ida and laura would have nothing to do

[Mr. Owen] told Laura and Ida that their part in the Exhibition would be to recite the whole of American history, from memory... "I'm glad you've got the longer part, anyway," said Ida. "I've only got to remember from John Quincy Adams to Rutherford B. Hayes, but you've got all that about the discoveries and the map and the battles, and the Western Reserve and the Constitution. My! I don't know how you ever can!" -- Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little Town on the Prairie, Chapter 23, "Schooltime Begins Again"

Had Laura and Ida been in school in North Carolina today instead of 1880s Dakota Territory, Mr. Owen would have had to change their parts in the School Exhibition. North Carolina schools propose to begin the teaching of American history at the high school level (in the eleventh grade) with the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, 1877-1881; President Hayes is shown above.

Educators in North Carolina say that by throwing a significant chunk of American history out of the curriculum, students would be able to spend their time in high school focusing on more recent history. After all, a lot has gone on since 1877, and it's not like earlier American history wouldn't have been covered in grammar and middle school. Can it only follow that the next step would be to make sure that no later American history is covered in grammar or middle school?

When you heard the story on the news tonight, did you, too, immediately think of Laura Ingalls and Ida Wright and their recitation of the whole of American history? Did you remember enough American history on your own to realize that Ida's part should have also covered James Garfield and mentioned Chester A. Arthur?
- posted by pioneergirl at 10:35 PM