear solution to my problem I tried to provide factual evidence and unbiased

viewpoints so my readers can make their own decisions on what needs to be done. I realized

that while these issues are real they are also extremely complicated and many people have

strong opinions and it will most likely take time as well as trial and error to correct this issue.

My hope is my paper will get people thinking about a serious problem that many people never

even notice.