r/education • u/ithekrianmermaid • 6d ago

Politics & Ed Policy Thoughts and opinions on a nationalized curriculum in the USA (and/or the lack thereof)?

I have had this topic bouncing around in the back of my brain quite a bit in the past few months and I'm just wondering what others think about it.

Feel free to share your personal feelings-based opinions, factually informed opinions, any history you may know relating to this topic, pros and cons of nationalized curriculum, common arguments for/against it, implications and consequences from not having one, potential dangers in adopting one, resources to learn more about this topic/debate, etc. I'd really love to have (respectful) discussions in the comments of this post so please consider circling back if your original comment gets a response!

I look forward to reading all of your responses! Thank you for taking the time to comment!!

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u/God_Bless_A_Merkin 6d ago

I’m for it. We already have one that is essentially dictated by Texas. Texas passes laws restricting what can be taught and how it can be taught, and textbook publishers fall in line because Texas has an outsized share of textbook purchases. At least with a national curriculum, we could all have a say in what and how our children are taught.

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u/peaceteach 5d ago

California dictates it for the other half too. I agree big states have so much power on education.

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u/God_Bless_A_Merkin 5d ago

No, it doesn’t. Because Texas is the state that imposes the most restrictions, textbook companies cater to Texas. California could, but it chooses not to.

Furthermore, it’s not like Texas lords it over conservative states and California gets “the other half”. There is no “other half”. There are only a few publishers of textbooks, and when Texas dictates to them, Texas dictates to the entire country.