Texas Board of Education: History Textbooks ‘Tainted’ With ‘Gross Pro-Islamic, Anti-Christian Distor

[anthroguy101]

Source: Think Progress

In its battle against historical accuracy, the right-wing Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) decided to revamp the state’s social studies curriculum earlier this year, exchanging emphasis on the historical roles of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln with the roles of confederate leader Jefferson Davis and paranoid right-wing pundit Phyllis Schlafly. But “just when it appeared the State Board of Education was done with the culture wars,” SBOE is now deciding to dictate what students should learn about Islam.

SBOE’s “seven-member social conservative bloc” will bring up a resolution next week that “would warn publishers not to push a pro-Islamic, anti-Christian viewpoint in world history textbooks.” The resolution demands textbook publishers no longer “taint” Texas textbooks with “gross pro-Islamic, anti-Christian distortions” and “false editorial stereotypes” that “still roil” certain textbooks used across the U.S.:

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/16/texas-education-pro-islamic/

---

If there is ANYONE out there that lives in Texas, PLEASE tell us there is something that can be done to stop or reverse the damage that they are doing. PLEASE tell me there's some effort out there to control these whackballs. PLEASE tell me there is still some hope.

Oh, and PLEASE vote against all the people supporting this, and tell me there is still some hope for a quality education coming from Texas.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[awoke_in_2003]

8. Broad brush much? nt

[TBF]

2. I'm not a native Texan, moved here for work -

it's embarrassing. We have a close gubernatorial race this Nov. which should bring out folks who will vote straight "D" ticket. We'll see.

[tanyev]

3. The make up of the board will change in January, thank goodness.

Christian Conservatives Lose Former SBOE Chair

The most prominent symbol of Christian conservative power on the State Board of Education, former chair Don McLeroy, lost his seat Tuesday by a razor-thin margin, and with the loss, the board likely won't be quite as much of a Christian Conservative flash point any more.

The board's balance of power is delicate. Though it’s had ten Republicans and five Democrats serving, seven socially conservative Republicans formed a reliable voting bloc that, with the swing vote of Democratic member Rick Agosto, gave them the power to advance a socially conservative agenda.

That’s over now. Agosto did not seek re-election, and his probable replacement, Democrat Michael Soto, originally set out to challenge him and isn't likely to take the same positions Agosto took. (Republican Tony Cunningham will run against Soto in the general election, but Cunningham hasn’t filed an campaign finance report since 2006, while Soto’s last report showed him raising $14,000.)

The SBOE that takes office next year will be very different from the current panel. The social conservatives lost both their public face in McLeroy and their swing vote in Agosto. Conservative bloc member Cynthia Dunbar did not seek re-election, and the Republican primary in her district will go to a run-off between her preferred successor, Bryan Russell, and Marsha Farney, who ended the first round in a virtual tie.

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/state-board-of-education/christian-conservatives-lose-former-sboe-chair/

[anthroguy101]

9. I hope you're right.

I also hope they overturn this nonsense as soon as they get in.

[hootinholler]

29. Dude, can you scale that image down a bit?

I agree with the sentiment, but this isn't alt.warlord ;)

thanks
-Hoot

[Downwinder]

4. Support e-books and texts, If the paper publishers go out of business,

it will open up the publishing field so that Texas will not have so much impact.

[RKP5637]

14. Yep, that's a great approach IMO. No way should one state be holding the nation

hostage and trying to indoctrinate the youth. I'm also sure there are many good people in Texas, it's too bad crap like this goes on.

[bergie321]

5. Hey!

This history book goes back more than 6000 years and completely skips over the great flood and Noah's Ark!
Blasphemy!
:sarcasm:

[RKP5637]

16. +1, LOL n/t

[Drale]

6. These people need to be put in a institution

As a history major is a discrase what these ass wholes are doing. Conserivites are destroying everything the founding fathers wanted. If my future children are ever taught this basterdized version of history I will make it my personal buiness to make sure who ever decieded to teach it in that district, never works again. I am so angry about this bull shit I AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! :argh:

[AlbertCat]

18. As a history major

Well, you're clearly not an English major!

[Drale]

21. no I'm not

but I'm usually pretty good, but anger has clouded my grammar skills.

[24601]

30. I thought you had done well - for a cubbies fan.... n/t

:-)

[arbusto_baboso]

7. So, is it "pro-islamist and anti-christian" to point out who started the wars over the Holy Land?

As I recall, Christian pilgrims were permitted entry into the Holy Land by Muslim nations up until the time when the West decided to start its 1st Crusade...

[ck4829]

10. This is the kind of paranoia and scapegoating that leads to genocide

How many "pro-Islamic, anti-Christian" opinions are in those textbooks anyway? I sure hope they've got some evidence to back that up.

[Drale]

13. I think

they want to put us back 100 years because one text book had 100 lines about christianity and 210 about islam

[No Elephants]

24. Possibly bc most Texans already know more about Christianity than they do about Islam?

[Drale]

28. Thats what I thought as well

but I didnt want to just say that there are no non christians in Texas in case people on here from Texas got mad lol

[kestrel91316]

27. You left off a zero. They want to put us back 1000 years.

[AlbertCat]

19. How many "pro-Islamic, anti-Christian" opinions are in those textbooks anyway?

They probably just point out that while Christendom was floundering in the plague-ridden Dark Ages, the Islamic world was doing just fine.

[fascisthunter]

11. totalitarian fanatics

[RKP5637]

17. Exactly what they are!!! n/t

[Javaman]

12. honestly, is there any surprise?

oh my lovely cave dwelling board of education. First they rewrite history, now they are turning the texts into pro-christian tomes.

fucking morons.

[muntrv]

15. These fundies can't stand that reality has a liberal bias.

[kenfrequed]

20. Schools need to boycott textbooks written for texas.

Make the publishing companies come to them. Waiting for Texas to become less conservative and assinine is a big friggin waste of time. Sure, this is good news, but it isn't the solution to the problem.

Fuck Texas and fuck their stupid school board!

[Thor_MN]

22. Every page has some of those Arabic numbers in the corner!!!!1!!1!!

:rofl:

[alp227]

23. This is what happens when history doesn't meet parents' uninformed worldviews

Apparently, not being totally in favour of Christianity=anti-Christian. That's the "persecuted Christian" card that conservatives have been playing all along as a ploy to shove conservative Christian ideology in the classroom. Just like how conservatives complain that schools teaching tolerance of gay students "promotes homosexuality" when such programmes merely acknowledge those types of students and never encourage anyone to change their sexual orientation.

Who needs no stinkin' libruhl over-ijukated academic when you have your Bible?

[No Elephants]

25. I was trapped in Houston the week after 911. Talk radio was UGLY.

[kentauros]

26. You mean you weren't listening to our Pacifica station?

I'm a native Houstonian and even I don't listen to 'talk' radio here. Stick with the only liberal station in town next time: KPFT 90.1 FM :)