This is one of those tricky stories where it’s tough to really know what to think unless you’ve done a lot of research and know exactly what’s going on. I haven’t done that. Nevertheless, from what I read in Newsweek, I feel the situation is worth flagging for readers.
On the one hand, it appears that names such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were somehow not included in the recent framework for AP U.S. History, and this has now been changed. Of course, omitting these names from such a course is absolutely preposterous, so that appears to be a positive thing.
On the other hand, insanely enough, the College Board apparently felt a need to include “American exceptionalism” in its new framework. This sounds like pure propaganda, and I don’t see how the inclusion of such a concept belongs anywhere near a history course. If America is exceptional, let students decide that on their own! Anyone who thinks Americans must be taught that America is exceptional is a propagandist who cares nothing for critical thinking. A secure, powerful and righteous nation is not so unbelievably insecure that it needs to run around telling everyone how exceptional it is. Such a fact, if true, would be self-evident.
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