Social Studies Academic Standards
April 5, 2004
Education Elite Wrote Kelley's Standards
The mystery authors of Senator Kelley's replacement standards that passed the Senate Education Committee on March 26th have now been revealed.
Since the citizen standards endured months of harsh attack by the educational elite for being written by people who were supposedly "ideological" and "far outside the mainstream," the same scrutiny should apply to the authors of the Kelley standards.
Unfortunately, that won't happen. The standards have already passed one Senate committee, and they will likely come to the Senate floor for a full Senate vote with little opportunity for thorough public scrutiny. It appears that only the backgrounds of the citizen committee members are an issue for the Senate majority. That should be reason enough for the full Senate to reject the Kelley standards!
In the interest of helping the public get to know the Kelley standards' authors, EdWatch has created a page on our website with cursory information about the authors, links to some of their background work, and affiliations. While the information on our site can't possibly be comprehensive in such a short time, we hope that it will provide the public and legislators a glimpse of the radical ideology behind the Kelley standards.
For example, at least five of the six women professors from the University of Minnesota who authored the standards are associated with the U of M Center for Advanced Feminist Studies, Women's Studies, or Women's History. Feminist Studies and Women's History at the U of M do not reflect mainstream Minnesota thinking.
Professor Sarah Chambers, as an illustration, teaches a Comparative Women's History Workshop and is one of the Kelley standards'' authors. She writes:
"... wife beating, far from reflecting deviant behavior, is integral to the enforcement of male domination... Societies that condone public surveillance of private lives, such as those in early modern Europe and colonial America, offer wives some protection from violence." (pp. 31-32) ["To the Company of a Man like My Husband, No Law Can Compel Me" 1999, Journal of Women's History, Vol. 11 No 1 (Spring)]
Chambers also writes:
"Republican authorities reinforced the division between public and private spheres to the detriment of women, who faced violence more often in the home than on the street." (pp. 41) [ibid.]
Besides being partisan and radical, these statements do not represent what most Minnesotans believe.
Authors of the citizen standards were accused of contributing to Republican causes and much was made in the media and at the Capitol about their contributions reflecting a partisan bias. What about the authors of the Kelley standards? The Minnesota political donor records available on line for the authors of the Kelley standards show partisan support strictly for DFL candidates. Roger Moe, a faithful defender of the Profile of Learning, was a favorite of the Kelley standards crowd.
The Kelley standards are also endorsed by the Minnesota Council for Social Studies (MCSS), the Minnesota branch of the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) which write the national standards The MCSS has set themselves up as the final authority on what students in Minnesota should be learning in social studies. Sen. Kelley has named his standards "The MCSS standards." The philosophy of the MCSS, therefore, is very important to understand.
Michael Boucher, a key MCSS board member and one of the most vocal opponents of the citizen standards, has criticized the citizen standards this way:
"there is an obvious social and political agenda [in the citizen standards] of accentuating states rights over civil rights and the individual over the common good. There is little in the civics standards that are 'crucial.' Instead, they are a repetitive mish-mash of Natural Rights philosophy...'
At a Senate hearing, Boucher testified that EdWatch was "obsessed" with teaching national sovereignty from the Declaration of Independence when it "isn't even there." Rather than supporting the teaching of America's founding principles of freedom, as is done in the citizen standards, Boucher's philosophy is revealed in some of his writings. For example:
"In 'On Being a Teacher' (1981), [Jonathan] Kozol fires the first shot at the target of authoritarianism. He quotes the Arizona Board of Education, stating that the job of schools is 'to augment a child's...love of country ...ideals of the home ...appreciation of traditional values .... and that our nation is the envy of the civilized world' (p. 4).
"Kozol replies to this mission statement, 'However we do it, I believe it is our job to be quite clear to students that schools exist precisely in order to destory such loyalty.' TH' (p. 5). Given this view of the purpose of schools, Kozol proceeds to take a radical stance on many subjects leading to some specific attitudes and philosophies that lead students out of complacent and oppressive education... [ Emphasis added.]
"Kozol's work convinces me that by being a citizen of the city where I teach, in solidarity with my students, I can equip the next generation of citizens to improve all of our situation." (See Boucher article)
Boucher himself approvingly describes Kozol as "radical." As a teacher, says Boucher, Kozol considers his job "to destroy such loyalty" as love of country, ideals of the home, and appreciation of traditional values." This is a teacher that Boucher regards as his mentor.
Further, the NCSS, which wrote the federal curriculum in social studies (the foundation of the Profile of Learning), reflects this same philosophy in their national standards. The NCSS states:
"the dominant social, economic, [and] cultural…trends that have defined the western world for fives centuries are rapidly leading in new directions". (NCSS, p. xix).
The "dominant trends" that defined the western world also defined America. The NCSS also states:
" a diverse…yet globally interdependent world calls for citizens with a new sense of purpose [and requires] a new vision for social studies educators." NCSS, p. xix.)
The NCSS see themselves as ushering in a "new vision" for Minnesota students.
It is astonishing that parents, teachers, and the public in general who believe in love of country, ideals of the home and appreciation of traditional values are held in such contempt as to be called "out of the mainstream" by the University of Minnesota history professors and the MCSS who are forcing their radical worldview on our students. Our review barely scratches the surface of the scrutiny these authors and these groups ought to undergo. (See update)
The "education elite" believe they know what's best for everyone else. The Kelley standards' authors, for example, have no representatives from business, no parents independent of the education establishment, no school administrators, and no school board members. Of the 19 Kelley committee members, only two are from outside the metro area.
Minnesota state law requires that when developing the new social studies standards, the Commissioner must include the advice of "parents of school-age children and members of the public throughout the state, teachers throughout the state, ...school principals throughout the state...,members of local school boards...and representatives of the business community." (120B.021) The Kelley standards violate those requirements that the Senate placed on the commissioner. Clearly, Kelley applies a double standard.to his standards development.
Are the citizen committee social studies standards truly "divisive," as Sen. Kelley and his allies contend? Or perhaps the controversy represents a refreshing refusal on the part of parents and citizens to refuse to be silent while the education elites commandeer our children. It is the Kelley standards that are divisive here, because they undermine the basic American principles of liberty.
We urge you to let your Senators know that the Kelley standards must be rejected and the citizen standards, as passed by the House, be adopted.
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