Thomas Jefferson "Persona Non Grata" In TX Schools For Coining Term "Separation Of Church & State"

[kpete]

Separationoves Curriculum Revised by Conservatives
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: March 12, 2010

......................

Cynthia Dunbar, a lawyer from Richmond who is a strict constitutionalist and thinks the nation was founded on Christian beliefs, managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. (Jefferson is not well liked among the conservatives on the board because he coined the term “separation between church and state.”)

more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[babylonsister]

1. I don't understand how rewriting history can be legal or acceptable. nt

[HeresyLives]

4. I don't understand how Texas gets to decide

ANY of this!

American students aren't likely to be accepted to universities elsewhere with this kind of 'knowledge' taught to them.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[northoftheborder]

2. I'm ashamed of my state, Texas.

[Writer]

3. That's it. I will never move back to Mao Tse Texas.

Never again.

[Fresh_Start]

6. all they need now is a scientologist on the board

a scientologist with a lot of money.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

7. What is it with Texas.

[safeinOhio]

10. The rural parts of my state

and just about all the others are the same way. I think cow shit makes us stupid.

[Goldstein1984]

8. So, that's what this nation is coming to?

The principle author of the Declaration of Independence is being tossed into the trash pile with Tom Paine.

Where is hope to be found?

[midnight]

9. Texas continues to make me go hmm... I do know wonderful people from that

state. I love visiting that beautiful state. However, I wonder how a teacher who knows that the school board is not acting in the best interest of these students will teach Social Studies for the state of Texas?

[SoCalNative]

13. Unfortunately this issue doesn't just affect Texas

because they are one of the largest textbook purchasers in the nation, publishers are influenced to include their curriculum in their textbooks that ultimately are used by other school districts throughout the country as well.

[lpbk2713]

11. Doesn't it ever occur to these idiots how ridiculous they look?

It never ceases to amaze me. :rofl:

[NoPasaran]

14. They actually glory in it

[awoke_in_2003]

20. have to agree

I live in Texas, and many do bask in ignorance.

[arcane1]

12. If I had the money....

I would send free copies of James Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me" to every household in America that has school-age children in it

[warm regards]

15. Jefferson coined that term, but it did not address the concerns of state established religion.

Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 to answer a letter from them written in October 1801. A copy of the Danbury letter is available here. The Danbury Baptists were a religious minority in Connecticut, and they complained that in their state, the religious liberties they enjoyed were not seen as immutable rights, but as privileges granted by the legislature — as "favors granted." Jefferson's reply did not address their concerns about problems with state establishment of religion - only of establishment on the national level. The letter contains the phrase "wall of separation between church and state," which led to the short-hand for the Establishment Clause that we use today: "Separation of church and state."

http://www.usconstitution.net/jeffwall.html

[MattBaggins]

18. Nice try attempting to slyly slip in the RW tidbit

that Jefferson wasn't concerned about Religious freedom on the state level; unfortunately your link starts out with the fact that he was responsible for doing so in Virginia.

[warm regards]

19. What are you talking about?

Jefferson was more concerned about government's interference with religion that vice versa.

[MattBaggins]

24. Not what I was talking about

[Caretha]

29. No he wasn't

your assignment is to read that segment in history the for next ten years and get back to us. You may not post again until you have studied, comprehended and have a doctorates degree.

Shew...asshole.

[warm regards]

36. Clearly, you are the victim of a substandard education in this regard.

[muntrv]

16. Dumb question: Can they really enforce this in the classroom? Can they

really stop a teacher from teaching "non-conservative" items? What is to stop a history teacher from mentioning Thomas Jefferson said "we are not a Christian nation."

[ScreamingMeemie]

34. Straightforward answer: No. I had a discussion with my son's

social studies teacher about this. I am a recent transplant to Houston and wanted her take on it. 1. In my son's district they rarely teach from textbooks and 2. no school board is going to mandate the removal of important items from her class syllabus... regardless of a D or an R beside the name.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

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

[MisterP]

21. get Jim Hightower in here, we're resurrecting Ralph Yarborough RIGHT NOW nt

[TexasObserver]

22. The Texas Board of Education has been under GOP control for 15 years.

Or close to it.

Texas has been a red state since 1994, and it reflects southern to southwestern politics typical of Arizona or Mississippi.

That the Texas Board is rightwing is to be expected. What should not necessarily follow is that whatever Texas chooses to teach should affect what other states' schools teach. This is where I think most DUers fail to attack the point of responsibility. If your state uses texts selected by Texas, then you should address your concerns in your state. I can't stop Texas from moving to the right, but you can stop your state from following the Texas board rightward.

Those who wail about the sad state of education in Texas would do better to worry about why their state is doing exactly the same thing by ordering those text books, too.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

23. Anyone need to guess why they'll try to remove Lincoln?

[donco6]

25. Do we get to learn about how Calvin drowned the Anabaptists?

That's a cool period in history.

The Calvinists figured, if the Anabaptists liked "full immersion" so much, they should have it . . . Permanently!

They even broke ice in the winter to continue carrying out their lovely sentences.

Gotta love that ol' time religion.

[WolverineDG]

26. The Democrats abandoned Texas almost 20 years ago

does that seem like a smart idea now? This is what happens when you write off a state, treat the Dems there like shit, unless you want their money, then starve it of talent & resources to win it back. You want to see some sanity come back to your textbooks? Help us take back the State.

dg

[neverforget]

27. So did Jesus and Reagan write the Declaration of Independence?

Who was the 3rd President of the US? Sam Houston?

[datasuspect]

30. they rode dinosaurs to get there

[depakid]

28. Fundamentalist are fundmentally dishonest in just about every aspect of their lives

Biggest mistake the Democrats ever made was to enable and legitimize them- rather than ridiculing and relegating them to the fringe throughout the 1980's.

[saltpoint]

31. That damn Jefferson. Plus, he was pro-science.

[Odin2005]

32. proof that anyone who calls themselves "strict constructionists are anything but.

[troubledamerican]

33. T - a - l - i - b - a - n

[booley]

35. NYtimes contradicted itself

a strict constitutionalist and thinks the nation was founded on Christian beliefs

You can't be both.

One cannot say that the constitution does not allow laws respecting an establishment of religion AND that the country was founded on the beliefs of a religious establishment that should be honored in laws.

[Patiod]

37. I was so hoping this was from The Onion

but it's not.