Posted on 03/13/2010 11:45:15 AM PST by rhema
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."
Following three days of impassioned and acrimonious debate, the board gave preliminary approval to the new standards with a 10-5 party line vote. A final vote is expected in May, after a public comment period that could produce additional amendments and arguments.
Decisions by the board — made up of lawyers, a dentist and a weekly newspaper publisher, among others — can affect textbooks nationwide because Texas is one of publishers' biggest clients.
Republican Terri Leo, a member of the powerful Christian conservative voting bloc, called the standards "world class" and "exceptional." In addition to learning the Bill of Rights, the board specified a reference to the Second Amendment right to bear arms in a section about citizenship in a U.S. government class.
Democrats did score a victory by deleting a portion of an amendment by Republican Don McLeroy suggesting that the civil rights movement led to "unrealistic expectations for equal outcomes."
Conservatives beat back multiple attempts to include hip-hop as an example of a significant cultural movement.
Numerous attempts to add the names or references to important Hispanics throughout history also were denied, inducing one amendment that would specify that Tejanos died at the Alamo alongside Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. Another amendment deleted a requirement that sociology students "explain how institutional racism is evident in American society."
There is nothing far right about the textbooks
Well April honey, it’s like this. Most Americans prefer “far-right views” over your “far-left views”. Not all people living in this country are braindead freeloaders.
Another bad sign for the lefties’ hopeful takeover.
Cheer up, April. Just think, you can still brainwash all the little kiddies in St. Paul.
There may very well be more to this story, but if true as stated I'd be opposed. Texans of Mexican ancestry fought Santa Ana and this should be reported and respected.
Wanna bet the libs start homeschooling...LMAO!
This is so ridiculous! Liberals are willing to die on that hill? Including Hip-Hop as a significan cultural movement? How about the Bunny-Hop?
I think the conservatives on the Board were wrong to exclude the names of the Tejanos who died at the Alamo. I don't understand that at all, except that it is Texas and I lived there for 10 years.
The rest of the changes I would approve of completely.
Dang that pesky truth!
Yep, there were several and many others who supported Texas independence. Juan Seguin etc. They were some. And still are some. This is not about race, but about love of liberty and freedom. It is forever a part of Texas culture.
OH MY GOD!!!! Kids in Texas will be exposed to ....THE TRUTH!!!! No WONDER the left is upset.
The Left has a hissy fit about accurate textbooks?!?
Amazing! ;-)
I know there are several threads about this but haven’t pinged anyone yet.
There may very well be more to this story, but if true as stated I’d be opposed. Texans of Mexican ancestry fought Santa Ana and this should be reported and respected.
They didn’t deny that Texans of Mexican ancestry fought and died at the Alamo. One story I read is that the names, Bowie-Crockett and others were the leaders and thus were highlighted in the history lessons.
“There may very well be more to this story, but if true as stated I’d be opposed. Texans of Mexican ancestry fought Santa Ana and this should be reported and respected.”
There were a number of them who died at the Alamo. They are recognized as Texans, because they were. Simple as that.
The vote was 10-5, making the "far-right faction" a two-thirds majority.
April:
Too bad you are a product of public education sweetie. If you had a proper education you might know that the original intent of the founders was to provide competitive tension between the states. People get to vote with their feet and the feet of some conservatives may bring them to Texas instead of Minnesota.
As for Ms. Knight...she looks like another community organizer product of the Great Society. Just too damn bad she got miffed and walked out of the meeting.
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3691
Texans can comment on the new standards before they are adopted in May.
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=8235
This is an important event. For too long the far left has been revising history. That has resulted in a generation or two of Americans who basically have a negative view of their own country.
I’ll never forget the comment of that moron Matt Damon when he stated that Howard Zinn’s “A Peoples History of the United States” was his preference when reading history.
Zinn hated this country. Damon is a brain washed leftist idiout just like Tom Hanks and lots of other Hollywood figures.
Cleaning up text books will improve the future of this country. I hope this becomes a trend. Now, if we could just break the teacher’s unions ...
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