05.22.10
SBOE finishes off the history curriculum in Texas
The Texas State Board of Education, dominated by religious conservatives, approved the new Social Studies TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) yesterday by a 9 – 5 vote. Kuff has a great wrap-up, The clown show finally calls it a wrap.
First from blogs and media:
Anyway, here’s your wrapup from the Day Two festivities, which carried over a few minutes past midnight and into Day Three, from the Trib, TFN, and Abby Rapoport. And here’s your Day Three liveblogging and other reports, from TFN, the Trib, TFN again, the Trib again, Abby Rapoport, and Steven Schafersman. Mainstream media coverage is here, here, and here. Burka and Stace also weigh in, and of course Martha was working it on Twitter. May those who had to endure all this get a nice long vacation to recover their sanity.
Next from those who can change this next year if elected in November:
I have several statements, from the Texas Freedom Network, Bill White, State Rep. Mike Villarreal, and Fort Bend County Democratic Party Chair Stephen Brown, about this travesty beneath the fold. Texas Politics has a reaction from US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who echoes former Bush Education Secretary Rod Paige. The only thing we can do about this is elect some better SBOE members. Three such candidates running this year are Judy Jennings, Rebecca Bell-Metereau, and Michael Soto.
TFN has this post on where we go from here, The Next Steps.
Moments ago the State Board of Education cast the final vote on new social studies standards, ending more than a year of political wrangling that invited derision and scorn from the entire educational world. I’m not going to take you through the litany of problems with this curriculum. You can read about those on our blog or in the hundreds of news stories that will appear in the media tomorrow. All of these issues, as serious as they are, are really symptoms of the larger problem — allowing politicians with personal agendas to write our children’s curriculum, rather than teachers and scholars.
That’s why today’s vote is not the end of this fight. It’s the beginning.
For 15 years, all of us at TFN have been committed to safeguarding our children’s education from political ideology. And we’re not about to let up now.
Please make a generous contribution to our efforts today.
Our ultimate goal is nothing less than fundamental change at the State Board of Education. Parents, business leaders and concerned citizens across Texas must join together in our Just Educate campaign to send a clear message to politicians: stop dragging our children’s schools into the “culture wars.” That’s why TFN is mounting our largest grassroots mobilization effort in the history of the organization. And we are counting on you to take part.
Help them out if you can.
not so enThralled said,
May 23, 2010 at 8:54 am
This is the kind of thing that makes me utterly ashamed to be a Texan. I went to school in williamson county, and got three university degrees in Texas. And this SBOE stunt is shameful. I really miss Ann Richards.
wcnews said,
May 23, 2010 at 10:10 am
Yes this is shameful and backwards. I too miss Ann Richards, and in a case like this especially Molly Ivins.