Established in 2003
EDUCATION FREEDOM & REFORM
RICHARD INNES
6/1/22
Kentucky’s embarrassing public school social studies standards get even more embarrassing
If you saw Jim Waters’ Memorial Day column, which ran in numerous newspapers around the state, you already know that the State of Louisiana recently released new public school social studies standards that fit far more into a 58-page document than Kentucky says in its vacuous but wordy 229-page social studies standards. Jim’s column does a really nice job covering some of the more outstanding contrasts between Kentucky’s and Louisiana’s standards, but he couldn’t begin to cover everything in just 600 words. So, this blog provides more information.
Among the things Louisiana’s social studies standards do MUCH better is making the sometimes-tough decisions needed to produce a common core of important historical persons and events that will be presented to all of that state’s students.
Unlike Kentucky, Louisiana’s standards mention a number of important figures – notably including women and people of color, by the way – who have made contributions.
Important events, including wars fought since World War II, are also included in Louisiana’s new social studies standards, something totally ignored in Kentucky’s product. Louisiana’s public schools are specifically directed to cover the Chinese Civil War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Soviet-Afghan War, the conflict in Bosnia and the Gulf War. In notable contrast, while a few wars such as the Revolution, the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II are listed in
the Kentucky standards, not one conflict after World War II is ever mentioned. And, unlike Louisiana, at least two important earlier US wars are ignored by Kentucky, namely the War of 1812 and the Mexican American War. Furthermore, older wars like the Persian Wars fought by ancient Greece and the Hundred Years’ War in Europe and even King Philip’s (Metacom) War in Colonial New England are found in Louisiana’s standards but not in Kentucky’s.
Overall, the coverage of key core content in Louisiana’s 58-page document is remarkable. Just in the Kindergarten standards, students learn about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Among these three, only Washington’s name is ever listed anywhere at any grade level in Kentucky’s vacuous standards.
That’s right; Kentucky’s most honored son, Abraham Lincoln, is never mentioned in the Bluegrass State’s vacuous social studies standards! He was born in Kentucky, for goodness sakes!
It gets more embarrassing as you move up through the grade-by-grade requirements in the Louisiana document. Louisiana’s coverage of key historical figures continues in Grade 2 standards:
2.7 a. Identify and describe the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, John Adams, John Hancock, and James Madison.
Among this key group, only Washington and Jefferson make the cut for Kentucky.
Key ladies aren’t ignored by Louisiana, either, as this next Louisiana Grade 2 standard shows:
2.7 b. Identify and describe historical female figures, including Abigail Adams, Anne Hutchinson, Dolley Madison, Betsy Ross, and Phillis Wheatley. None of these ladies are mentioned in Kentucky’s standards.
Louisiana’s coverage of historic personalities is further expanded in this third- grade standard:
3.6 a Describe the achievements of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Sitting Bull, George Washington Carver, Susan B. Anthony, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, Theodore Roosevelt, the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, Sally Ride, Katherine Johnson, and Mae Jemison.
Aside from Washington and Jefferson, none of these individuals and their relationships to achievements that Louisiana’s third graders are to learn about are mentioned anywhere in Kentucky’s social studies standards. It’s as if Kentucky wants to strip history of any human involvement.
By the way, don’t overlook the remarkable diversity in the personalities listed in Louisiana’s Standard 3.6 a including: a number of people of color, women, American Indians, African-American scholar-inventors and mathematicians, industrialists and African-American astronauts, WOW!
Not in any way to diminish the others listed in Standard 3.6 a, but I was both surprised and pleased to see African-American Katherine Johnson on the list. Her story as a crucial mathematician, or “computer,” in the early American space program at NASA has now been popularized in the movie “Hidden Figures.” It’s a great American story kids of today can relate to easily.
In contrast to what Louisiana covers, forget decent coverage (maybe any coverage) in the Bluegrass State about most of the listings in 3.6 a including the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Louisiana Purchase that triggered it, for example. Both the purchase and the expedition are never mentioned in Kentucky’s standards. Maybe some Kentucky teachers will cover it; maybe they won’t. However, state law says anything not in Kentucky’s approved standards cannot be on the state’s tests, so it’s a fair bet some, maybe a lot, of teachers won’t cover these important parts of the American story, Sacagawea included.
Oh, don’t overlook the key words at the beginning of Louisiana’s standard 3.6 a – “Describe the achievements.” This isn’t just a dry, regurgitate some names standard. Louisiana’s students are expected to know something about why these individuals are historically noteworthy.
Coverage of inventions and inventors is certainly far better in the Louisiana standards, too. After all, not one inventor and few inventions are ever mentioned in the Kentucky standards.
Will Kentucky’s kids ever learn about Thomas Edison let alone his light bulb and motion pictures, to name just two of his important inventions? Who knows? Kentucky’s vague social studies standards certainly don’t require it. Ditto for Alexander Graham Bell and his telephone. While you will find one, hazy mention of the airplane in the Kindergarten section of Kentucky’s social studies standards, Wilbur and Orville Wright, who invented it, are slighted and ignored. And, Kindergarten is a bit early to develop much understanding of the impact of this important invention, as well.
In contrast, check this Louisiana third-grade standard related to inventions: 3.9 Describe how technological advancements such as the steam engine, railroad, airplane, automobile, electricity, telephone, radio, television, microwave, and digital technologies have affected the lives of people in the United States.
Describing how these inventions impact humans clearly requires some higher order thinking. And, impacts of the airplane get revisited in Louisiana’s standards in both the eighth grade and high school, where more sophisticated analysis can undoubtedly be expected.
The closest Kentucky comes to any of this is with a few vague references such as “Evaluate the impact technological innovations” while offering almost no specific examples of a core of key inventions that all students should learn about. About the best Kentucky musters is some vague mention of how railroads impacted the state during the Civil War era and how airplanes enhanced transportation. Who created them is unmentioned, however. Again, it seems like Kentucky wants to ignore historical personalities.
It's really sad. Kentucky’s vague standards pretty much guarantee that many Bluegrass State students won’t learn much, if anything, about the impacts of the steam engine, the telephone, the airplane, electricity, radio or television on mankind.
Here’s another incredible oversight in the Kentucky standards in the area of inventions. Louisiana’s eighth grade students will absolutely discuss the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bomb and analyze the decision to use it in war. When – or even if – this will be discussed in Kentucky is basically left open to the imagination. Unlike the case in Louisiana, the atom bomb and its major impacts on mankind both are never specifically listed in the Bluegrass State’s standards.
One irony from Louisiana’s listing of inventions all students must learn about is that Kentucky’s standards are liberally laced with references to using digital resources to research about history but never consider the actual invention and impact of digital technology as an important historical development by itself. Louisiana’s social studies standards demonstrate a lot more insight into history. Another Grade 8 standard in Louisiana regarding terrorism specifically includes the:
“Persian Gulf Wars, 1993 World Trade Center bombing, terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the War on Terrorism, and the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security.”
The only related standard in Kentucky on terrorism, which is in a high school standard, says:
Analyze methods used by state and non-state actors seeking to alter the global order which emerged during the post-World War period, including protests, social media campaigns, non-violent actions, boycotts, terrorism, guerilla warfare and other methods from 1945-present.
That’s pretty vague. Based on this vague standard, does anyone want to bet if on average Kentucky’s students will learn anywhere near as much as Louisiana requires for all of its students?
Don’t think Louisiana leaves higher order analysis out, either. I already mentioned a couple of higher order thinking requirements in Louisiana’s standards related to describing the accomplishments of historical figures and the impacts of inventions.
Just for fun, I searched for a higher order thinking term liberally laced throughout Kentucky’s social studies standards. The term is "change and continuity."
The term appears three times in the Louisiana standards, once for each grade - 3, 4 and 5. I think by the time kids have done this three years in a row, they probably have the idea, don't you?
Then I searched the KY standards. The term appears in 50 different places and is found scattershot across all standards for grades K to 8 and also in high school. How imaginative. HOW BORING! I'll bet by the time Kentucky's high schoolers get confronted with this same stuff, yet again, they’ll want to throw up. Kentucky’s social studies standards waste a lot of ink/electrons on such overly repetitive nonsense instead of including vital content all students need to learn.
For Bonus Credit: Search the standards for the term "Cause and Effect." Massive number of mentions are found in Kentucky's standards; just one mention in Louisiana's. How many times do you have to teach kids about cause and effect before they understand it?
Also try searching "Inquiry Practices." Lots of appearances in Kentucky's standards, none in Louisiana's. But Kentucky's standards explain Inquiry Practices include using "evidence." There are dozens of mentions of evidence in the Louisiana standards.
The Louisiana standards have more related to higher order thinking requirements. There’s a nice summary of this on Page 7 in the Louisiana document. One page covers the requirements for all grades for Louisiana, avoiding the endless repetition of the same ideas ad nauseum found in Kentucky’s weak standards product.
Bottom line, higher order stuff is in the Louisiana standards, but it isn't grossly overdone to the great expense of content.
There’s more. Want your kids to learn about the Mayflower Compact? It’s directly mentioned in Louisiana’s standards but totally absent from Kentucky’s. How about President Franklin D. Roosevelt? He’s covered in Louisiana’s standards – never mentioned in Kentucky’s. How about Gutenberg and his printing press or
Galileo and the telescope and microscope? Louisiana’s got them – Kentucky doesn’t.
But I think you get the point.
As I said, this is embarrassing.
For still more about Kentucky’s bloated but vacuous social studies standards, check out our report on “PRESERVING HISTORY, Problems with Kentucky’s Social Studies Standards, Must be Redone.”
Unfortunately, since Kentucky’s public education system, which created these vacuous 2019 standards, continues to show no interest in fixing them, it seems our legislators will have to get more deeply involved in education – again.
Legislators shouldn’t have to do this. In Louisiana legislators don’t have to. But, Kentucky lawmakers, it’s time for some serious hearings during the legislative interim session about how Louisiana can do so much in 58 pages that seems to have escaped Kentucky’s education system.
One more note on standards. Another model social studies standards document is coming out soon and some related documents, including a product from Hillsdale College, already exist. Considered together, they might enable creation of a set of standards even better than the Louisiana standards. But, the key point for now is that Louisiana has demonstrated a huge amount more than Kentucky has to offer can be accomplished in about one quarter the number of pages. This is something we need to fix, if for no other reason than our teachers won’t have to wade through so much fluff to get to the essential core points we want to insure they cover with students all across the state.
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