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Insular areas want in on American curriculum
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Posted on Jun 25 2008
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a resolution urging educators to include the insular areas when they teach history in American classrooms.
The resolution was adopted by voice vote late Tuesday evening. It is now in the U.S. Senate for its consideration.
U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate Donna Christensen sponsored the resolution, with 46 other House members signing on as cosponsors.
The resolution says that people from Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands “have contributed to many aspects of the history and culture of the United States, including its politics, athletics, and music.” Yet, many American students do not know the location or the significance of these places.
“The diversity of the citizens of the United States strengthens the nation, and individuals from the territories of the United States contribute to that diversity. It is important for American students to study the history of these geographic areas as part of United States history,” the resolution states.
A press statement from the office of Rep. Madeleine Z. Bordallo said the Guam delegate spoke on the House floor in favor of the resolution.
“The teaching of United States history is fundamental to the American classroom. Yet, the teaching of history can be elevated today with greater incorporation of facts related to the territories and our fellow Americans who call the territories home,” Bordallo was quoted as saying.
“Integration into the modern day curriculum of the accounts of relationships and the circumstances surrounding the entry of each of the territories into the American family is both appropriate and needed if our teaching of American history is to be complete and meaningful,” she added.
