Ohio Bill Proposes Mandating Success Sequence Education
From Forbes.com
The Ohio legislature is considering joining the list of states that mandate character education, including the “success sequence.”
HB 269, called the THRIVE Act, would require schools to teach students the success sequence as well as fifteen values “deeply rooted in the history and tradition of the United States.” Those include trustworthiness, kindness and generosity, respect and care for human life, respect for parental authority, respect for patriotism, respect for religious faith, gratitude, and courage.
The success sequence and character education curriculum would be created for grades 7 through 12.
The success sequence has been touted by numerous conservative groups. The Institute for Family Studies calls it “a proven path to the American dream.” The Heritage Society, one of the groups linked to Project 2025, created model state and district policy for promoting the sequence.
The sequence is most commonly described as
1) Finish high school
2) Get a full-time job
3) Get married
4) Have children.
The promise is that this will lead to a life that will be, if not prosperous, at least free of poverty. It uses individual action, rather than policy and legislative solutions, to address poverty.
The success sequence surfaced in 2006 in a report by Barbara Whitehead and Marline Pearson focused on teen pregnancy. Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, and the Institute for Family Studies have all popularized the idea. IFS published research that claimed 97% of millennials who followed the sequence avoid poverty as adults.
Critics have pointed out problems with that research. Michael Tanner of the libertarian Cato Institute noted that it confuses correlation with causation:
Ownership of a private jet is even more strongly associated with financial success, yet that doesn’t mean jet ownership is what allowed these individuals to escape poverty. And we certainly shouldn’t blame the poor for the failure to pursue jet ownership.
I’d argue that the “sequence” should be examined at each step, not for a nebulous concept of success, but how each step expands or constrains life opportunities. The sequence also gives radically different outcomes for women than for men. In America, women can’t have a career, a marriage and a family all at the same time without making serious compromises in all three.
As a teacher, the 15 values are open enough that they can be taught in an inclusive manner. The success sequence thing is just a stupid oversimplification, I guess one could really dig into the correlation aspect but I doubt that there will be enough instructional time allowed.