The Christian Science Monitor

		STUDENTS MUST KNOW: California has requested more information in its textbooks about Martin Luther King Jr. (l.) and labor organizer Cesar Chavez (r.). STAFF/FILE

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Additional 'must' topics vary from state to state

State lawmakers sometimes get specific about the topics that public schools must teach. Some examples from recent years: Human rights • Sixteen states, ranging from Alabama to Nevada, have legislation on Holocaust education. Eight states require or encourage Holocaust instruction, while others simply establish commissions or task forces to help develop materials. • Rhode Island has had a law since 2000 requiring the education department to develop material on genocide, human rights, and slavery, including specifics such as the Holocaust, famine in Ireland, genocide in Armenia, and Mussolini's Fascist regime. • In several states, including New Jersey, Illinois, and New York, Amistad Commissions have been established to examine and improve the curriculum related to African-American history and slavery. Civics/citizenship • Most states require a course on government, civics, or citizenship, but to give these subjects more weight, five states now require a related exam as a graduation requirement. Another five states are phasing in such exams. • In 2004, California passed a law in part to ensure that the history/social science framework would include six documents: The Declaration of Independence; the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights; The Federalist Papers; The Emancipation Proclamation; The Gettysburg Address; and George Washington's farewell address. • Since 2003, Missouri has required every school (pre-K through 12th grade) to devote the equivalent of one class period to the meaning and significance of Veterans Day. Financial literacy • More than half the states have standards for personal finance education. Nine require testing in the subject, and seven - including Utah and Georgia most recently - require it for high school graduation. Sources: Education Commission of the States; National Council on Economic Education

"We have to be sure [students] understand that racial, national, ethnic, and religious hatred can lead to horrible tragedies," Governor Blagojevich said in a press statement. "These are not just the problems of our parents' or grandparents' generations. We ... [need to] encourage students to fight intolerance and hatred wherever they see it." Local districts will determine the details of how the subject will be taught at various grade levels.

Some efforts, on the other hand, never see the light of day. In Maryland in the late 1990s, lawmakers wanted to mandate more teaching about the Irish Potato Famine of the mid-1800s. Because the state has a tradition of leaving curriculum matters primarily to local districts, Ms. Altoff appeared before the legislature to warn against setting a precedent with something so specific. In the end, schools were given the option of using a suggested curriculum.

Creating commissions is one way states can influence curriculum without going so far as to issue an edict. In New York this summer, the announcement of an Amistad Commission to determine if there needs to be more content on slavery and African-Americans' contributions set off a controversy; it's unclear how many educators will be among the group's 19 political appointees. (The Amistad, for which the committee was named, was a slave ship. Setting out from Havana in 1839, the ship's cargo of 53 enslaved Africans took over the ship and sailed to Long Island, New York, where the mutineers were put on trial and eventually set free.)

New Jersey also has an Amistad Commission, one of many groups in the state charged with promoting better understanding of a variety of issues and ethnic groups. The state's Holocaust Commission is paired with a requirement that the subject be taught in public schools.

But others, like the Italian Commission, created in 2002, prepare curriculum that is strictly voluntary.

Persuading school districts and teachers to opt in requires some innovative lesson plans and training, so they can see how the materials meet state standards, says Roger Marinzoli, executive director of the New Jersey Italian Commission.

Italian-Americans make up about 25 percent of the state, he says, but "the attempt is not to make this a flag-waving exercise.... You have to make it appealing to a broad spectrum."

The group's lessons cover the US internment of Germans, Japanese, and Italians during World War II and address ethnic stereotyping. It also offers a language-arts segment linking Da Vinci's stream-of-consciousness writings to existing lessons on novelist James Joyce.

Feedback has been so good, Mr. Marinzoli says, that schools as far away as Sicily have asked to use some of the curriculum.

Textbooks can be quickly adapted

Because textbooks are often updated every few years and customized for states, the steady drumbeat of new material isn't usually a problem, says Chris Johnson, editorial director for social studies texts at McDougal Littell.

Texas, for instance, requires that texts at every grade level include information of the benefits of the free enterprise system. And California has asked for more material on Martin Luther King Jr. and labor organizer César Chávez to meet its social studies requirement. Shrinking photos often makes enough space so that the books don't get longer or lose other content, Mr. Johnson says.

But for teachers, there's a concern about trade-offs. A key question, Altoff says, is "what provisions are being made to ensure that the coverage of that content is more than surface - that it's actually going to be meaningful within the time frame [they have to teach]?"

"There is no simple answer," she adds. "That's why there's so much pressure from different curriculum groups."

SOURCE: US CENSUS; RICH CLABAUGH - STAFF