Tennessee Republicans are challenging Advanced Placement standards in their state, joining their counterparts at the RNC in opposition to what they call “revisionist.”
From The Tennessean:
Senate Education Committee Chairman Dolores Gresham, R-Somerville, and Government Operations Committee Chairman Mike Bell, R-Riceville, have requested the Tennessee State Board of Education to conduct a review of new framework and materials used in the teaching of Advanced Placement U.S. History. [...]
“There are many concerns with the new APUSH framework, not the least of which is that it pushes a revisionist interpretation of historical facts,” echoed Gresham in a statement on Tuesday. “The items listed as required knowledge have some inclusions which are agenda-driven, while leaving out basic facts that are very important to our nation’s history.”
If this so-called revisionist interpretation is “agenda-driven,” what agenda is it serving?
While not explicitly labeled by lawmakers in Tennessee, it seems fairly clear that they believe it’s being driven by a liberal (read: anti-American) agenda just as their counterparts at the RNC have alleged.
The Advanced Placement standards for U.S. History do not shy away from some of our nation’s less than exemplary moments, something the RNC says is “revisionist” and “leftist.” And if words continue to have no meaning — which we’ve established that they don’t — an accurate and truthful recounting of events could be called revisionist in a very Orwellian fashion.
It’s enlightening that conservatives believe we should mirror the educational practices of nations they would call enemies where history is selectively taught or censored to paint a more sympathetic version of the state.
To say that being honest about our past is “leftist” is not an insult to me, but it is a corrosive line of attack that undermines our institutions.