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| Bad Illinois History? |
(IRN)-- New research shows the majority of Illinois schools aren't doing a good enough job teaching U.S. history.
A study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute gives Illinois a "D" when it comes to history class content and specifics on what must be taught to children in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Kathleen Porter-Magee, senior director of Fordham's High Quality Standards Program, says Illinois' standards for what must be or should be taught are vague at best. "They just really don't clearly delineate what students need to know and be able to do." Porter-Magee said. "They’re not giving specific examples of the people that students should learn about, the events in U.S. history that students should learn about."
Illinois is not alone in poor teaching of U.S. history. Fordham gave 28 states a "D" or an "F" for their efforts and curriculum.
The fix, according to Porter-Magee, can be as simple as telling the story in chronological order. In most cases, according to the report, schools split history content into themes which end up highlighting portions of U.S. history out of chronological order. Porter-Magee says some individual schools or school districts throughout the state would receive an "A" for their curriculum, but not the lacking state standards as a whole.
Illinois' neighboring state of Indiana fared much better. The state standards for teaching U.S. history there receive an "A-," an example that Porter-Magee says could be easily adopted the Illinois State Board of Education.
(Source: Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 02 20 11 by Newsroom |
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