SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem says she has given her administration an assignment: to make what she calls “instructional materials and classroom resources” about U.S. and South Dakota history.
“Through all of this, our common mission and key objective needs to be explaining why the United States of America is the most special nation in the history of the world,” Noem said on Tuesday.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem addressed history education in her State of the State address last week. Huron School District superintendent Terry Nebelsick is open to the discussion.
“Really the people that teach and work in the schools are the sons and daughters of those communities, so I’m ok with all this as long as, first we get a chance to explain what we’re doing and then Governor Noem and those that work with the governor, see if that aligns with what the governor’s goals are and then communities can have a discussion and that’s when elected officials that are school boards, elected officials that are legislators, should all participate in that process,” Nebelsick said.
Nebelsick, who has been in education for 44 years, is confident in what is being taught in South Dakota schools.
“I think we need to make sure that we’re sensitive to things that we’re not completely familiar with as far as the history of South Dakota, but I think that our teaching of the government, our role as citizens, the importance of our people who serve both in volunteers as well as in our military, I believe that all of that is covered,” Nebelsick said.
Nebelsick says he doesn’t know what the governor specifically wants covered.
“The reason I can’t tell you what materials she’s talking about is because if I knew of them and if they were quality, we would already be using them, so I’m not afraid of the discussion to learn what are the concerns of our governor and what are our concerns of the communities and then respectfully bring it all together,” Nebelsick said.
Nebelsick says he trusts lawmakers.
“I have great confidence that the people that go to Pierre will work through all this,” he said. “I’m a believer in the process and I guess that’s part of civics.”
Gov. Noem’s 2021 State of the State address
