The Daily News Journal columnist Jim Leonhirth writes that while the dust still is settling in the revisions of Texas Board of Education curriculum standards, the real winner in the controversy may be obsolescence. Whatever the Texas textbooks say about political and social issues in future editions, Texas students should be able to walk a few steps to the Internet-linked computers in their classrooms, school computer center or school library; type a few appropriate keywords in a search engine; and find out more than they probably want to know about any political or social issue. Whether they will be able to evaluate properly the quality of the information they find online is another question, but the planned changes in the Texas curriculum may provide them with some practice in doing that.
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Texas ed board vote reflects far-right influences
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, the Associated Press reports. 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…
…Read MoreTexas board resumes work on social studies curriculum after notable election
Texas’ state education board, rocked by primary elections that could push the influential panel’s far-right leanings toward the center, is set to take its first vote on a new social studies curriculum that could reverberate in classrooms nationwide, reports the Associated Press. The board—long led by social conservatives who have advocated for ideas such as teaching Texas children more about the weaknesses of evolutionary theory—has worked on, and squabbled about, the social studies standards for months. The board’s ultimate decisions could affect textbook content around the country, because Texas is one of publishers’ biggest clients. A three-day meeting beginning March 10 is the first since voters in last week’s Republican primary handed defeats to two veteran conservatives, including former board chairman Don McLeroy, who lost to a moderate GOP lobbyist. McLeroy, a 10-year board veteran, has been one of the most prolific and polarizing members. The devout Christian conservative has been adamant on several issues, including that the Christian influences of the nation’s Founding Fathers are important to studying American history…
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