Texas debates the way history will be taught

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100113/ap_on_re_us/us_texas_schools_social_studies;_ylt=AnQNfIrhz4c9V26mUtsWUMSs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTQzbGs5aHRtBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMTEzL3VzX3RleGFzX3NjaG9vbHNfc29jaWFsX3N0dWRpZXMEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM3BHBvcwM0BHB0A2hvbWVfY


Students, parents and lawmakers lobbied Wednesday for more diversity in Texas' social studies curriculum, before the state board of education adopts new classroom standards that will determine how history is taught for the next decade.

In more than six hours of public testimony, dozens of people took their chance to help shape the way millions of Texas school children learn topics from the Roman Empire to the entrepreneurial success of billionaire Bill Gates.

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Early quibbles over how much prominence to give civil rights leaders such as Cesar Chavez and the inclusion of Christmas seem to have been smoothed over. Board Chairman Gail Lowe said at the start of the hearing that Chavez and Christmas will not be removed from the standards.

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The curriculum it chooses will set the guideposts for teaching history and social studies to some 4.8 million K-12 students for 10 years. The standards will be used to develop state tests and by textbook publishers who develop material for the nation based on Texas, one of the largest markets.

State Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, noted the lack of any Latinos in fifth-grade social studies lessons and asked the board to add Cesar Chavez, Texas' first Mexican American female legislator, Rep. Irma Rangel, and longtime Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez to the list of required learning.

"We may not have landed on Plymouth Rock, but our contributions to the Southwest will not be marginalized," Chavez said. Dozens of three-minute speeches echoed her concerns.
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selective history