New N.C. Social Studies Curriculum - Necessary or Traumatizing?

North Carolina State Board of Education in a meeting session in January. Source

Following the violent storming of the United States Capitol, the world was in shock. Several politicians, both domestic and abroad, condemned such actions. Ye, condemning the riot was only the beginning: how does one move forward from such political upheaval? Social studies and civics teachers struggle to answer this question: how do you address the concerns of your students in the very subject you teach, which often reflects harsh truths? Although it depends where they are teaching, teachers are often required to be apolitical in classroom settings. But as students are living through an era marred by ultranationalism and right-wing extremism, how can a teacher possibly remain apolitical?

The issue was tackled by the North Carolina State Board of Education mere hours before the Capitol riots occurred.

During their first meeting of 2021, the Board covered issues ranging from in-person testing to a new superintendent. However, what primarily stood out from the meeting was discussions over reforming K-12 social studies standards in the state. Standards differ from curriculums in that standards reflect a statewide course-of-study, where curriculums are supplements to standards like lesson plans and class activities. During the meeting, educators pushed for more inclusive social studies standards, which require teachers to explicitly address the systemic discrimination of marginalized groups in American history.

These standards were originally proposed in the summer of 2020, following the Black Lives Matter national protests. As often occurs in purple in North Carolina, the proposal was divisive -- those who disagreed argued that inclusive terms such as “women’s suffrage” and “immigration” leave too much room for interpretation. The board unanimously voted to revisit the proposal. Well, the proposal has been revisited, and remains divisive -- this time, state politicians offered input. Board members appointed by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper were supportive of the proposal, whereas Republican board members opposed it. Newly-elected Republican Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, who is also a member of the school board, claims that the standard is politically motivated. “I want to go on record as saying that I am completely against these standards as they are written now,” Robinson said.

The most pronounced counterargument to the standard is that children are too young to be exposed to history that entails brutality and violence. However, children have witnessed the Capitol riots through news outlets and social media -- violent acts that were fueled by none other than political extremism. Children are inevitably exposed to real-life history, either through a classroom or simply living through it. The coronavirus pandemic will go down in history as a brutal and tragic crisis. And yet, every child is exposed to its haunting realities in order to properly avoid catching the virus, such as experiencing virtual at-home learning or wearing masks in a classroom setting.

It is no secret that North Carolina is rich in history -- in fact, so rich that the entire eighth-grade social studies standard in public schools is dedicated to North Carolinian history. But it is also true that students are not exposed to most of this history due to restrictive state standards. If you ask a student what stands out to them in terms of North Carolina history, they will likely say being first in flight or the Lost Colony. But none will mention the Wilmington Massacre of 1898; not because they do not believe it to be significant, but because they were never taught about it. 

The Wilmington Massacre is what historians consider the only successful coup d’état in the United States. In 1898, Wilmington was North Carolina’s largest city, in which its governmental leaders and prominent businessmen were Black; in fact, it was the only city in the United States at that time to consist of predominantly Black politicians -- a feat that would soon be overshadowed by the years of Jim Crow and onwards. Because of its predominantly Black government, over two thousand armed rioters burned Black-owned businesses, killed dozens of Black city residents, and forced many to abandon their homes. Later, they took over the city government and instilled a new mayor, a former Confederate officer, without a legitimate election.

Why is the Wilmington Massacre not taught in schools? Simply put, due to the lack of inclusivity in social studies standards. To teach the Wilmington Massacre would mean to address the issues of racism, white supremacy, and violence fueled purely out of malice. Although a century has passed since the massacre, the city of Wilmington did not recognize it until 2017, whereas the NC State Board of Education has yet to include it into its standards.

Now, addressing the counterargument in which children are too young to be exposed to violent history: there is always an undertone of struggle in every historical event, no matter how good or bad. It is important to address these struggles, as it helps students grasp the world around them as it truly is. With such an understanding, they are able to see how events such as the Capitol riots and the Wilmington Massacre could happen -- but are also able to understand that it stems from hurtful rhetoric and harmful ideology that is taught, not innate. They learn the tools to combat this violence and ignorance, instead of being surprised by or indoctrinated into it.

The proposal to reform social studies standards in North Carolina is long overdue. It is important that teachers, who often play a crucial role in the lives of their students, are able to freely teach the difference between right and wrong in hopes of a more inclusive, accepting, and preserving future.