The Texas State Board of Education wields undo power over textbook publishers, since Texas is the second-largest purchaser of textbooks. Curriculum guidelines adopted in Texas affect what students nationwide learn because book manufacturers will print whatever their largest customers want them to. These Texas-approved textbooks are sold to smaller states/school districts all over the nation, and the lessons in these texts are taught to students everywhere.
On Friday the conservative-dominated Board injected their radical ideas into the social studies, history and economics curricula that will be taught for decades. Some of the changes included (via Joe.My.God)...
-The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum's world history standards on Enlightenment thinking, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.”
-"Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state." “I reject the notion by the left of a constitutional separation of church and state,” said David Bradley, a conservative from Beaumont who works in real estate. “I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.”
-The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum's world history standards on Enlightenment thinking, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.”
-"Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state." “I reject the notion by the left of a constitutional separation of church and state,” said David Bradley, a conservative from Beaumont who works in real estate. “I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.”
-The Board refused to require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others.”
-McCarthyism will be taught as an example of how communism was rooted out of the federal government.
-Students will learn about the "patriot movement" of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract With America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association.
-"Board members also rejected requiring history teachers and textbooks to provide coverage on the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, while the late President Ronald Reagan was elevated to more prominent coverage."
You've got to hand it to conservatives - they don't miss a trick, do they? It's amazing ... and disgusting.
This is quite sinister. The wingers in Texas are simply trying to rewrite history and change the climate in the future.
ReplyDeleteDavid I was born and raised in Texas and am deeply ashamed that it has taken such a sharp turn to the right. The last great hope we had to lead us from this was the late great Ms. Ann Richards.
ReplyDeleteI tip my hat in shame
School boards are where it is at. In our scientist heavy community they got all the way to almost passing creationism as the only theory discussed in science.
ReplyDeleteSince Texas is omitting Thomas Jefferson from their history textbooks, we should deprive them of the protection of the Bill of Rights. Which wasn't written by John Calvin.
ReplyDeletepreach it truth. preach it.
ReplyDeletei could see this happening very easily if michigan adopts a textbook series for all public schools in the state to use.
the only thing we have on our side is that my boss firmly believes that textbooks don't decide what the teacher teachers.
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