I made a mistake about the Texas State Board of Education's suggested revisions to the curriculum. They didn’t vote to change all references to democracy to "representative republic." They wanted to change democracy to "constitutional republic." After all, what’s the difference? Who cares about the difference between capitalism (now deleted) and free market (new replacement)? Do words and the ideas behind them really matter?
Rebecca Bell-Metereau
Candidate for Texas State Board of Education, District 5
Let’s give the Texas State Board of Education some credit. After all, they're not paid to do their work. At least they have drawn people’s attention to the importance of education. Some of the members just don’t seem to have a sufficient idea of what constitutes a useful or even adequate education.
In their efforts to drag the curriculum back from what they perceive as the evils of progressivism, they have managed to draw attention to the importance of language. Words mean something, so this board wants to be very careful about the words they choose for the new curriculum. Unfortunately, a few influential members don’t seem to have a clear idea of what some important words mean.
That doesn’t keep them from believing they know better than their own review committees, however. Extremists on the board have gone along with former chairman Don McCleroy in his insistence that they "stand up to" experts.
Despite my frustration with this group, my intention is not to inflame everyone on the board. In their efforts to correct what they see as an imbalance in the curriculum, extremists have become distracted with culture wars. In the heat of battle, people have become overzealous, and casualties include common sense and a reasonable decision-making process. Their latest round of over a hundred revisions has prompted a firestorm of protest that has spread across the nation and even across the globe.
I will attend their next meeting on May 19th to ask the board to reconsider their removal from curriculum standards the following key items: democracy, capitalism, and Jefferson as a major figure in the Enlightenment. Students should understand the distinction between democracy and a constitutional republic; they should know the difference between capitalism and the free market, and they should understand Jefferson’s influence on the Enlightenment and his support for separation of church and state.
We must set aside the culture wars and return our focus to the mission of the board: to provide students with a curriculum and textbooks that prepare them for higher education, careers, and lifelong learning.
School children aren’t red or blue. Their education should not be a political football. Like divorced parents, the two parties need to come together and figure out how to get along, for the sake of the children. The curriculum and books in Texas must provide the best education we can offer in the 21st century. Whether the rest of the country likes it or not, Texas is a national leader in education, by force of sheer numbers.
Rebecca Bell-Metereau
voterebecca.com
Professor of English and Film
Texas State University
Candidate, Texas State Board of Education