There's always been kind of a circus atmosphere around the deliberations of the Texas State Board of Education on textbook content. In the not-so-recent past there have been fights over including Creationist ideas into science textbooks and watering down the teaching of evolution. The inclusion of David Barton's dubious founding-father quotes and equally-dubious view of American history have also been the subject of Texas debates. Because Texas is the 2nd largest purchaser of books in the country and the largest unified book purchaser (California is the largest purchaser but doesn't buy the same texts en bloc for all it's districts), it exercises enormous influence on what textbook publishers print. Thus, the whole nation has an interest in what Texas does.And now the neoconservative majority on the State Board of Education has succeeded in imprinting its own revisionist view of American history into Texas textbooks. It's all being done, they say, in the interest of countering "leftist influences" in history texts. Among the "leftist influences" they are countering is Thomas Jefferson. They're dropping most references to the author of the Declaration of Independance because he also coined the phrase, "separation of church and state." Their new and, according to outgoing board member George McLeroy, "balanced" viewpoint reflects current conservative politics.
So who are they replacing Thomas Jefferson with? Well, American political ideals now seem to be derived, in large part, from foreign religious figures like John Calvin and St. Thomas Acquinas instead of the 18th century Enlightenment. Communist witch-hunter Joe McCarthy gets a face-lift too and new emphasis is placed on the sterling contributions to American life by Phyllis Schlafly (a conservative activist best-known for her opposition to feminism and the Equal Rights Amendment), the Republican Contract With America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association.
No wonder political commedians like Stephen Colbert are having a field day with the Texas State Board of Education's new history amendments. As former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby commented on a blog post last week, “Texas — From Lone Star State to Laughing Stock State.”
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| I's on Edjukashun - Texas School Board | ||||
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Photo Credit:
1) Stephan Colbert
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Comments
I love this article- man you hit it on the head!
Hi Hugh ~ I think they need to leave the text books alone and quit monkeying from them.. I think there is a place for creation text in Christian schools who don't get state funds. I am very science minded. I'm a Christian, but I believe the people who wrote the texts of the bible wrote of their own understanding. Back then they believed God spoke everything into existence, so that is the way it reads. I know that Christians will raise their eyebrows to me for saying that.. but the bible is true to the understanding of the people who wrote it. That's my take on creationism. If parents want their kids taught creation education, then they need to homeschool them or send them to a Christian academy. Faith and truth are not the same. I could have faith in the Easter bunny and Santa Clause, but that doesn't mean they exist.
This is an outrage. These people give Texas a bad name. I fear for our future if Thomas Jefferson is no longer in our books...
Just a minor correction, but, apparently, according to the CNN piece I was watching this morning, Thomas Jefferson wouldn't be removed completely from the history books, but I imagine anything having to do with the "separation of church and state" will be. His role in history is too great for them to take him completely out.
Hi Steve-n-SA. I used the term "most references." Maybe it was Stephen Colbert who said "all."
I'm frankly disappointed in Stephen Colbert, from my one experience in attending one of his tapings.
Amazing and scary news. I liked Cobert's take on it.
At least Steven Colbert isn't afraid to speak out like so many others. And he hits who ever is being an idiot that day, It matters not what their political views are.
That being said, what is going on in Texas is scary. Yes there is too much of a liberal bent in the books, yes there needs to be corrections. But, this goes to far. Somebody needs to reign in the Right Wing before they go overboard on this. And it may be too late.
The information should be presented to student without any agenda, just the facts. Good, bad or ugly. Don't gloss over stuff and try to present anything but the truth. No matter who was right or wrong. Teach the facts and let the students make their own decisions. There is plenty of hatred and prejudice taught in their homes. The schools should be neutral.
Sorry if it seemed I was criticizing your article, Hugh, I was just clarifying it, as it seemed some posters were confused about how much they were planning on removing of Thomas Jefferson's story.
>>>"I'm frankly disappointed in Stephen Colbert, from my one experience in attending one of his tapings."
Then that means he's doing a great job! Keep it up Steve!
:-D
>>>"These people give Texas a bad name."
And since whatever goes into the new textbooks you'll be stuck with them for the next ten years, they could end up giving America a bad name.
And I just gotta say,
>>>"new emphasis is placed on the sterling contributions to American life by Phyllis Schlafly"
Considering the fact that she makes Ray Comfort look as smart as Stephen Hawking, my head just exploded.
that is awful
I am a conservative-libertarian and was born in Texas. I'm outraged over this decision as well, for the most part (the McCarthy part doesn't bother me since McCarthy, although a powerhungry individual was not entirely incorrect in his assessment of communist infiltration at various levels of government during that time). I am also outraged however that various other aspects of our history are not addressed. Our government, had they desired to, had a chance to prevent the Holocaust when Hitler essentially offered us the Jewish populace of Germany. In 1919 the Stock Market experienced a downturn worse than the one it experienced in 1929, but largely recovered within a year. Upton Sinclair, was actually disappointed about the results of his novel The Jungle because he believed that the powers that be would use the meatpacking regulations to their own advantage. None of these things are taught in our schools, although they should be. My point is that this is selective outrage.
I'd make the point again that one of the largest publishers in the country is headed by an Islamic cleric who wants to be Caliph, and is good at making nicey nice with evagelical nuts.
There has been a huge effort by conservatives to hammer away at Jefferson's wall of separation between church and state. Christian fundamentalist law schools are teaching future lawyers and judges that there is no such thing. It's scary especially because that view seems to have gained ground in the Supreme Court. The idea that the country was founded as a Christian nation completely ignores the fact that the Founders were greatly influenced by the Enlightenment. I hope school districts outside of Texas will refuse to use these textbooks and insist that the publishers produce another that does not rewrite history.
This makes a lot more sense for those of us who've looked at the Texas state flag and realised it's just a large-print, easy-reader version of the US flag itself.
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