Today, Corbin Moore (the President of the Ohio Council for
the Social Studies) and I provided a proponent testimony to Senate Bill
96. As we all know, the Ohio Legislature
recently downgraded World History to an elective course. In
order to graduate from high school, Ohio’s students will only need to complete
required coursework in American History and American Government.
We believe that today’s global age demands all of Ohio’s
students receive instruction in world history before graduating from high
school. Unlike any other generation,
today’s students will be actors on a global stage. Due to improvements in technology,
communications, and transportation events in a once distant part of the world
have immediate impact on our nation and state.
Significant global issues such as nuclear proliferation, international
trade and investment, conflict/terrorism, and environmental degradation can
only be remedied through a commitment to global understanding, communication,
collaboration, and action. Today’s schools are on the frontlines in preparing
citizens with requisite knowledge and skills in world history, culture,
economics, and geography. By
not requiring instruction in world history, our attempt to build a world-class
education system is anything but worldly.
Senate Bill 96 sponsored by Senator LaRose and
co-sponsored by Senators Lehner, Hite, and Cafaro is essential in putting the
global back into our efforts to build a world-class education system. After testimony today, both Corbin and I are
confident that with this legislation will continue to move through the Senate’s
Education Committee and pass the Senate.
However, we have some significant challenges ahead if this greatly
needed bill is to become law.
Some members of the Ohio House of Representatives and
some members of the State Board of Education oppose this legislation. Their
rationale varies from one Representative noting “…it’ll be a cold day in hell
before he spends one dollar of Ohio taxpayer revenue to teach about other
countries, as students need to learn about U.S. values and how this country is
a light on top of a hill.” Other reservations include the possibility of the legislation/Ohio
Legislature overstepping its boundaries and micromanaging the curriculum of
local school districts. Such rationale
fails to account for the fact that some fiscally strapped Ohio local school
districts have already cut and downgraded world history to an elective course and
many more will continue to do so at a time where our state and its economy can
ill afford a globally ignorant and apathetic citizenry. This
argument against also fails to account for the historical precedent set by the
Ohio Legislature in the past in identifying particular courses and content that
must be taught (see SB 165 which was signed into law),
and the Ohio legislature’s constitutional right to ensure a high quality
learning experience for all of its students
This campaign needs your help (as we’ve come so far) and we’re
asking that you contact the following two parties and ask each support Senate Bill
96:
- Your elected Ohio State Board of Education Member: http://education.ohio.gov/State-Board/State-Board-Members
- Your assigned Ohio House of Representative Member: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/index
Please, feel free to use the provided letter template in
your correspondences: http://tinyurl.com/lhrnaq4.
The time to act is now, and your contacts
will make all the difference in our Campaign to Save World History in Ohio’s
Schools.
