Former Chairman of the Texas State Board of Education Don McLeroy plagiarized his contribution to curriculum standards on "American exceptionalism" from Wikipedia. Rick Perry's appointee, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott, called the board's recent curricular outrages mere "payback." For Democratic SBOE candidates, these actions look like another gift from our opponents. We just need to stand back while these guys shoot themselves in the feet. We also need to thank the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus for holding hearings where Dr. Michael Soto, Trinity University Professor and candidate for District 3, pointed out McLeroy's inaccurate interpretation of the sources from which he plagiarized his material. Meanwhile, Fox News launches a full counter attack on Saturday night, May 15th.
When Michael Soto delivered his testimony on the plagiarized material, you could literally see the lawmakers' jaws drop. For academics, plagiarism and academic dishonesty merit a grade of F and possible expulsion from the university. Apparently for Mr. McLeroy, it's just business as usual. Too bad he wasn't there to explain himself. In fact, not a single board member bothered to attend the legislative hearing.
This hearing was important and informative, but Chairwoman Gail Lowe could not find time in her schedule to attend the hearings. She said at first that she couldn't afford the travel, but when the legislative caucus offered her travel money and lodging, she claimed that she couldn't take time out of her busy schedule. She is, by the way, self-employed.
The refusal of current board members to participate in discussions about the board's actions with teachers and legislators is shocking but not surprising. The negligence and bad faith of certain members of this board are breath-taking, but we need to keep ourselves focused on a very simple goal: Elect Judy Jennings for District 10 and Rebecca Bell-Metereau (full disclosure--that's me) in District 5. It's just that simple. Mike Soto is running in a solidly Democratic district, and the races in 5 and 10 will be close. While we have a disadvantage historically, these two races are absolutely winnable, especially given the behavior of the current board. Every bit of bad publicity works to our benefit, but we need to follow up with the message that there is a simple solution to this problem. Contribute, no matter where you live, and vote in the November election if you live in Texas.
Now, I leave you with this question: What is the most effective way to convince everyone to contribute, even if it's just a few dollars a month, to rescue Texas education. You can contribute if you want to help education in Texas and around the nation. As we have seen, bad education in Texas is infectious, and it may be coming to your state soon.
Rebecca Bell-Metereau
Professor of English and Film, Texas State University, and
Candidate for Texas State Board of Education, District 5