The new, proposed, history and social studies Standards of Learning (SOL) are moving forward despite almost universal condemnation from parents, educators and the community. Along with 75 other speakers, 4 Public Education had three speakers at the recent Board of Education meeting in Richmond to denounce the proposal and to recommend the adoption of a previous version from August 2022.
The new proposed standards are inadequate. They require young children to understand concepts for which their brains are not yet developed. They emphasize a euro-centric history reminiscent of the institution during Massive Resistance, ignore or minimize the history of our diverse communities, and lack reflection of the ancestors of many of our children.
Additionally, so many new standards have been added (132) that teachers would have to scramble to cover them all, and would have to resort to requiring rote memorization rather than analytical and skill development. Even more egregious- there are errors, omissions of important information, and political terms are used.
At the meeting the Board refused to consider an alternative, collaborative draft that would have merged the content produced by the Youngkin administration with the draft produced after years of work by over 600 professionals. That original draft of the revised standards is overwhelmingly preferred by many parents and professionals.
The Board of Education is now planning public hearings on the new proposed version six locations in Virginia.
If you live in Northern Virginia, please plan to attend on Tuesday, March 14th, you can RSVP here on our event page and we will provide more information on how we can organize.
If you live in another part of the Commonwealth, please contact us on organizing in your community we want to be sure we have speakers at each of the regional meetings.
Finally, if you haven’t already signed the petition Teaching Truth, please do so now. The petition with signatures will be presented during the hearing in Mount Vernon on March 14, 2023. The text of the petition will be edited slightly as the status of the Standard of Learning changes. However, the content of the petition will not change.
Your voice now will echo in the quality of instruction our children receive in the decades to come.
