Friday, May 21, 2010

Texas Secedes

Well, it's "education department" certainly did.
The Texas State Board of Education adopted a social studies and history curriculum Friday that amends or waters down the teaching of the civil rights movement, slavery, America's relationship with the U.N. and hundreds of other items.

The ideological debate over the guidelines, which drew intense scrutiny beyond Texas, will be used to teach some 4.8 million Texas students for the next 10 years.

The standards also will be used by textbook publishers who often develop materials for other states based on those approved in Texas, although teachers in the Lone Star state have latitude in deciding which material to teach. More at NPR
The Texas "Board of Education" also decided to add Obama to history books. They even had a debate about using his middle name, Hussein. Of course they should use his middle name. The fact that it was debated shows that conservatives are infantile and lack an awareness of the world around them. Apparently, the motivations to use his middle name were wrong too. These kinds of people should not be making decisions about children's education.
In some of the most contentious debate, the board added a reference to President Barack Obama, which critics had complained was conspicuously absent. But Democrats showed more life than they had all day when Republican David Bradley tried to refer to the first black president as Barack Hussein Obama.
"I think we give him the full honor and privilege of his full name," Bradley said.
"The intent behind what you're doing, I think is pretty obvious," said Republican Bob Craig, urging Bradley to withdraw the suggestion. AP
Since when are boards of education political? Sadly, 4.8 million students will be victims of a group of republicans concerned about themselves. But then again, schools don't do a good job of teaching history anyway, which is a shame in itself. Everything I learned, I learned on my own.