College Board Backs Colo. Students Protesting AP US History Censorship

Students protest outside of Ralston Valley High School, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014, in Arvada, Colo. The students are protesting a proposal by the Jefferson County School Board to emphasize patriotism and downplay civil... Students protest outside of Ralston Valley High School, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014, in Arvada, Colo. The students are protesting a proposal by the Jefferson County School Board to emphasize patriotism and downplay civil unrest in the teaching of U.S. history. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) MORE LESS
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The College Board on Friday expressed support for the Colorado high school students protesting proposed county school board changes to the AP U.S. History course curriculum.

“The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program® supports the actions taken by students in Jefferson County, Colorado to protest a school board member’s request to censor aspects of the AP U.S. History course,” the company said in a statement.

“These students recognize that the social order can – and sometimes must – be disrupted in the pursuit of liberty and justice. Civil disorder and social strife are at the patriotic heart of American history – from the Boston Tea Party to the American Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement. And these events and ideas are essential within the study of a college-level, AP U.S. History course.”

The Jefferson County school board has proposed forming a new committee that would ensure that the AP history course materials “promote patriotism” and don’t “condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law.”

The board proposed the changes in response to the new course framework, which conservatives have denounced as a “radically revisionist view of American history that emphasizes negative aspects of our nation’s history while omitting or minimizing positive aspects.”

Students in Jefferson County staged protests last week, charging that the course changes will keep teachers from discussing civil disobedience.

And now, the College Board has thrown its support behind the students and said that if schools do not agree to the course standards set by College Board, then they cannot offer the Advanced Placement course.

“As vital context for the courageous voices of the students in Colorado, the AP community, our member institutions and the American people can rest assured: If a school or district censors essential concepts from an Advanced Placement course, that course can no longer bear the ‘AP’ designation,” College Board said in the statement.

H/t Huffington Post

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  1. “As vital context for the courageous voices of the students in Colorado, the AP community, our member institutions and the American people can rest assured: If a school or district censors essential concepts from an Advanced Placement course, that course can no longer bear the ‘AP’ designation,” College Board said in the statement."

    That’s all she wrote, folks. Even RWNJ parents aren’t going to accept paying colleges to take courses that could have been covered in high school. Thanks, College Board, for nipping that one in the bud.

  2. The Jefferson County school board obviously wants to be sure students are taught to be good little Nazis.

  3. Avatar for jmann jmann says:

    Looks like intellect triumphed over fear.

  4. Echoing CarlosF but bravo to the College Board for saying “Nuh-uh, that’s stupid” and then putting a concrete, think-aboutable price on that stupidity if it were acted on. They could have just clucked in disapproval.

    It’s still contemptible that these people want to sugarcoat history and call it education. Sometimes I think modern so-called conservatism is fundamentally one big howl of pain at the idea that life is ever-changing and often complicated. It’s adolescent, in other words, which is kind of ironic under the particular circumstances.

  5. In my time in Colorado I found it curious as to how far apart the political leanings were. Boulder is liberal as hell, but Colorado Springs, with the AF academy and Fort Carson is hard core right. It’s always interesting to watch.

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