Oklahoma Wants to Ban A.P. U.S. History, and There’s Nothing You Can Do About It

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/02/18/oklahomas-banning-ap-us-history-and-theres-nothing-you-can-do-about-it?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2015-02-18

Teaching high school students about the development of slavery in America—or how debates over civil rights and civil liberties have shaped modern politics—may be out. Educating teenagers about the Ten Commandments and ensuring that they read three speeches by Ronald Reagan may be in. At least, that’s what seems to be the case in Oklahoma after a state legislative committee voted to advance a bill that would ax funding for Advanced Placement U.S. History classes.

State Rep. Dan Fisher, R-Yukon, who introduced the bill, said that his goal isn’t to get rid of the rigorous high school history classes. However, he feels that the curriculum, which is developed by the nonprofit education organization The College Board, paints America in an overwhelmingly negative light.

“There seems to be a very clear leaning in the new framework to communicate that America is just not a good place. We’re exploiters. We’re abusers. We put down the poor. The rich rule. All those kinds of things,” Fisher told The Associated Press. “No one’s questioning that America doesn’t have blemishes, and I don’t even have a problem with those being taught...but I do have a problem with those being taught almost to the exclusion of what America has done right.”

There’s been plenty of adverse reactions against the bill from teachers in the state, and a Change.org petition with nearly 10,000 signatures has popped up that asks Oklahoma lawmakers to rethink the ban. “We all love our A.P. classes and depend on them to challenge us, prepare us, and ultimately, provide us with the chance to excel and gain college credit,” reads the petition.

But if the effort to remove A.P. U.S. History becomes the law in Oklahoma, there’s not much anyone else around the country can do about it.