A lot has happened since 2006. We elected our first African American President, significant civil rights changes have happened, and the economy has experienced another recession. 2006 was the last time we updated San Juan’s history books.

If one reads a history textbook at SJHHS’ library, they will find no mention of any significant events from the past 13 years, including some of America’s most significant cultural and political shifts.

That kind of knowledge is essential to learning and understanding the world today. When experiencing a society that’s constantly progressing, it is necessary to update the history books to coincide with said change.

When asked about the lack of adoption, curriculum specialists Nina Glassen and Joshua Hill had much to say. “We are currently piloting science materials for k-8 adoption,” says Glassen, in regards to what newer, updated books are currently being adopted.

Hill also reassures that they are taking steps being taken to replace the high school social science history textbooks, as well as the science ones. “We should see these all take place within the next 2 to 4 years,” Hill says.

They justified the lack of high school adoption by the changes to Common Core standards and what that means to the middle schools and their curriculum.

“We just aren’t given enough money to do all our textbooks at once,” Hill says. This may show another issue in that the district, a group whose primary goal is education, does not have sufficient funds to adopt a more current education and learning experience.

In coming years, we should hope to see textbooks including present day, historically-significant events and textbooks that help students understand that what is happening today is just as important as what we read about in our outdated copies.