A few weeks ago parents in Stratham received a permission slip so that their 1st grade children could attend a field trip at the high school. The field trip indicated that the purpose was to learn about political activism.
Parents began questioning the purpose of learning about political activism in 1st grade, and why chaperones would not be needed.
Not long after the permission slip came home, the district issued another communication to parents.
Some of this appears to be teaching children academic content that needs to be covered in a social studies class, but many people were left wondering why 1st-grade children needed to learn how to become political activists. Given the left-leaning positions by teachers and administrators in SAU16, what kind of message would the young children be receiving?
You can see from this document their goal is to create change-makers, not to educate the children. You can also see that if students pass their competencies, they have not mastered or learned quality academic content in this important subject. I’ve seen the term “change agents” referenced by political activists when identifying the people who will be the disrupters of change.
Curriculum Document RTK AMB
Once again, we see the flawed move towards Competency-Based Education in New Hampshire. Academic content is marginalized while skills replace knowledge. In this case, 1st graders won’t even be learning workforce skills, they will be trained on how to become political activists.
What should 1st grade social studies cover in class? You can find that information here. Download the sequence for k-8 and scroll down to 1st grade History and Geography:
History and Geography
World history and Geography
I. Geography
A. SpatialSense
B. Geographical terms and features
II. Early World Civilizations
A. Mesopotamia:the“cradleofcivilization”
B. Ancient Egypt
C. History of World Religions
III. Modern Civilization and Culture: Mexico
A. Geography
B. Culture
American history and Geography
I. Early People and Civilizations
A. TheEarliestPeople:HuntersandNomads
B. Early American Civilizations
II. Early Exploration and Settlement
A. Columbus
B. The Conquistadors
C. English SettlersIII. From Colonies to Independence: The American Revolution
IV. Early Exploration of the American West
V. Symbols and Figures
These are the topics that should be covered in 1st grade. There is nothing about the need to teach 1st-grade children how they should become political activists. The focus k-12 should be learning the academic content and when they are older, how to debate in a persuasive and respectful manner.
Public schools have an opportunity to educate students, so if students have concerns, they can take their opinions to the places that will make a difference. Too many students have no idea about the subject they are protesting, which makes them illiterate protesters. Taking high school students on a field trip to the State House might be a better use of their time. Then, they can see respectful dialogue that brings about real change.
SAU16 continues to brush aside teaching children the academic content in an effort to push a political narrative on children. This isn’t good for public education, and it certainly is not good for the students enrolled in the public school.
This is why alternative schools and home-schooling are growing in popularity–parents are demanding better for their children. Education lobbying organizations will oppose school choice options but, at the same time, refuse to acknowledge what is driving parents to seek alternatives for their children. Enrollment numbers in our public schools continue to decline while alternatives see an increase in demand. This isn’t rocket science, parents want their children educated.
You can see from the emails below that I obtained from the district that a quality education for children in SAU16 is not their goal. But until more parents demand better from the people they employ in their district, they are only denying their children a quality education that opens a world of options. Just think if they spent their time focused on making sure the students were proficient in math, reading, science, and all of the core academic subjects!!
There is a lot of money spent in SAU16; parents should expect better than this.
