Can we teach about the death of Osama bin Laden if it is not on the test?

In my latest Huffington Post blog, I address how the complete emphasis on teaching to the test and the emphasis on two subjects, math and reading, at the expense of all others is causing public education to neglect its responsibility to teach students about the world around them:

How fortunate is it for students across America that bin Laden's death took place at a time when standardized tests have been completed for this school year?


A knowledge of the world around us does not appear to be a priority to those who have shackled schools in chains of "accountability" and "reform".

Understanding the importance of the death of Osama bin Laden does not help students understand math problems, and it does nothing to raise their scores on standardized tests.

Had this momentous event taken place one month ago, many teachers across this great country would have had to ignore the news in their classrooms. Being citizens of the United States and the world is not a priority in this landscape of billionaires who seek to turn public education into an assembly line for underpaid workers (if public education manages to survive).

If this were a month ago, teachers in many school districts, fearful of the impact of No Child Left Behind, branded as failures if test scores slip even a decimal point, would have been told not to veer from the test prep curriculum.

If the death of Osama bin Laden is not on the test, then you do not teach about the death of Osama bin Laden.