Cape Fear Community College

PHI THETA KAPPA
International Honor Society of the Two Year College
2011 Honors in Action Brochure

on How do Educators Decide What to Teach in NC?

Do You Know… The eminent late historian Howard Zinn wrote A People’s
History of the United States in 1980, which has since been
translated into a dozen languages and sold over a million copies.
The book has been credited with reshaping the way Americans
view the history of their nation. Of the book, Zinn wrote: “I am
often asked how I came to write this book…the
circumstances of my life…demanded of me that I try to
fashion a new kind of history. By that I mean a history
different from what I had learned in college and in graduate
school and from what I saw in the history texts given to
students all over the country.”
How educators decide upon what information to teach in a
class? As students, many of us may never stop to think how
the information printed in our text book gets there, how
certain topics are chosen as the course material, or whether
or not anyone made a decision to exclude material from a
course. Many of us never stop to think: “How do they decide
what to teach us?” Even—who is the they that decide?
Public education in North Carolina is partitioned between its public schools (up to grade 12) and its colleges and university
system. Primary and secondary education is administered by the Department of Public Instruction, with the State Board
of Education as its highest governing body, and which served approximately 1,480,000 students in 2010-11. The college
and university system is split into the community college system, administered by the State Board of Community
Colleges, serving close to 850,000 students, and the multi-campus University of North Carolina, whose 16 member
institutions served 221,727 students in 2010. The State has a Division of Non-public Education that administers private
elementary/secondary schools and Home schools. North Carolina also has 36 accredited private colleges and universities.
For primary and secondary education in North Carolina, the Department of Public Instruction, governed
by the State Board of Education, has adopted the Common Core Standards, a prescriptive set of selected
topics for use as a national model curriculum created by a conglomeration of educators, senators and other
legislators, governors, and members of the US Department of Education. The curriculum change takes effect the
academic year 2012-13, and North Carolina has presently only adopted the Common Core Standards for English
and Mathematics. Social Studies and Earth Sciences are the next subjects planned to be adopted.
Community colleges in North Carolina use courses that come from a Common Course Library.
Each course in the library is proposed by a college, or usually a faculty member of the college, and the proposal is
reviewed by the Curriculum Review Committee of the Community College System Office. The
committee may make changes, but if approved, the course will be included in the library; then, any community
college in North Carolina may choose to add that course to its offerings. The Curriculum Procedures
Reference Manual contains guidelines for program and course design.
The university system, with its sixteen member campuses, is more autonomous. Each campus will develop
courses appropriate for its programs offered. Course content selection will vary much more among similar third
year and above level courses from institution to institution. Course content for first and second year courses are
likely to be identical among institutions of the university system and community colleges because of the
Comprehensive Articulation Agreement. This agreement between NC community colleges and the
University of North Carolina aims to assist students transferring to the university system from a North Carolina
community college.
For more information, please consult the following websites:
Department of Public Instruction and State Board of Education
www.ncpublicschools.org
North Carolina Community College System
www.nccommunitycolleges.edu
University of North Carolina
www.northcarolina.edu
North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities
www.ncicu.org
Common Core State Standards Initiative
www.corestandards.org
North Carolina Division of Nonpublic Education
www.ncdnpe.org
Special Projects

Hurrican Irene Help Project

collection clothes and shoes of all sizes and gender

many families in Aurora, NC lost Everything.

contact Susan Clarke for details

sclarke@cfcc.edu

deadline September 23, 2011

Holiday Helpers

This program assists students who need help to make their Christmas wishes come true!

As a club, we "adopt" a needy CFCC student's family (through our college foundation) 

If you would like to help by donating gift cards or other goods, let us know!

This year we are raffling a Wii for $1.00 @ ticket. See an officer for tickets.

All money goes to Holiday Helpers.