Opinion: Minnesota social studies standards lack critical thinking. Educators must be brave enough to remedy this 

I am a senior at Richfield Senior High School, and I despise my political science class.  

Reading an outdated textbook and learning the Bill of Rights while my own rights slip away with every breaking headline feels pointless. 

Our state’s social studies standards do not fit the needs of current high school students to learn the critical thinking skills that will make them productive citizens of tomorrow’s society. Guidelines must be amended to match the times we are living in. 

I have been passionate about my social studies classes for as long as I can remember. My seventh-grade social studies teacher told us over and over that those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. His class encouraged us to think critically and apply history lessons to current events.  

That is not happening in my twelfth-grade political science class. As we learn about the purpose of the constitution, I can’t avoid thinking about the unconstitutional abuse of power being committed by the current presidential administration.  

My friends and I discuss current events in the hallway on the way to class, in the lunchroom, and across our social media pages. But these discussions stop at the door of our political science classroom. In a class that is supposed to be talking about government and citizenship, we don’t talk about our government.  

Most social studies classes aren’t encouraging or requiring us to apply what we learn in school to the world outside. In this current political climate, where issues are polarized, critical discussion of current events is even more important than it ever has been.  

The implementation of Project 2025, the racial profiling of ICE raids, the cruel conditions of Alligator Alcatraz, and the dramatic erosion of press freedoms need to be examined in our schools.  

Under Minnesota state law, high school students are required to take social studies classes in American History, World History, Geography, Government and Citizenship, and Economics.  

I asked my political science teacher, Benjamin Powers (whom I respect), whether he believed social studies standards were adequate at encouraging critical review of current events to prepare young people for engaged citizenship. 

He says it’s complicated to teach social studies classes at the moment. “I think what’s tricky is schools are cautious … My job is to challenge students’ thinking and their preconceived notions of the world. … [What teachers say] could be taken out of context.”  

In this politically charged environment, some teachers seem to have a reluctance to discuss controversial topics. 

While teachers are supposed to be protected by the First Amendment in their discussion of current events, in many states, there have been restrictions on discussing polarizing, controversial topics such as the LGBTQ+ community and the ongoing conflict in Palestine. Recently, southern elementary school teachers have been fired for discussing LGBTQ+ media with their students that fall into the curriculum.  

In higher education, professors have been fired for discussing issues related to Palestine. Firing a teacher at any education level elicits fear in teachers across the country at the thought of losing their jobs for discussing what could be considered controversial material. 

We must discuss these issues anyway. We need our teachers to be brave. They must implement state education standards in their classrooms in ways that allow us to cope and reckon with the complicated world around us. It is a disservice to young adults to refuse to discuss critical events at a time that demands discussion. We are the future of America, and our success as a society depends on our ability to think critically about current events.  

One way that social studies standards could be more effectively implemented is by encouraging media literacy. That will force students to discuss what they are seeing in the media and the world around them.  

Students and parents: talk to your teachers, principals, school board members, and legislators. Urge them to promote classroom discussions that will prepare students to be civically engaged, not just test ready. 

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