KRAUSE: New social studies proposal is no joke – By Kyle Krause (Rapid City Journal) / Sept 24, 2022
South Dakota’s newly proposed social studies content standards could easily be mistaken for a bad joke. Unfortunately, the proposal is very serious.
As the parent of a first grader, I looked first at the proposed standards for that grade. They are wildly age inappropriate. Among many other things, first grade students would be required to:
• “Tell the story of” the Persian Wars, Peloponnesian War, Punic War, Roman civil wars, conquests of Alexander the Great, French and Indian War, and War for Independence.
• “Identify” the “major cultural features, stories, and contributions” of ancient India, Babylon, China, Rome, Athens, and the Hebrews.
• “Identify” figures in Greek mythology, key Roman Emperors, and events of the Roman Empire.
• “Tell the biography of” Christopher Columbus, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.
