High School Sociology on the Endangered Species List in Michigan

Could sociology in your state’s secondary schools be threatened with extinction?

by Denise Reiling, Eastern Michigan University, and David A. Kinney, Central Michigan University

In the 1957 landmark United States Supreme Court, Sweezy v. New Hampshire, academic freedom for university professors was established. Sweezy, a visiting scholar at the University of New Hampshire, was accused of engaging in subversive activities by teaching Marxism, a leading sociological theoretical perspective. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sweezy. Chief Justice Earl Warren declared: “…the essentiality of freedom in the community of American universities is almost self-evident…teachers and students must always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate, to gain new maturity and understanding; otherwise our civilization will stagnate and die.”

Fifty years later, no such freedom has been granted to high school teachers. Failing this protection, the Michigan State Board of Education can move, and is moving, to eliminate the sociology teacher certification, which would bring about the extinction of high school sociology as a viable curriculum. It is ironic that at a time when this state could use sociological thinking (based upon virtually every social indicator), this body of knowledge is being considered for elimination.

On October 9, 2007, the Superintendent of Public Instruction recommended that the teaching certification for sociology be among those eliminated from high school curriculum in Michigan public schools. Anthropology, psychology, cultural studies, and behavioral studies were targeted for proposed elimination, as well.

Further investigation into this proposal has uncovered an even uglier truth: the state of Michigan’s Department of Education does not even consider sociology to be sufficiently relevant to include in its “social studies” curriculum; instead, social studies content is comprised of only the following: history, economics, geography, and civics. However, some of the areas of “general social studies knowledge, processes, and skills” to be obtained in a social studies course are: “Understand the diversity of human beings and human cultures; analyze events and circumstances from the vantage point of others; understand social problems, social structures, institutions, class, groups, and interaction” (see www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/SS_HSCE_210739_7.pdf and “Vantage Point” on p. 2 of this Footnotes).

Clearly, sociological content is being taught, but if the state does eliminate the sociology teaching certification, there will be even less likelihood that sociological content will be taught by those with an education in sociology. Research has long established that a deficit of sociology instruction in high schools is attributable to inadequate teacher preparation, which will greatly exacerbate this problem. (For a comprehensive review, see “The Lesson to Be Learned: The Past Troubles and Future Promise of Teaching High School Sociology” in Teaching Sociology (July 2002)).

Our concern extends far beyond Michigan, as we believe the teaching of sociology to be threatened in every state, given the climate change threatening its survival triggered by the federal No Child Left Behind Act policy. According to Section 9101 of this law, “core academic subjects” are defined as “English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.”

The consequences of removal of sociology as a teaching certification would extend beyond the high school classroom: (1) Students would enter our college courses ill-prepared for advanced learning, (2) Students who may benefit most from sociological understandings—those who never attend college—will be further disadvantaged, (3) Sociology departments’ teaching major and minor programs would most likely be terminated, and (4) Most importantly for the future of this discipline, sociology’s public visibility would be diminished.

More specifically, it is imperative that U.S. high schools continue to offer sociology courses so that American youth are provided the opportunity to become aware of and appreciate racial, sexual, and cultural diversity. These topics are rarely, if ever, discussed in other high school courses. Broadly speaking, eliminating high school sociology theoretically decreases the likelihood that young Americans will strive to reduce the pervasive social problems facing our country. Clearly, high school sociology provides society with the best chance to encourage the vast majority of Americans who do not attend college to take a critical perspective toward—and hopefully act to reduce—injustice and inequality.

To advocate against the proposed elimination of sociology certification in Michigan, we are taking the following steps. First, we are preparing to conduct an online survey of guidance counselors to ascertain the number of sociology courses currently offered and the level of support for sociology courses. The Michigan Department of Education that approved the Teacher Preparation Policy Study Group’s proposal to eliminate sociology in high school could not answer these questions, which indicates that their recommendation was not data driven.

Second, we have asked the American Sociological Association to lend its voice, which it has. Margaret Vitullo, Director of the Academic and Professional Affairs Program, has already been instrumental in pressing Michigan for answers to our questions. And she and Lee Herring, ASA’s Director of Public Affairs, met with U.S. Department of Education policy staff and informed them of repercussions as they relate also to higher education.

Third, Michigan has just become the 12th state to have a High School State Sociology Representative appointed to the ASA. We would recommend that all states do so, as having every state on board will reinforce the importance of this matter, and will function to increase our power. Information about this program can be found at www.asanet.org/cs/root/topnav/sociology_depts/
apap_high_school_state_representatives.

In closing, we suggest that sociologists in each state verify the status of sociology within the curriculum of their public high schools. You may be surprised to learn just how close to extinction you might be.