Texas Education Board Approves Conservative Curriculum Changes By Far-Right

[GrapesOfWrath]

Oh boy, that finally got their way...so sorry to all the school children in Texas :cry:


AUSTIN, Texas — A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded Friday in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade.

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. Curriculum standards also will describe the U.S. government as a "constitutional republic," rather than "democratic," and students will be required to study the decline in value of the U.S. dollar, including the abandonment of the gold standard.

"We have been about conservatism versus liberalism," said Democrat Mavis Knight of Dallas, explaining her vote against the standards. "We have manipulated strands to insert what we want it to be in the document, regardless as to whether or not it's appropriate."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/12/texas-education-board-app_n_497440.html

[Posteritatis]

1. Not just Texas; the US as a whole, thanks to Texas' influence. (nt)

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. We need a federal law that Texas can only buy books after the New England states have written them.

Or, hell, since Texas wants to be so goddamn backwards, make a federal law that they can only buy old used textbooks. And then put immigration in charge of making sure no Texans get out to have any role in science, education, history, or anything else that requires a mind that isn't filled with shit.

[WolverineDG]

5. That's what happens when the Democrats abandon a state

treat Texas Dems like shit, except when they need money, starve the Texas Party of talent & resources....we started making major inroads under Howard Dean, but it looks like it's back to "Crap on Texas" again. And if you agree with the DNC re: Texas, then don't bitch when chickens like these come home to roost.

dg

[rainbow4321]

7. Ding, ding, ding

We have a winner...I don't expect any attention from the national level til they need $$ for the next prez election. We'll get a few high profilers who will swing thru Austin/Dallas/Houston for a day long fund raiser, maybe a fundraising dinner in the richest of neighborhoods that no real locals can afford to attend, a photo op or two, then the high profiler will fly off to a swing state and have an open air rally where THOSE real locals CAN attend. Same thing every 4 years.

[WolverineDG]

10. I let Al Franken know in no uncertain terms

that I was NOT going to send him money & I was very pissed off that he was using Texas as his fucking ATM when we had a viable candidate going up against Cornyn. But no, Al gets to suck up all the money & Rick Noriega is left begging for money on street corners.

I've told every Dem in Texas I come across: do NOT send your money to the DNC, DCCC, DSCC, or even the State Party. Give directly to the candidate!

Case in point: Nancy Pelosi was in town a week or so ago, but did the "little people" know about it? Oh hell no! She was at some local function that only rich people can afford to attend....rich people who for the most part vote Republican.

:grr:

dg

[rainbow4321]

11. Will be interesting to see the White vs Perry race

if the DNC or federal level Dems take part in it at all..my guess is that some midlevel Dem from the POTUS admin shows up and does a photo op session and then leaves ASAP.

[MadMaddie]

3. Why are US school books so influenced by one state?

Anyone see the issue here?

It's obvious this must change, education in this country is already in trouble this doesn't help.

[Posteritatis]

4. A couple reasons

The first is that Texas is one of the largest markets in the nation, so most of the major publishers are going to kowtow to what they want.

The second is that they have some of the fiddliest curriculum standards in the US, thanks to stuff like these billions of amendments the right keep trying to shoehorn into things. As a result, it's easier to just get something that Texas will put up and sell it everywhere with than it is to produce two sets of textbooks which will probably be wildly different.

Of course, it would be better to do the latter, if just to prevent Texas from dragging other states' educational systems down with it, but you know. Though some of the stuff they're putting in the curriculum now is absurd enough that other states might finally start rejecting more of it.

[rainbow4321]

6. TX schools can brainwash kids

My youngest graduated last year and started at our community college. After a few weeks of college classes she told me that it was kinda freaking her out because unlike her high school classes, the college profs were actually asking her WHAT she thought, they were promoting the students to THINK about topics, asking their opinion of subjects. She went "I was so used to being TOLD what to think, no one ever asked our opinions or what we thought..they talked just AT us".
I'm so glad both my kids are done with TX public schools.

[mod mom]

8. "The Texas Board of Education building a bridge to the 16th century!"

my favorite comment from the Think Progress post on this.

[RexS]

9. Taught in a small town high school in Texas, yikes!

25% of my students didn't believe in gravity - were told BY THEIR CHURCH elders that God held us down to the planet! :(

[readmoreoften]

12. Bad news is: TX schoolbooks set the standard for the nation.

And as a person relocated to Texas who teaches the adults produced from the Texas public school system... Well, let's just say that the nation's ties to Texan textbooks is not such a good thing.