South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has penned an op-ed about the importance of childhood education —promising that South Dakota will teach social studies “to the highest standards.”
By Gov. Kristi Noem:
Our kids and our grandkids will be the next generation of leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs. They will also be the leaders of the future of our great American republic. They deserve an honest and factual classroom teaching that will prepare them to engage in our civil society for the rest of their lives.
In South Dakota, our students will be taught the best social studies standards in the country.
In the last century, the education movement has pushed to remove history and social studies in favor of what they deem “more practical pursuits.” And more recently, the No Child Left Behind initiative and its counterparts have all but eliminated history and civics instruction in elementary schools in favor of focusing the entire day on reading and math.
This has resulted in a severe decline in the teaching of social studies in this nation. A growing majority of Americans lack a fundamental understanding of this country’s government structure and our history. In fact, more than half of natural-born American citizens could not pass a citizenship test.
Our kids and grandkids have not been learning the basic founding principles upon which their country was built. They do not know about the ideals and the vision of our Founding Fathers. And without this knowledge, they do not see how lucky they truly are to live in the greatest nation in the history of the world.
That is unacceptable – but we are taking steps to fix it.
Read the full op-ed over at Fox News:
'HIGHEST STANDARDS': South Dakota @govkristinoem shares how her state is giving kids the education they deserve. https://t.co/bbY400sWdV pic.twitter.com/q9HWiqVKMw
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 21, 2023