DCPS Social Studies Curriculum Concerns

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a DCPS kid in high school who was passionate about reading, writing, and history. But she's saying now she wants to go into the hard sciences because there is less of a prescribed agenda. Every English or Social Studies paper is about "identity" and needs to written in from an oppressor/victim POV to receive a high grade. The kids roll their eyes a bit, but they play the game. It just isn't intellectually fulfilling.

I recommend supplementing with different material and perspectives at home. That's helped us a bit.

This could be a troll but there is a kernel of truth here. My kid is younger I heard something similar from my nephew recently (not in DCPS) about the way they are taught to write in high school. I haaaaate saying this because I think the whining about CRT is overblown, but it does sound like there is so much focus on politically correct thinking that it undermines some basic education. And it backfires too, because the kids don't actually adopt the "correct" viewpoints they are spoon-fed. They get annoyed with how rigid it all is and roll their eyes at it, but have much more nuanced opinions on it all that they simply don't express to adults. Which is actually troubling. They are learning to play a game to parrot certain talking points but then not really engaging with teachers or parents on these issues.

None of this is about CRT. No kid is learning CRT in K-12. Basically, CRT is a methodology used in law school. Yes, people use the term in layman's terms, but it's incorrect. Also, my kid, who is educated in what you call "politically correct thinking," which I just call education, does not roll his eyes at this education. If your kid is rolling their eyes at education that encourages them to think in a socially justice minded way, then maybe you need to do something about that and not blame teaching kids about socially important topics.

DP. I don’t object to the topics. I object to the fact that the topics are taught in a superficial and often biased manner where the lesson is basically “this is unjust!!” end of story. For example lots of lessons on “gentrification” but zero discussion on things like research on what increases housing costs, comparing cities like Tokyo to DC, etc. Just “gentrification is bad.”

[Anonymous]

I was a history major, and I have to say that a lot of people on here are misremembering when they themselves learned different elements of history. I’m pretty sure I would not have had a good mental timeline of all the things the OP mentioned when I was in middle school. Kids can’t even really conceptualize history until around 5th grade. Before that they think of everything as either old or new, which is why they often ask their teachers if they were around during the Civil War.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a DCPS kid in high school who was passionate about reading, writing, and history. But she's saying now she wants to go into the hard sciences because there is less of a prescribed agenda. Every English or Social Studies paper is about "identity" and needs to written in from an oppressor/victim POV to receive a high grade. The kids roll their eyes a bit, but they play the game. It just isn't intellectually fulfilling.

I recommend supplementing with different material and perspectives at home. That's helped us a bit.

+1. We did a lot of supplementing to. It sort of became a running joke at our dinner table. I mean every single book they read is about racism or identity. It’s completely out of whack.

What supplementing?

We supplement with the actual truth about US history. Which is, despite its warts and all the US is the greatest country that’s ever existed and has brought freedom to billions around the world.

What does that entail?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a history major, and I have to say that a lot of people on here are misremembering when they themselves learned different elements of history. I’m pretty sure I would not have had a good mental timeline of all the things the OP mentioned when I was in middle school. Kids can’t even really conceptualize history until around 5th grade. Before that they think of everything as either old or new, which is why they often ask their teachers if they were around during the Civil War.

Maybe. But I feel like 6th grade is old enough to be assigned a significant research & writing project, and that does not appear to be planned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only history my kid seemed to learn in her DCPS ES (around 5% poor kids) was about the CRM, from K to 5th grade. The school supposedly covered the Revolutionary and Civil Wars in the upper grades, but none of the facts, dates, players seem to sink it. We left for a private middle school. No comparison - she seems to have learned all kinds of history in 6th, 7th and 8th grades. We couldn't wait to get out of DCPS. You might want to do the same, OP, or at least start homeschooling for social studies (and English? math? languages? we got fed up with paying tutors).

What is CRM?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know OP. My 6th grader has zero knowledge of how big the US is or where it is in relation to other countries. He was shocked that it takes less time to fly to the Dominican Republic than San Francisco. I said, “Look at the map - California is much further away.” He said “We learned in Social Studies that maps are bad because they make Africa look small.” 🤡

I'm sorry, did you expect us to believe this? What a dim view of educators you must have, to think that parents would believe such clearly fabricated nonsense.

this is what he told me! if your DCPS child had lessons in basic geography - identifying states and countries on a map - let us know.

6th grade at Deal last year and there was a lot of emphasis on maps and geography. He was better at identifying countries in Africa and Eastern Europe than I was. They covered maps of the whole world by continent and the US by state.

We all know that Deal is the only functioning middle school in DCPS, so it's not really representative of the rest of DCPS as all. Of course DCUM wouldn't know this because all of DCUM resides within the Deal boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know OP. My 6th grader has zero knowledge of how big the US is or where it is in relation to other countries. He was shocked that it takes less time to fly to the Dominican Republic than San Francisco. I said, “Look at the map - California is much further away.” He said “We learned in Social Studies that maps are bad because they make Africa look small.” 🤡

I'm sorry, did you expect us to believe this? What a dim view of educators you must have, to think that parents would believe such clearly fabricated nonsense.

this is what he told me! if your DCPS child had lessons in basic geography - identifying states and countries on a map - let us know.

I know people love their anonymity here, but in this conversation knowing what schools are teaching what could be helpful. It is hard for me to know exactly what my kids learned in school vs. at home because they read a ton and we talk a bunch about history/current events. Once they come home I'd be happy to get them to list what topics they have covered in various grades and come back here. I think it is not helpful to generalize without knowing what school(s) -- the pandemic impacted things, some teachers are stronger than others, some schools are better at including social studies time, some ELA teachers are better at weaving history/civics into which books they read and their projects, etc. Science and social studies were getting the short end of the stick because of our horrible obsession with standardized tests, but that has shifted (at least at my kids ES and MS in their Title 1 Cap Hill schools). They now have science every day and social studies is included in ELA and also as a separate block a few times/week.

The schools are supposed to teach to the same standards, linked above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a history major, and I have to say that a lot of people on here are misremembering when they themselves learned different elements of history. I’m pretty sure I would not have had a good mental timeline of all the things the OP mentioned when I was in middle school. Kids can’t even really conceptualize history until around 5th grade. Before that they think of everything as either old or new, which is why they often ask their teachers if they were around during the Civil War.

+1. I only seriously began learning US History when I took AP US History in 9th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know OP. My 6th grader has zero knowledge of how big the US is or where it is in relation to other countries. He was shocked that it takes less time to fly to the Dominican Republic than San Francisco. I said, “Look at the map - California is much further away.” He said “We learned in Social Studies that maps are bad because they make Africa look small.” 🤡

I'm sorry, did you expect us to believe this? What a dim view of educators you must have, to think that parents would believe such clearly fabricated nonsense.

this is what he told me! if your DCPS child had lessons in basic geography - identifying states and countries on a map - let us know.

I know people love their anonymity here, but in this conversation knowing what schools are teaching what could be helpful. It is hard for me to know exactly what my kids learned in school vs. at home because they read a ton and we talk a bunch about history/current events. Once they come home I'd be happy to get them to list what topics they have covered in various grades and come back here. I think it is not helpful to generalize without knowing what school(s) -- the pandemic impacted things, some teachers are stronger than others, some schools are better at including social studies time, some ELA teachers are better at weaving history/civics into which books they read and their projects, etc. Science and social studies were getting the short end of the stick because of our horrible obsession with standardized tests, but that has shifted (at least at my kids ES and MS in their Title 1 Cap Hill schools). They now have science every day and social studies is included in ELA and also as a separate block a few times/week.

The schools are supposed to teach to the same standards, linked above.

If you've sent your kids to DCPS, you know this is not the reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The overfocus on STEM is causing this. Wait till high school. My ninth grader at JR isnt even reading a book -/ just texts from books! And they read then out loud in class!

Reading out loud in class is a good way to figure out who doesn't know how to read. There are many who don't know how to read in 9th grade in DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know OP. My 6th grader has zero knowledge of how big the US is or where it is in relation to other countries. He was shocked that it takes less time to fly to the Dominican Republic than San Francisco. I said, “Look at the map - California is much further away.” He said “We learned in Social Studies that maps are bad because they make Africa look small.” 🤡

I'm sorry, did you expect us to believe this? What a dim view of educators you must have, to think that parents would believe such clearly fabricated nonsense.

this is what he told me! if your DCPS child had lessons in basic geography - identifying states and countries on a map - let us know.

6th grade at Deal last year and there was a lot of emphasis on maps and geography. He was better at identifying countries in Africa and Eastern Europe than I was. They covered maps of the whole world by continent and the US by state.

We all know that Deal is the only functioning middle school in DCPS, so it's not really representative of the rest of DCPS as all. Of course DCUM wouldn't know this because all of DCUM resides within the Deal boundary.

My kid doesn't go to Deal and is in 8th Grade in a regular DCPS middle school. Knows a lot, and a great deal about history, international affairs, and most of what the kid learned came from middle school. Likely knows plenty more than Deal-attending neighbors the same age, who couldn't give a shit and play video games all day and night. You're real quick to overly generalize. Try harder. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 6th grader in a DCPS middle school who knows about all of the things you referenced. Some from school, some from reading, some from family/friends conversations… not sure this is a DCPS problem so much as anecdotal evidence that you need to pay more attention to your kid and their activities?

Thank you for such a patronizing response, truly, very constructive. I pay a lot of attention to my kid and her activities (hence my growing concerns, resorting to home schooling her for social studies, and... this post), and I'd been wondering for a while why they don't seem to be discussing any of the most basic concepts of history and social studies. After reading about Gen Z and Gen Alpha's views on some events, I decided to start asking her point blank what they learned about it in school, only to find out that in fact, they simply do not appear to cover... anything. My child is a good student who is pretty diligent about her homework and getting good grades, I can't chalk it up to her simply being not that bright or horrendous parenting, as you so helpfully suggest.

Clearly you must have a better DCPS school than we do.

Or a better kid. The DCPS curriculum is standard across the city.

My kids know different things even at the same ages. One is more interested in biology; another more interest in chemical science. I expose them; the school exposes them. Neither is a failure of the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overfocus on STEM is causing this. Wait till high school. My ninth grader at JR isnt even reading a book -/ just texts from books! And they read then out loud in class!

Reading out loud in class is a good way to figure out who doesn't know how to read. There are many who don't know how to read in 9th grade in DCPS.

It also helps with auditory and public speaking skills. Lots of well read people out there who can't pronounce words properly because they never heard the word read properly. Helps making sure kids are paying attention; helps kids overcome stage fright or any fear of public speaking.

Nothing is a total panacea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know OP. My 6th grader has zero knowledge of how big the US is or where it is in relation to other countries. He was shocked that it takes less time to fly to the Dominican Republic than San Francisco. I said, “Look at the map - California is much further away.” He said “We learned in Social Studies that maps are bad because they make Africa look small.” 🤡

What your child picked up may not have been the only thing taught. It sounds like they learned about the Mercator vs the Gall-Peters projections. Additionally, I went to graduate school for history and there are various ways of teaching history. Presenting history as European-centric with an obsessive focus on date is sort of the old fashioned method of teaching history.

If it makes you feel better my DCPS HS student got a 5 on the AP history exam. Kids learn history in DCPS!

Missing major aspects of world history like the Renaissance is a problem. As is the low low bar set where kids are not expected to learn any facts and dates and instead go straight to theorizing and “inquiry” without knowing anything to base it on.

Elementary school kids do not learn about the Renaissance in history.

Mine do.

Not in depth.

[Anonymous]

This isn't just DC - it's a huge problem in the US. Building background knowledge is a part of the current science of reading push. Check out "The Knowledge Gap" by Natalie Wexler.

"THE KNOWLEDGE GAP focuses on a long-overlooked issue lying at the heart of what is known as the achievement gap: the failure of most elementary schools, and especially those serving low-income children, to systematically build knowledge of the world.

Every school day, elementary teachers spend hours drilling students on comprehension skills and strategies like “finding the main idea” or “making inferences,” in an effort to boost their reading ability–and their scores on standardized reading tests. Subjects like history, science, and art have virtually disappeared from the curriculum in many schools.

In fact, these schools are doing the exact opposite of what can actually turn students into good readers..."

https://nataliewexler.com/the-knowledge-gap/