If all this brainless, extremist brand of "education" would stop at the Texas border. But it doesn't. Texas is such a huge state that its decisions about what history text books contain wind up infecting education through the nation.
Until now, support for those pervasive American evils like Thomas Jefferson, Social Security, and Medicare has been absorbed by innocent children who don't know how bad they are. Texas educators are setting things to rights. Look for more capitalism and religion in your kids' textbooks starting now.
The Austin American-Statesman reports:
Repeated calls for delaying final action on new social studies curriculum standards fell flat at the State Board of Education on Wednesday.
"By delaying this process, we're doing nothing but increasing the amount of disagreement because we're never going to all agree," board member Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands , said.
Wednesday's all-day public hearing made clear that there was little common ground between the conservative members of the board who have been leading this rewrite of the standards and their critics. The standards will form the basis of future textbooks and lessons used in Texas public school history, government and economics classes.
The conservatives say they are writing ideologically balanced standards to replace a historical narrative that has been hostile to America, religion and capitalism.
And just about everything else many of us associate with peace, justice and the best of America.
The final vote comes tomorrow and may be even more narrowly right wing if amended by Texas Republicans today.
Board member Don McLeroy, R-Bryan, plans to offer a raft of new amendments today that will further the conservative tilt, including one standard requiring students to "evaluate efforts by global organizations to undermine U.S. sovereignty" and another that challenges the foundation of "the popular term, separation of church and state."
