Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 22:16:04 -0400
Chester Finn says, "Put the curriculum on the Internet
where all can see it
..." (Sept. 10, p. A11). He is telling readers that the
public school
curriculum -- particularly in social studies -- "is a
mess," and he wants
readers to think that something shameful is going on that
is being hidden
from public view.
In fact, the curriculum is already on the Internet,
and readers can see
for themselves that Finn's description of social studies
bears no relation
to the truth.
Finn says social studies is "shaped by experts
[who] view America as a
problem for mankind rather than its best hope." The views
of those who
shaped this part of the curriculum are laid out in the
Introduction to the
Standards, online at
can see for yourself the truthfulness of what Finn says.
Finn says that children in the early grades get a
dreary "expanding
environments" curriculum that dwells on "community
helpers" instead of
engaging history, and that the middle school curriculum is
all about quaint
customs, foods, and holidays. But you can see the
curriculum that is laid
out for those grades, and that students will be tested on,
at
judge for yourself the truthfulness of Finn's descriptions.
Finn's article is not just an aberrant expression
of uninformed opinion.
It is part of an orchestrated campaign well-financed by
people who seize any
excuse to attack public education; and when they don't
have a real excuse,
they make one up. If the newspapers are no longer engaged
in journalistic
practices of checking accusations against evidence, at
least in this case
the evidence is there for readers to see for themselves.