Thread: Texas Education Board Approves Conservative Curriculum Chang

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Texas Education Board Approves Conservative Curriculum Changes By Far-Right

First Posted: 03-12-10 05:27 PM | Updated: 03-13-10 02:35 PM
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***UPDATE*** Think Progress flags some of the more eye-opening revisions the Texas Board of Education approved for its social studies curriculum and textbooks:

- The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum, "replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin."


- The Board refused to require that "students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others."

The Texas Freedom Network live-blogged the debate over the changes. Read more here.

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April Castro, ASSOCIATED PRESS

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.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/1 ... 97440.html

More here

[quote]
Texas Board of Education cuts Thomas Jefferson out of its textbooks.

thomas-jefferson-big copy The Texas Board of Education has been meeting this week to revise its social studies curriculum. During the past three days, “the board’s far-right faction wielded their power to shape lessons on the civil rights movement, the U.S. free enterprise system and hundreds of other topicsâ€

Removing Thomas Jefferson and teaching John Calvin -- have they lost their minds? If this is supposed to be American history, Jefferson did a lot in shaping this country, while Calvin never set foot here (he died in 1564).

Most of the things they changed I can agree with. To drop Thomas Jefferson though is kinda weird. Who will they drop next? Benjamin Franklin? James Madison? John and Samuel Adams?

The issue of Church and State has been twisted out of context. It has nothing to do with the 1st Amendment. It isn't in the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights either. It is in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, January 1, 1802. And he was only reiterating that the state shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. But if one just uses those few words "seperation of church and state", without the the entire body of the letter, it can take on a whole new meaning, especially if you want to influence society in a specific way.

Also, there shouldn't be any exclusionary moves if you have good people to include.

And they should not exclude the Constituional value of government promoting one religion over another. That would violate the 1st Amendment.

Just my 2 bits. Adjusted for infaltion, or is it deflation.

Originally Posted by vortex

Removing Thomas Jefferson and teaching John Calvin -- have they lost their minds? If this is supposed to be American history, Jefferson did a lot in shaping this country, while Calvin never set foot here (he died in 1564).

I can see the addition, as John Calvin was studied very thoroughly by the Founders and he influenced them in a lot of ways, but then they should also include The Roman Republic, The Greek Democracies, and all the other people who influnced them like John Locke, and Sir William Blackstone. Just to name a few. It's not like the Founding Fathers thought this up out of thin air, so if they are going to use one influence, they need to add the rest, like the Ancient Rights of Englishmen, and the Magna Carta as influences too.

The Leftwing blogs are all in a lather....

Well of course they are! This would if one thing, expose the march to socialism the leftwingers have been pushing down American's throats for the last 90 years or better.

The main group crying, Texas Freedom, is linked with the Southern Poverty Law Center, ADL, ACLU. That gives me reason to rejoice that voices, who are struggling now to revive the Republic, did their best to preserve our history. Liberals and socialists will still keep trying to revise history. The SPLC is still in schools through their so called tolerance program.

Listening to those on the left, progressives, trying to remove American citizen, and replace it with global citizen, while also making no distinction between legal and illegal immigrant, etc., reminds us of just how important what children learn is to our future.

Psalm 91

This attempt to re-write history will probably be the begining of the end to this groups stranglehold on ed textbooks.

Using politically correctness and trying to appease minority groups in education. This is why it is so important that politicians are kept out of education. Their meddling into an area they know nothing about is why our classroom are in such a mess.

A good example is replacing Thomas Jefferson in our history French theologian John Calvin who never put a foot on American soil and had absolutely nothing to do with American history other than planting the seed for a few American churches. I am scratching my head trying to understand what Calvin has to do with American history at all. Compare that to Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the USA, Founding Father, supported separation of church and state (oh...could that be the real reason), drafter of the Declaration of Independence, etc etc etc. Again, I scratch my head.

I wonder why this debate is not taking place in California? If this will have far reaching implications for the national school system as a whole, after all many states will be subjected to the same books.

Could it be that the great social petri dish of California, with its many social experiments and the results thereof fail to give gleeful results. Given the current social and economic atmosphere, would that be a book to hard to sell?

The liberals should be made to own up to their social experimentation. California is a prime example, as are other liberal strongholds. What are the results? Are they that hard on the eyes, that all attention turns to Texas?

Do not rest Texas. The liberal agenda is attacking from the back door. Celebration is only appropriate when the liberals or progressives, or commies, no longer let slip the name of Texas from their lips.

California and other strongholds of communism is a prime reason not to believe in fiscal conservatism/social liberalism. Oil and vinegar mix more readily.