The following op-ed is written by State Sen. Max Wise (R-Campbellsville).
The “Teaching American Principles Act,” or Senate Bill 138, is a far different approach to social studies legislation than any of the other bills filed in Kentucky this session. We are refocusing on teaching the American story and, rather than creating a divisive list of “don’ts,” this bill establishes a list of “shalls.” It’s an important distinction.
After consulting several groups, including a nonpartisan and intellectually diverse organization called 1776 Unites, the Senate added a collection of 24 core historical documents, speeches, and Supreme Court decisions rooted in American principles to the state standards. Most of these documents are already taught in elementary school, never to be discussed again. SB 138 extends the elementary standards currently in place to middle and high school students and simply expands the depth in which the documents are taught. SB 138 does not create any new standards, which has been a common misconception.
According to 1776 Unites, “The founding documents including but not limited to the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, established in the United States government and presented in the philosophical, traditional and political foundations on which our nation was built. Understanding democratic principles such as equality, freedom, liberty and respect for individual rights…are fundamental concepts of being a citizen in our democratic republic.”
Of the 24 documents laid out in SB 138, one that is often referenced in editorials critical of this bill is Ronald Reagan’s 1964 campaign speech, “A Time for Choosing.” Many who criticize the inclusion of this speech only point out the political nature of it, but also ignore the ideas that Reagan discusses as being quintessential American principles. The ideals of being a sovereign, independent and free people; of having resilience, self-determination and personal agency; of having equality, liberty and inalienable rights and lastly, the notion that our government works “for the people,” not the reverse, are all notions Reagan addresses in his speech.
“This idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except the sovereign people, is still the newest and most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man… (Do) we believe in our capacity for self-government or (do) we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves,” said Reagan.
Lumping SB 138 with House Bills 247 and 318 is disingenuous and has been a frequent tactic by the media and education activists. Anyone who has read this bill knows that it stands on its own and cannot be compared to the two anti-CRT bills originating in the other legislative chamber.
SB 138 does not ban the discussion of sensitive topics; it encourages conversation about the good, the bad and the ugly in our history through the examination of actual primary source texts from those historical times. In the same vein, it is not an anti-CRT bill; it does not ban a single resource, idea or discussion; it only adds topics, resources and ideas to the standards that must be included. This bill simply creates the framework for a well-rounded history and civics education that includes primary source history and supporting resources, and may be expanded upon based on a teacher’s desire to do so.
A survey was recently conducted by the Kentucky Council for Social Studies, in which teachers were polled regarding SB 138 and HB 487. Again, these two bills were lumped together as anti-CRT bills but contain very different language. One of the most frequent complaints made in the aforementioned survey is “SB 138 will provide a ‘whitewashed’ version of history” or will “silence” real history.
SB 138 clearly states “Nothing shall be construed to restrict a public school from providing instruction or using instructional materials that include the history of an ethnic group, the discussion of controversial aspects of history, or instruction or instructional materials on the historical oppression of a group of people. (page 2).” There you have it in plain English, the open door to healthy discussion.
The United States is often called “The Great Experiment” because it is the only country in the world governed by a document as opposed to fallible humans. Although not always pleasant, she has a rich and unique history worth preserving and passing down to future generations; a form of government that will fail if lessons learned are not shared. Our historical documents have been slowly phased out of history standards over the years, to the detriment of students across the commonwealth. SB 138 makes sure they remain in schools, encouraging discussion and even debate on where America has been while sparking the fire in tomorrow’s leaders.