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Idaho's new supplemental history curriculum

"The Story of America" is an optional resource for middle and high school teachers to supplement lessons with.

BOISE, Idaho — A new curriculum tool is now in the mix for Idaho public schools, it’s called “The Story of America.” Governor Brad Little calls it a “fair, factual American history resource.”

“I believe as educators look at this, that they will find some very useful information,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield.

Critchfield wants to be clear; “The Story of America” is not a whole new standalone history curriculum for Idaho. It is a supplemental resource for teachers to add more color to lessons.

“They're already going out and looking for resources to supplement some of these lessons. And so this provides them an opportunity to go in in a free, easy way to go and search through interviews and primary documents that they can share with their students,” Critchfield said.

The content is not a textbook, it’s an online platform that features videos, documents, and artifacts of history. Imagine: instead of reading a speech from history, people could watch and listen.

“It really is designed to be a supplement to what's happening in the classroom, whether it's to further the discussion or provide additional talking points. And it's designed also to be interactive in a one dimensional book that you open up. You're not able to do that. And with this, you can pull something up on a screen.  You can click, you can hear people through history in their voice,” Critchfield said.

Critchfield said she has had two very different responses to the new resource. Some love it and have thanked her office for pushing it through. Others are skeptical about the possible content.

“People who maybe don't understand exactly what it is, who are nervous that we're, as the department or the state, trying to provide, this is how we're going to color history and this is how we think every kid needs to understand it. And that's not at all what this is about,” Critchfield said.

A common question for new history curriculum centers on “whitewashing” history to avoid critical and negative events. Does the new supplemental curriculum do that?

“Absolutely not,” Critchfield said. “As we look through it our folks here at the department, the governor's office, his folks, myself and the governor, we went through many meetings and presentations and looked through the materials because that's exactly what we were trying to avoid.”

Samples of the content show a critical look at American history, no glossing over ugly years and impacts of slavery, Jim Crow laws, anti-immigration sentiments, racism and the rights of women.

“We don't want not only the perception, but the actual implementation of saying, here's how we view the world. This is how we want every kid to see it. I believe that this really provides a more comprehensive and it is a deeper look at some of these elements of history that the teachers haven't been able to get to. Because, again, of a very limited published book,” Critchfield said.

Critics of “The Story of America,” who admittedly haven’t reviewed the content, question a statement made by one of the creators of the curriculum. Former Education Secretary William Bennett said a reasons for the content: "For too long, an anti-America ideology that radically misrepresents U.S. history has infiltrated our education system and misled our kids.”     

“No, this is an opportunity to supplement to help teachers. We think this is good quality stuff. And so I hate that, that's clouded that kind of this political side of, well, because you're a Republican, this is why you want to do that. Well, yes, I am a Republican. And this is good material,” Critchfield said.

And part of loving your country is also being honest about the history.

"Absolutely. And there's nothing in anything that I've seen that that leads our kids to gloss over that,” Critchfield said

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