Teachers in Harrisburg, Tea, Sioux Falls hold 'walk-ins' against social studies standards
Dozens of teachers in Harrisburg, Tea and Sioux Falls stood outside of their school buildings in the cold part of Wednesday morning before the bells rang, holding signs with messages like “Where’s the South Dakota history?” and “Age-appropriate learning for our students.”
The educators’ action called attention to the next public hearing about South Dakota's proposed social studies standards set for 9 a.m. Monday at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
It wasn’t a “walk-out,” but rather a “walk-in,” as the educators gathered to bring awareness to the issue, then walked into the school building in unison as a sign of solidarity.
More:Opponents outnumber proponents of proposed social studies standards
Tamra Huffman, an eighth grade American history teacher at North Middle School in Harrisburg, said what’s proposed now is unlike any proposed social studies standards she’s seen in her 23 years of teaching.
“This time around, teachers’ voices have been shut out,” Huffman said, referring to the makeup of the 15-member workgroup that drafted this year’s set of standards, of which there were only three people certified to teach in South Dakota in the group.
The idea for the walk-in came from local educators and the South Dakota Education Association, the state’s largest education professionals’ organization representing more than 6,000 educators. SDEA has been outspoken against the standards from the start, sharing concerns about whether the potential changes are age appropriate.
It's the second time in as many years that the state has had to work on drafting its social studies standards, after what was written in 2021 sparked outrage when the Department of Education and the state removed several references to the Oceti Sakowin from the workgroup's first draft of the standards before releasing it to the public without the group's consent or knowledge.
More:Educators question ‘age appropriateness’ of South Dakota's proposed social studies standards
“The goal is really to bring attention to the hearing next week, and encourage those who share our concerns to get involved,” SDEA communications director Sandra Waltman told the Argus Leader.
All of the educators wore at least a little bit of the color red, harkening to years of calls of “Red for Ed,” or wearing red in support of public education, because it’s also National American Education Week.
Teachers at Rosa Parks and Hayward elementary schools; Ben Reifel, Edison, Memorial, Patrick Henry and Whittier middle schools; and Roosevelt High School, also participated in walk-ins Wednesday morning, said Tim Eckart, president of the Sioux Falls Education Association.
'Where’s the geography?'
Craig Swensen, a seventh grade geography teacher also at North Middle School, joined the walk-in Wednesday morning holding a sign asking, “Where’s the geography?”
“It’s pretty unfair that teachers were locked out of the process,” Swensen said. “Geography is completely taken out (of the standards). It’s nowhere to be seen in the middle school curriculum. The higher-order thinking and the depth of knowledge is no longer existent there, either.”
Swensen noted there is little comparing or contrasting in the standards, or analyzing topics, which “doesn’t do the kids any good,” he said.
More:What are the biggest changes between current and proposed social studies curriculum?
Matt Baumgartner, a current events teacher also at North Middle School, said there’s a few things in the proposed social studies standards he finds concerning as both a parent and a teacher.
“The emphasis is almost entirely on rote memorization and not on application or understanding,” he said. “I find the elimination of a lot of things. A lot of U.S. government and U.S. geography is eliminated. A lot of South Dakota (history) seems like it’s largely an afterthought.”
Baumgartner fears creating a “more patriotic curriculum” will teach students to hate or resent social studies, he said.
'We don’t feel this is the best'
Elizabeth Qualseth, a fifth grade teacher at Legacy Elementary School in Tea, said she’s been looking at the standards since the first draft was released and she has some concerns.
“At the elementary level, I have a lot of concerns on the age appropriateness, particularly for the younger grades, 1-2,” she said. “I’m not sure if they’re appropriate for that age level. My other concern is that a lot of them seem to rely on rote memorization, and not really as much critical thinking.”
Qualseth said the educators in Tea hoped to send a message to parents that they're are in this together, and that they both want what’s best for children.
“We don’t feel this is the best," she said.
Kristi Desaulniers, a fourth grade teacher, said the proposed standards are too heavy on the memorization of facts that “don’t seem to represent the fabric of our country or our state at this time as it’s changed.”
Crystal Groeneweg, a special education teacher, worried about how students in special education would access the proposed curriculum without extra support. At times, the students have the material read to them, Groeneweg explained. But there also aren’t enough staff to provide that kind of support.
Whitney Rederth, a second grade teacher, said she has students with disabilities in her classroom and without extra services to help them with the proposed standards, the responsibility would fall to her.
“If we're expecting students to rise to the rigor of the new standards, we have to have measures to help our special education students especially because it's already tough enough the way things are,” Rederth said. “And we're going to increase the difficulty and expectations with our standards, then we have to also figure out a way to provide more services for them to be successful.”
− Argus Leader reporter Annie Todd contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: SDEA: Local teachers host 'walk-in' against proposed social studies standards
