Oklahoma History Standards and the Southern Poverty Law Center...Huh?

I am still studying (off and on as time allows) Oklahoma's new "Social Studies" standards. Imagine how upset I was this morning when I found that The Southern Poverty Law Center was cited in their "Resources Referenced and Used" section (page 96, Southern Poverty Law Center. Teaching the Movement: The
State of Civil Rights Education in the United States 2011. 2011.  Southern Poverty Law Center. Teaching the Movement: The State Standards We Deserve. March 2012.)

If you are unfamiliar with why this would be nearly the worst thing in the world to find anywhere in your state's history standards, please just perform a cursory internet search for the Southern Poverty Law center to find out what other people say about them.  Here's an interesting article that covers an issue centering around emails to and from the SPLC and the Justice Department under Eric Holder.  Basically, the SPLC is a radical group that likes to call out any persons or organizations that consider Christianity and/or a love of the Constitution (among other things) as a 'hate group'.  This organization has NO business being even CITED in a document prescribing history standards for Oklahoma children. 

I don't care how 'well rounded' you are trying to make standards, you DON'T include information from one of the most far radically left-leaning organization in the US today. That's insanity! But then again, we live in a Constitutional Democracy according to these same standards as well (page 11) - an interesting tidbit we wrote about in our blog "A Republic Ma'am If you Can Keep It".

I've also found that Oklahoma has subverted some standards that could be used for more US government (look at the graduation requirements for social studies at the bottom to see how bare little we invest in the study of our own country and its government!) for PSYCHOLOGY! What? Now remember, these are the new C3 standards (page 11 combined Common Core and Oklahoma Social Studies standards). Why in the heck are we including PSYCHOLOGY in Social Studies? My brain could go all over the map with that one. Consequently, one of the other resources Oklahoma uses is the American Psychological Association - another organization that has produced at least questionable information over the years.  One quote in this article is especially eye-opening,

While mental health professionals are trained to believe in the political neutrality of prevailing psychological theories, these theories are not politically neutral. 

I am certain there are some good things in these standards. I am also certain they do NOT provide the framework necessary for students to understand AND appreciate their REPUBLIC!

3 Units or Sets of Competencies Social Studies
1 United States History,
1/2 to 1 United States Government,
1/2 Oklahoma History, and
1/2 to 1 which may include, but are not limited to the following courses: World History, Geography, Economics, Anthropology, or other social studies courses with content and/or rigor equal to or above United States History, United States Government, and Oklahoma History.


We must continue to stay on top of this issue.  After much study on this topic as an organization early on in our formation, ROPE truly believes the lack of and/or leftist-version-teaching of American government to be the main reason behind the death spiral of our Republican form of government today.