US schools revamp curricula in response to Black Lives Matter
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Wednesday
February 08, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 08, 2023
US schools revamp curricula in response to Black Lives Matter

World+Biz

Reuters
21 August, 2020, 05:20 pm
Last modified: 21 August, 2020, 05:22 pm

Related News

  • Artistes with most Grammys nominations
  • US fighter jet shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon with missile
  • US allows seized Russian money to go to Ukraine aid: report
  • 6th officer fired after beating death of Tyre Nichols
  • From China to big sky: the balloon that unnerved The White House

US schools revamp curricula in response to Black Lives Matter

The National School Board Association, which advises school districts on curriculum changes, said requests for advice on crafting racially diverse educational material doubled this summer from the same period last year

Reuters
21 August, 2020, 05:20 pm
Last modified: 21 August, 2020, 05:22 pm
Photo: Reuters
Photo: Reuters

John Marshall keeps a picture of Breonna Taylor in his office at the headquarters of Kentucky's largest school district, a visual reminder, he says, of the need for curriculum changes that better honor and focus on Black stories.

Taylor, a Black emergency medical technician, spent her senior year of high school at Kentucky's Jefferson County Public Schools, where Marshall, the district's chief diversity officer, has been leading a system-wide revamp of teaching materials and practices.

Taylor was shot dead by police officers in March. Her death and that of George Floyd, killed by Minneapolis police in May, and others have set off a national reckoning over race and race relations.

No criminal charges have been filed against the officers involved in Taylor's death, infuriating many in the school district, where a majority of the nearly 100,000 students are students of color.

For educators in Jefferson County and across the United States, the deaths have jump-started demands for teaching materials and practices that help Black students better understand their history and place in the country.

After a summer of teacher workshops focused on updating curricula, millions of students will return to US classrooms in coming weeks - virtually or in person - that focus more on Black history and experiences, according to interviews with teachers, officials, publishers and others.

"We're not just talking about a couple of lesson changes," said Marshall. "We're getting to the quintessential work of trying to put race, equity and inclusion inside of our curriculum."

A June survey by the EdWeek Research Center, which is affiliated with the prominent trade publication Education Week, found that 81% of US teachers support the Black Lives Matter movement.

"We can't control what happens with the police, but we can control what happens in our school systems," said Michael McFarland, head of the National Alliance of Black School Educators and a superintendent of the Crowley Independent School District in Texas.

Some of the changes don't necessarily involve new material, but rather teaching the same material from a new perspective.

In the Jefferson County schools, for instance, teachers discussing the Space Race of the 1960s plan now to focus on the Black women mathematicians whose computations underpin modern rocket science.

In Houston, teachers at YES Prep public charter schools will dissect James Baldwin's iconic book of essays "The Fire Next Time" less as a history of racial struggle and more as a guide for Black students to overcome injustice.

These and other recommendations came after school districts spent summer months updating educational materials because most public school textbooks are only updated by publishers on a fixed schedule.

How and what US students learn about American history depends on the school. The country's public K-12 education system is run by more than 98,000 local and state school board members, who nearly always have the final say on which textbooks are bought for classrooms.

In 2014, the Texas State Board of Education came under fire for approving a Mexican-American studies textbook that critics decried as riddled with mistakes and demeaning stereotypes. Other school boards either bought different textbooks or didn't offer the same course.

'DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS'

The National School Board Association, which advises school districts on curriculum changes, said requests for advice on crafting racially diverse educational material doubled this summer from the same period last year.

"They're making sure teachers are teaching the right history in their classrooms," said Anna Maria Chavez, the association's executive director.

Scholastic Corp, which publishes educational material to supplement textbooks, said it has seen a surge in demand for books that focus on diversity and equity.

"Schools are wanting to have these more difficult conversations about race and social justice," said Michael Haggen, Scholastic's chief academic officer.

Staff at Houston's YES Prep said their returning 15,000 students can expect to spend more time reflecting on how the deaths of Taylor, Floyd and others connect to a timeline of injustice.

The goal for YES Prep students, nearly all of whom are Black or Latino, is to consider how they can not only oppose racism, but be part of broader cultural change, said Kiara Hughes, YES Prep's director of organizational strategy and initiatives.

"This isn't a singular moment in time," said Hughes. "This is a fight that people have been fighting for a hundred of years."

USA / Black Lives Matter

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • HSC, equivalent exams result 2020
    Over 85% students pass HSC and equivalent exams
  • Photo: TBS
    RMG turns to India from China to get cheaper man-made yarn
  • Electric power transmission pylon miniatures and Adani Green Energy logo are seen in this illustration taken, December 9, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Files
    Bangladesh seeks new terms for Adani coal electricity deal: Washington Post report

MOST VIEWED

  • FILE PHOTO: People wearing face masks commute in a subway station during morning rush hour, following the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19) outbreak, in Beijing, China January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
    No new variants in weeks after China ended zero-Covid: Study
  • President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
    Biden in State of the Union address vows to 'finish the job'
  • Aerial photos showed the extent of the damage in more densely populated and hard-hit areas like Hatay city in southern Turkey. Image: IHA/AP/picture alliance
    Turkey-Syria earthquake: Rescuers press on into third day
  • Photo: Collected
    'Get me out of here…I'll be your servant': Trapped Syrian child pleads for help
  • General view of Microsoft Corporation headquarters at Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau
    Microsoft hopes AI can save Bing from Google search hegemony
  • A general view shows the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank September 11, 2018/ Reuters
    Israeli minister says no pause on settlements after US asked Israel to halt expansion

Related News

  • Artistes with most Grammys nominations
  • US fighter jet shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon with missile
  • US allows seized Russian money to go to Ukraine aid: report
  • 6th officer fired after beating death of Tyre Nichols
  • From China to big sky: the balloon that unnerved The White House

Features

Illustration: TBS

Planning to study abroad? Explore these four underrated scholarships

3h | Pursuit
Representational image. Photo: Collected.

The understated perks of journaling

2h | Pursuit
Photo: Reuters

A tragedy that will also shake up the region's geopolitics

16h | Panorama
Nimah designed by Compass Architects- Wooden tiles. Photo: Junaid Hasan Pranto

Trendy flooring designs to upgrade any space

1d | Habitat

More Videos from TBS

30% companies see double-digit growth even in hard times

30% companies see double-digit growth even in hard times

19h | TBS Insight
Challenging time waiting for RMG

Challenging time waiting for RMG

1d | TBS Round Table
"Full Moon Meditation" organized by Department of Theater and Performance Studies, University of Dhaka

"Full Moon Meditation" organized by Department of Theater and Performance Studies, University of Dhaka

1d | TBS Graduates
10 cricketers who have played over 400 T20 matches

10 cricketers who have played over 400 T20 matches

1d | TBS SPORTS

Most Read

1
Photo: Courtesy
Panorama

From 'Made in Bangladesh' to 'Designed in Bangladesh'

2
Master plan for futuristic Chattogram city in the making
Districts

Master plan for futuristic Chattogram city in the making

3
Photo: Collected
Crime

Prime Distribution MD Mamun arrested in fraud case

4
Leepu realised his love for cars from a young age and for the last 40 years, he has transformed, designed and customised hundreds of cars. Photo: Collected
Panorama

'I am not crazy about cars anymore': Nizamuddin Awlia Leepu

5
Photo: Collected
Startups

ShopUp secures $30m debt financing to boost expansion, supply chain

6
ICB to withdraw Padma Bank investment as return eludes
Banking

ICB to withdraw Padma Bank investment as return eludes

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]