The American Revolution and the influence of Greece and Rome on Western civilization will now have a role in high school social studies curriculum.

The Arizona State Board of Education on June 30 unanimously approved a proposal by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne to revise high school history standards to correct the current omission of these two areas of study.

Patricia Loughrin, an associate superintendent, told board members that under existing standards Arizona public school students are in the seventh grade when they are last taught about the Declaration of Independence and how the U.S. Constitution came about.

Greek and Roman influences are taught in the sixth grade, she said.

“Students who are 12 and 13 years old are too young to fully absorb these important concepts,” Mr. Horne said after the vote. “We need to be sure our high school students learn about our Revolutionary War, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, founding fathers, the ideas on which this country was founded, and the Greco-Roman Basis for Western Civilization.

“Social studies is a subject that is second to none,” Mr. Horne added.

In December following his election, Mr. Horne said this change would be a priority for him. “One of my goals will be to revise those standards,” he said.

The revised standards will be distributed to high schools during the summer. Schools may implement them immediately or start an alignment of curriculum, which must be completed by the start of school in the summer of 2004. —