Virginia new education standards draws controversy

Press Release of Concerned Educations: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1ZkZJ13NuOPvnRY7J9iQkDe2m4r2TsYKQSXOOx4YjerQ/mobilebasic

My reaction

(1) Using "first immigrants" to describe Native Americans is jarring. They later describe them as indigenous people. So its both extremes of how to call Native Americans I guess (2) Lots of patriotic songs. They learn "You're a Grand Old Flag" in kindergarden (3) My first reaction was wow their curriculum has a lot of Martin Luther King because MLK was mentioned in kindergarten. But then a big complaint was that MLK was removed from grade school and added back in. He's included in 6th grade. I don't remember learning about MLK in grade school.

It goes very in depth into slavery, Jim Crow, and reconstruction in fourth grade. Back when we were doing field trips to gold mines. So I'm impressed by that

(4) The civics/economics component is very Cold War. Kindergardeners learn to "recogn[e] that Americans are free to make choices about what to buy (in a free market),and that they make choices because they cannot have everything they want.

(5) I think its funny that the press release complains that the Codes of Hammarubi aren't age appropiate because they involve adultery. Seems like copy-catting conservative complaints about concepts not being age appropriate

Overall the draft seems fine. If overly obsessed with Virgania minutea like its charter

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