Hoping to make it easier to

get public input into the proposed changes to Georgia's school curriculum,

State Supt. Kathy Cox this week launched a new Web site, www.georgiastandards.org.

The state Department of Education

also released a Q&A that addresses some of the most frequently asked

questions from Georgians.

According to a press release

from Cox's office, the new website is "a one-stop shop for the

curriculum needs of Georgia's educators, parents, students, and the

public."

"Not only are we listening

to feedback from the public on the proposed curriculum itself, we're

also listening to comments about our online presentation of the standards,"

said Cox, who took great heat nationally last month for suggesting the

term "evolution" not be used in Georgia classrooms, a decision

she later regretted.

But the feedback generated

from the "evolution" debate highlighted the need for a more

accessible, constructive debate on the entire Georgia Performance Standards

proposal.

"We've streamlined

the various curriculum resources previously available on multiple sites

into one user-friendly resource," Cox said. "Now people will

find it much easier to learn about the proposed curriculum, follow our

progress, contact us, and make comments. Plus, our teachers will have

the easy-to-use, accessible resource on the Georgia Performance Standards

that they have needed."

But many teachers are still

unconvinced that Cox has a listening ear, particularly some Fayette County

social studies teachers who consider the state superintendent one of them.

Cox taught political science

in Fayette County for 15 years before being elected in November 2002,

most recently at McIntosh High.

Joseph Jarrell, a McIntosh

teacher who's written letters to the Citizen expressing his concerns,

said despite the outcome the evolution outcry had on the state's

science curriculum, no one is up in arms over history.

"We have not seen any

real evidence that there will be any substantive changes to the social

studies curriculum," Jarrell said.

In a letter on today's

editorial pages, FCHS psychology instructor and 2003 Fayette County Teacher

of the Year Jan Daniel expressed fear about the subject matter itself,

and disrupting the process by which children have traditionally been expected

to learn.

The proposed changes will strip

key events and historic figures from the learning timeline, including

the Civil War, Daniels argues.

"I feel passionately that

every high school student should not be denied a deep understanding of

such topics as the formation of our nation, Jacksonian democracy, and

Manifest Destiny," she wrote.

Perhaps the biggest indictment

so far of the new social studies guidelines is coming from the college

ranks.

The faculty of the Georgia

State University Department of History adopted a resolution Feb. 16 declaring

the proposed changes "inadequate" to meet the needs of Georgia's

students.

A detailed report accompanying

the resolution specifically addresses issues of concern with Georgia history,

U.S. history, world history and Middle Eastern cultures and tradition.

The GSU resolution can be downloaded

and read in its entirety at www.gsu.edu/~wwwhis.

"We encourage fellow historians,

teachers, students and other concerned citizens to review and comment

... and to draw attention to the standards and their ramifications through

the Board of Regents, the Georgia Department of Education, and other avenues,"

the resolution reads.

The preliminary comment period

ends March 31. Teacher teams meet in March to approve posting of proposed

revisions for further public review. The final draft will be submitted

to the State Board of Education for approval in June.