Fewer Social Studies Requirements for Texas Students Worry Advocates
The State Board of Education will make its final decision today on new high school graduation requirements. The changes come after state lawmakers passed a bill last year that reduces the number of required courses to graduate. Among the changes: students only have to take three social studies classes to graduate instead of four.
In the early 1990s, Texas became the first state to require students to take four social studies classes to graduate. The change back to three has some worried that Texas students won’t be as prepared for an increasingly global society.
High school students will still have to take US History, a semester of government, and semester of economics to graduate in four years. But, depending on what local school districts decide, many incoming freshmen will be able to choose World Geography or World History, instead of taking both.
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Texas State University Professor and Jesse H. Jones Distinguished Chair in Geographic Education Richard Boehm sees things a little differently.
“I think its competition for class time and there’s been more emphasis on science, math and literacy and something had to give. Something had to give and so what gave was Social Studies curriculum which is probably perceived as less important than science, math and literacy," Boehm says.
More at http://kut.org/post/fewer-social-studies-requirements-texas-students-worry-advocates .
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