- Associated Press - Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Recent editorials from Tennessee newspapers:

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Feb. 28

The Kingsport Times-News on implementing higher quality history curriculum in Tennessee schools:

There are lots of excuses for the continuing decline in teaching American history in public schools. But in some states, Tennessee for example, something is finally being done about it with Gov. Bill Lee expanding a program he began to recognize schools and districts that prioritize teaching history and civic values.

We’ve been aware of the erosion in teaching history for decades. In 1985, the New York Times found that “If knowledge of the past is in fact relevant to our ability to understand the present and to exercise freedom of mind - as totalitarian societies, both real and fictional, acknowledge by stringently controlling what may be studied or published - then there is cause for concern about many Americans’ sense of history.

“The threat to our knowledge of the past comes, however, not from government censorship but from indifference and ignorance. The erosion of historical understanding seems especially pronounced among the generation under 35, those schooled during the period of sharp declines in basic skills. While achievement in reading and mathematics is regularly tested by national and state educational agencies, the condition of historical knowledge is far more difficult to measure and the attempt is seldom made.”

But we learned little from these early warnings. A 2014 report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that an abysmal 18% of American high school kids were proficient in U.S. history, never mind world history. A 2012 story in Perspectives on History magazine by University of North Carolina professor Bruce VanSledright found that 88% of elementary school teachers considered teaching history a low priority. The reasons are varied, but VanSledright found that teachers didn’t focus on history because students aren’t tested on it at the state level. Why teach something you can’t test?

That’s beginning to change, at least in Tennessee. To earn a high school diploma, high school students in Tennessee must now complete three units of social studies, including U.S. history, world history/geography, economics and government. And in his State of the State address earlier this month, Lee told lawmakers he would be using federal dollars to double the “number of schools participating in the Governor’s Civics Seal initiative, which will ensure that thousands more students get a better civics education.”

The goal: The governor allocated $500,000 in the state’s budget two years ago to support public schools and districts in implementing what he calls “high-quality” civic education programs that result in a student’s preparation for college, career and civic life.

The criteria for earning the Civics Seal: School systems must incorporate civic learning across a broad range of grades and academic subjects that build on Tennessee’s standards. That includes instruction regarding the nation’s democratic principles and practices, as well as the significant events and individuals responsible for the creation of its foundational history and documents.

The governor said the state is now developing a set of instructional materials that will be free to all districts so that ultimately every school can earn the Governor’s Civics Seal at no cost.

Young people today don’t understand our unique form of constitutional self-government, which delivers more freedoms than any other nation. That needs to change. History is as important as reading, writing and math, and other states should follow Tennessee’s example.

Online: https://www.timesnews.net

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Feb. 27

The Herald-Citizen on the anniversary of a deadly tornado that struck Tennessee:

On this day a year ago, we were all blissfully unaware that in five short days, a nightmare would begin that even now, almost 365 days later, is still ongoing for many people in Putnam County.

Our lives were forever changed in the early morning hours of Election Day, March 3, as an EF-4 tornado struck a quarter-mile-wide, two-mile-long path of destruction along Highway 70.

Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris confirmed that three people were dead just as daylight began to reveal the true horror caused by the storm.

That horror was realized in the hours, days and weeks that followed as the death toll rose to 19.

Ninety-two people were injured. Seven hundred structures were damaged; 147 destroyed. Thirty-two businesses were damaged. Eight were destroyed.

But the sun eventually came out. Within hours of the storm, thousands of volunteers began to descend on our area, in addition to state and national media, here to report on the stories of the hundreds of people impacted by the storm.

On the anniversary of this tragedy, we want to take a look back at what has happened since then, the work that’s already happened and the work that remains to be done.

We understand that anniversary observances, for some, can trigger post-traumatic stress, causing them to relive horrific images they are trying their best to forget. Our intention is not to re-open old wounds, but to allow those willing to do so the opportunity to once again honor those lost to the storm. We also want to highlight the efforts of those who are working to memorialize those victims, and we want to talk about what lessons the community may have learned about how we responded to that most terrible day.

Our community leaders who navigated us through that time have agreed to write about their reflections for this page as we look back on the one-year anniversary of the most deadly tornado to ever strike our city.

Online: https://herald-citizen.com

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Feb. 25

The Johnson City Press on Republican lawmakers endorsing a letter asking Tennessee universities to adopt policies against student athletes kneeling during the national anthem:

In an astonishing display of ignorance of our nation’s and our state’s core values, 27 Republican lawmakers endorsed a letter this week asking Tennessee’s public universities to adopt policies prohibiting student athletes from kneeling during the national anthem.

The senators who signed it, including our representatives Rusty Crowe and Jon Lundberg, used the letter to weigh in on an important conversation restarted in our community by East Tennessee State University’s basketball players and coaches who silently kneeled while our anthem played before several away games this season.

Addressing the controversy, coach Jason Shay said the demonstration was a call to action the team decided to make against racial inequalities and injustices and was not intended to disrespect the U.S. flag or the country’s veterans.

Clearly our senators weren’t paying attention, because their letter makes no mention of the nation’s history of race issues at the heart of the team’s protest. Instead, it calls the players’ actions offensive and disrespectful to what the national anthem represents and encourages state university leaders to adopt policies prohibiting such displays.

What’s offensive and disrespectful to what the anthem represents is our elected officials calling on our state-run schools to take action to limit students’ free speech.

One of the most important freedoms affirmed in our Constitution - the document and notions our veterans fought and died to protect - is the right to express ourselves freely without interference from the government.

With decades of court precedent suggesting that the policy the lawmakers are advocating would be unconstitutional, it’s unclear how they believe it would pass legal muster. It is, however, obvious that such an action would violate the spirit of our founding document.

Gov. Bill Lee has prioritized providing a well-rounded civics education in our public schools. This letter runs counter to the governor’s efforts and teaches these student athletes that the principles in the Constitution are only platitudes.

Maybe some of the funding provided under Lee’s education initiative should be spent to bring a civics tutor to the Senate floor.

ETSU President Brian Noland and each of the other state college leaders should reject this outrageous suggestion and make it clear they will protect students’ rights.

Our state legislators, who have taken a vow to uphold both the state and federal constitutions, would do good to listen to these students, their constituents, for once and represent their interests and well being.

Online: https://www.johnsoncitypress.com

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