These Education Protests Got Results In 2015
It’s been a year of robust student protests that have effectively highlighted racial and economic inequality in both K-12 and higher education. And unlike previous years, 2015 has made it clear to students that these protests can yield results.
From student debt activists attending meetings and public hearings with U.S. Department of Education officials to college executives stepping down from their posts after students of color demanded a more respectful climate on campus, protesters have proven that activism has a meaningful purpose in reducing inequities in education. Here are some of the most influential student protests of 2015:
Fighting to prevent AP history classes from erasing racism
AP American history courses have become a political battleground in the past few years — particularly after the College Board released new guidelines that included the history of violence against Native Americans, as well as a mention of the growing influence of social conservatives.
Conservatives railed against the standards, arguing that it’s unpatriotic to focus on more negative parts of U.S. history, such as slavery and Jim Crow laws. They said the guidelines should have included more information about the Founding Fathers and military victories. (The College Board, for its part, said it didn’t initially mention the Founding Fathers because it seemed obvious that a teacher would include them in a class on American history.)
The controversy got so heated that the RNC even asked Congress to stop funding the College Board, saying it “emphasizes negative aspects of our nation’s history while omitting or minimizing positive aspects.” Former Republican presidential candidate and soon-to-be former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal fanned the flames of conservative anger over AP history standards by suggesting that if history were included in Common Core standards, it would be about “victimhood” and “America’s shortcomings and failures.”
Jefferson County election workers count and stamp petitions collected by a group of parents and educators, called Jeffco United for Action, whose aim is to remove Jefferson County School Board members.
CREDIT: BRENNAN LINSLEY, AP
But some students fought back. After the Jefferson County, Colorado school board voted to create a committee to review the AP history course for similar reasons as those cited by the RNC, high school students protested and walked out of class, telling CNN, “True patriotism ought to be based upon accurate understanding of American history, and not a biased promotion of American exceptionalism.” Soon after the protests, the Jefferson County school board canceled a review of the standards. And the conservative members of the board who supported the review have since been voted out.
The College Board did agree to change the framework of AP history standards after outcry from conservative legislators in a few states like Georgia, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, and North Carolina. The Board now includes more information about “American exceptionalism” and more mentions of the Founding Fathers.
However, despite the fact that the College Board caved to conservative pressure by including the phrase “American exceptionalism,” it doesn’t appear that it has backed down on presenting an unvarnished and accurate account of American history. Mentions of slavery will be “roughly the same” as they were in previous standards, according to Newsweek.
Speaking up for racial justice on college campuses
Graduate student Jonathan Butler, center, addresses a crowd following the announcement that University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe would resign.
CREDIT: JEFF ROBERSON, AP
Protests against universities’ poor handling of racist incidents and an overall hostile campus climate for students of color ramped up this fall. One of the first protests to gain national attention was the decision of the University of Missouri’s mostly black football team to go on strike after These Education Protests Got Results In 2015 | ThinkProgress:
