Phillip Schwenk believes in America. He is a defender of teaching history. And he cares about his students enough to speak up against those who would rewrite history.
While public schools scramble to infuse the 1619 Project (a history curriculum written by a New York Times reporter) and its principles into their curriculum, Schwenk believes in original texts and vigorous debate. He describes what the 1776 Curriculum actually teaches and why it’s important.
His final words are beautiful, and yet the fact that he had to write them speaks to how much of the past America has abandoned.
Yet we also teach about the founding principles of America’s government — that all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights — which provided the critical basis for the abolition of slavery and paved the way for the successes of the civil rights movement. As a Black man and educator, that last point speaks to the heart of the matter. And it’s an ultimately uplifting, joyful and wonderful message…
Read the full article in The Tennessean here:
