There is an education war going on in Texas that you need to know about and get involved with. The TX State Board of Education is currently preparing to adopt new social studies curriculum standards.
These standards have major national implications as Texas is such a major purchaser of textbooks.
NY Times, Jan 21, 2009: In Texas, a Line in the Curriculum Revives Evolution Debate
The debate here has far-reaching consequences; Texas is one of the nation’s biggest buyers of textbooks, and publishers are reluctant to produce different versions of the same material.
Please read the following and then take action and tell as many friends as possible about this campaign.
KBMT - 7/16/09: State Board of Education Wants to Strip Cesar Chavez from School Books
The Hispanic community is "up in arms" after hearing of recommendations that Cesar Chavez is one of the historical figures that should be de-emphasized or left out of Texas elementary textbooks....State Board of Education member David Bradley told KBMT 12 News there is simply too much material to fit into text books right now, and that they are working on ranking and keeping the most influential members in the books....
The TX State Board of Education has hired 6 "experts" to determine what will be in the books their schools use. . Unfortunately it is reported that some of these "experts" were appointed mainly because of their background as religious ideologues.
Go San Angelo – 7/18/09: OUR OPINION: Education 'experts' slam César Chavez
The Texas Freedom Network, a group that monitors actions by the religious right on the SBOE, pointed out that two of the "experts" opposed to Chavez are unqualified to be on the panel and were appointed mainly because of their background as religious ideologues. David Barton, founder of the conservative Christian advocacy group WallBuilders, and Rev. Peter Marshall, an evangelical minister from Massachusetts who runs Peter Marshall Ministries, were appointed in March. As the Freedom Network notes, Barton earned a bachelor’s degree in religious education and Marshall has no graduate academic work in education.
Texas Freedom Network 4/30/09: SBOE Appointed Social Studies ‘Experts’ Lack Credentials, Denounce Public Education, Support
The Texas State Board of Education is set to appoint a social studies curriculum "expert" panel that includes absurdly unqualified ideologues who are hostile to public education and argue that laws and public policies should be based on their narrow interpretations of the Bible.
TFN has obtained the names of "experts"...They include David Barton of the fundamentalist, Texas-based group WallBuilders, whose degree is in religious education, not the social sciences, and the Rev. Peter Marshall of Peter Marshall Ministries in Massachusetts, who suggests that California wildfires and Hurricane Katrina were divine punishments for tolerance of homosexuality.
Some of these "experts" are arguing that the state’s social studies and history textbooks are giving "too much attention" to some of the most prominent civil rights leaders in US History, namely Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall.
Wall Streert Journal 7/14/09: The Culture Wars' New Front: U.S. History Classes in Texas
Three reviewers, appointed by social conservatives, have recommended revamping the K-12 curriculum to emphasize the roles of the Bible, the Christian faith and the civic virtue of religion in the study of American history. Two of them want to remove or de-emphasize references to several historical figures who have become liberal icons, such as César Chávez and Thurgood Marshall.
David Barton, one of these "experts," claimed Cesar Chavez "lacks the stature, impact and overall contributions of so many others." Another of these "experts" evangelical minister Peter Marshall said, "To have Cesar Chavez listed next to Ben Franklin"--as in the current standards--"is ludicrous." He went on to say Chavez is not a role model who "ought to be held up to our children as someone worthy of emulation."
Feministing.com: As if school textbooks weren't bad enough.
"To have César Chávez listed next to Ben Franklin" - as in the current standards - "is ludicrous," wrote evangelical minister Peter Marshall, one of six experts advising the state as it develops new curriculum standards for social studies classes and textbooks. David Barton, president of Aledo-based WallBuilders, said in his review that Chávez, a Hispanic labor leader, "lacks the stature, impact and overall contributions of so many others."
Cesar Chavez is widely acknowledged to be a national hero. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, his face appeared on a U.S. Postage stamp, and his birthday is an official holiday in 8 states. To suggest that his life story does not merit being taught to Texas students, in a state whose population is 36% Latino, is ridiculous and offensive.
The same "expert" wants to eliminate Thurgood Marshall, a prominent Civil Rights leader who argued the landmark case that resulted in school desegregation and was the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court justice. He wrote that the late justice is "not a strong enough example" of an important historical figure to be presented to Texas students.
Daily Texan: 7/16/09- Denying history
In written suggestions, for example, Marshall and Barton advised the state to scale back the amount of attention given to figures like César Chávez, the famed Mexican-American civil rights leader, and Thurgood Marshall, the principal architect of the case against racial segregation in Brown v. Board of Education and the first black Supreme Court justice.
Barton also concluded that Thurgood Marshall was "not a strong enough example" of an important historical figure.
This is absurd. Thurgood Marshall, the first African American in history to sit on the Supreme Court, is also a man whose life story is an important one for students to learn and be inspired by.
Board members and their appointees have complained about an "over representation of minorities" in the current social studies standards.
Statesman 7/20/09: Van de Putte: As we debate curriculum, let's put students before politics
Board members and their appointees have complained about an "over representation of minorities" in the current social studies standards. For example, a lesson on citizenship calls for students to identify individuals who have modeled active participation in the democratic process, one such individual being César Chávez. They have voiced objections to the inclusion of Chávez as part of the lesson because they believe that Chávez is not a role model who "ought to be held up to our children as someone worthy of emulation."
This is ironic in light of the changing demographics of our country. Sadly, Latino and African-American children have the highest drop-out rates in the country. It’s essential to ensure schools are providing students with role models and historical figures whose experiences reflect their own.
We must be concerned when the contributions of Cesar Chávez, Thurgood Marshall and other individuals who have contributed so much to the landscape of American democracy are cast aside and ridiculed. We should welcome the inclusion of all Americans who have helped to make this nation great. (to see reports, click here)
It is horrific to discover that the TX State Board of Education has allowed these panelists to use our children's social studies curriculum as a platform for their political agendas. Please take action today to stop this travesty from going forward. Send your e-mail to the Chair of the Texas Board of Education Gail Lowe (R).