Posted on 06/06/2006 12:33:12 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
DALLAS (AP) - Texas ranked lowest among the nation's four southern border states in its standards for teaching Latin American and Mexican history, according to a national study released Monday.
The study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said on a scale of zero to 10, Texas scored a five - just above the national average of 4.2.
California, meanwhile, scored a 10. Arizona scored a six and New Mexico scored an eight, said Walter Russell Meade, a senior fellow for the council on foreign relations who conducted the study based on a review of state education standards.
"It's likely that the state of world history education is a little worse than the standards since there isn't required testing," Meade said. "The subject might not be getting the kind of emphasis that it deserves."
Pat Hardy, a member of the state board of education and a history and geography teacher for the Weatherford Independent School District, disagreed with the analysis.
She said Texas uses a "spiraling curriculum" to teach world history which has more depth than most states because it introduces concepts at different levels and expands on them later.
"They have to understand that our standards are written in strands," Hardy said. "Students have been exposed all along the way to all aspects of the history, the government, the economics, the culture of the world. I think it's brilliant. The Fordham Institute doesn't know jack about teaching."
But at least one Texas lawmaker said the state still needs to increase its standards.
"It's a sad commentary that Texas, a border state, that's history is so intertwined with Mexico and Latin America, ranks so low on the scale," said Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes.
Many states fared even worse than Texas, where Hispanics made up about 35.3 percent of the populace in 2003, according to the U.S. Census.
Thirty states have vague education standards for world history and Latin American and Mexican studies, said Michael Petrilli, vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
Alaska, Idaho, Missouri and Montana each received a score of zero for having "superficial or cursory" standards on how to teach World History.
"It's as if many states were not aware that there are countries and cultures south of the Rio Grande," Petrilli said.
Which is part of why many people here feel that teaching "Mexican history" in addition to Texas history is pretty much a complete waste of time.
There is a good deal of Mexican culture already here as well. Just drive around Houston for a while. Go on Richmond and see a traffic jam at 3 am. (The Mexicans love to drive their souped-up hoopdees back and forth down the street). However, you don't have to teach it. It's not like Mexicans learn American histroy
Generally we lump them all under World History, although in some cases European history is taught separately. But that's generally at the college level. Much of the teaching comes not in "history" classes per se, but rather in literature, foreign language etc.
So did I, 29 years ago. However my wife is a teacher, and had to take the college level Texas History course(s) to be certified to teach in Texas, and I got to sort of follow along. Similarly my daughter also took it at the college level, but only a few years ago. And now my granddaughter and two grandnieces will be taking it, but maybe not (or maybe so) at the college level. They are only 1, 6 and 7 respectively.
I agree that Texas students needs to know that Mexico has been a mess since 1820, that there were only a handful of Mexican inside what is now the United States in 1836 when Texas won its Independence. That the Revolution of 1910 established a quasi-socialist government that vests most of the wealth of the country in the hands of a few thousand families.
Yeah, and those world history courses are (of course) biased all to heck.
I still take offense at how most courses depict the Mongols and Ghengis Khan. They *all* take the Muslim worldview that Ghengis was an unprovoked conquerer and one of the most evil men of all time, when research since the 1600's has shown exactly the opposite.
Of course, they also don't mention WHY Ghengis decided to try to destroy the Muslim world - because they chopped off the head of his *trade* ambassador and good friend for no good reason. I don't know about you, but if someone did that to my friend and I had uncontested control of the most powerful army on the planet, I'd start taking the world apart to get to those responsible and make sure they would never do that again.
>>>> We don't teach German history either. Or Czech ... or Asian ...
I'm of Scottish and Irish decent. I don't believe that I ever had a history class on either of them.
I've always been a history buff, and Texas had always interested me.
Numbers didn't help the Mexicans at San Jacinto. And that's the one that really counted.
"You do realize that the Church is heavily suppressed in Mexico. Not as heavily as after the last revolution, but suppressed none the less."
Yes, I do. What is called the RCC in Mexico barely resembles --- theologically and policitically --- the RCC in the rest of the world. Root cause being socialism, corruption, etc. listed in the first post.
"You would prefer they were Muslims perhaps."
Of course not, and said nothing that would generate such a silly accusation.
"There are Muslim "recruiters" working in Southern Mexico, and making some inroads, trying to convince the peons that they were robbed of their Islamic. . "
I know. And in Los Angeles. They are successful because the RCC in Mexico is so screwed up.
That's the whole point --- RCC (and other Christians) in the US need to help the RCC in Mexico come back into the fold before the corruption eats it from within and without. Knee-jerk defending the RCC in Mexico is a serious mistake.
Thank you. Nice to see her again.
My understanding is that most of the "peons" in that area are Indians. As I look at the people who actually run Mexico, they seem to be pretty white.
numbers were alot better at san jacinto. its not a fair fight unless texans are outnumbered 10 to 1. at san jacinto they were only down by about 2 to 1.
Or La Grange, Schulenberg, Fayetteville, Ganado, etc.
Most of the public school in the USA has stopped teaching US history except for the civil right movement and Watergate.
Most of the public school in the USA has stopped teaching US history except for the civil right movement and Watergate.
To borrow a phrase from a more recent Texan whose force was outnumbered by 2:1 and asked how he intended to deal with the situation, "We'll all just have to shoot twice."
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