re: US History takes a turn for the left this fall

I taught AP-US History for 33 years, 7 years in Louisiana and the last 26 years in Gwinnett County, GA. I worked for the College Board doing one day workshops to train AP teachers. I retired in 2012, but I still attend the national workshop/meeting and work with several APUSH teachers in several schools as a consultant (not paid).

The new approach to APUSH is not my favorite but it is not some Leftist plot. 75% of what is taught (supporting facts) ares till going to be chosen by the teacher in the classroom. The main things that are changing are:

1) the exam which will feature several questions that can be answered in 1 paragraph
2) a small bit of Indian history between 1400 and 1700 will need to be taught
3) less 19th century history and more post WWII history

Teachers should use some thematic teaching (perhaps teach labor history beginning with cottage industries of the 1700s through industrialism, labor union growth and diminsihment, and current labor situation in terms of production) and problem-centered teaching to get kids ready for that exam. Simply going through history chronologically will not be the best way to prepare kids to earn college credit on that exam although there will still be plenty of chronological teaching that is appropriate.

Teachers will still be able to teach about GW and our historically important documents. It is absurd to think otherwise.