I expect simple behaviours here. Friendship, and love. Any advice should be from the perspective of the person asking, not the person giving! We have had to make new membership moderated to combat the huge number of spammers who register
Location: U.S.
Registered: November 2009
Messages: 630
I am concerned, very concerned.
The news of a Texas School Board commission here in the United States reviewing textbooks with an eye to making changes is always a concern, but never more so than today.
The publishing industry for textbooks used across the country is centered in that state, and now this commission, which is heavily Christian biased, is working on re-writing our history.
In reading the article linked below several things stand out, especially regarding the early history of our country. They wish to change our view of the founding fathers because Thomas Jefferson was a deist and not Christian. Instead he would be replaced with Catholic and Puritan theologians. They would have us believe that this country was founded on Christian beliefs alone and nothing more. What crap! Remember folks, we had slavery here because the Bible said it was OK. More crap.
For a long time I have railed about the texts currently used in home schooling children which leaves out important facts like Darwin and substitutes the Christian revisionist views. I don't believe their diplomas are worth the paper they are printed on. And now this Texas bunch is determined to brainwash the rest of our society. We need our own save the children program.
This is not a conspiracy theory, it seems very real to me. The Christians have been biding their time and unless school systems across the nation reject such changes our true history is doomed to oblivion. See what you think:
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
Monday, March 15, 2010
Brody's Scribbles... American History (REVISED) 7.0 Texas Ultraconservatives Approve Their Version For Textbooks
By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Mar 15 | It's a not so well kept open secret that the State Of Texas' Texas State Board of Education wields considerable power over the materials & contents of school text books that are used in classrooms all over the United States. Decisions by the board -- made up of lawyers, a dentist and a weekly newspaper publisher among others -- can affect textbook content nationwide because Texas is one of U. S. publishers' biggest clients.
Last Friday, that board voting along party and ideological lines, voted 10-5 to give preliminary approval to new standards injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of U. S. pupils for the next decade or so. The final vote is expected in May, after a public comment period that could produce additional amendments and arguments.
How far to the right did the board shift? Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state. Curriculum standards also will describe the U.S. government as a "constitutional republic," rather than "democratic," and students will be required to study the decline in value of the U.S. dollar, including the abandonment of the gold standard.
Ah but that's just the opening salvo fired in what had ended up being a considerably impassioned and acrimonious debate. Ultraconservatives exerted their power over hundreds of subjects this past week, introducing and rejecting amendments on everything from the civil rights movement to global politics. Hostilities flared and prompted a walkout Thursday by one of the board's most prominent Democrats, Mary Helen Berlanga of Corpus Christi, who accused her colleagues of "whitewashing" curriculum standards. By late Thursday night, three other Democrats seemed to sense their futility and left, leaving Republicans to easily push through amendments heralding "American exceptionalism" and the U.S. free enterprise system, suggesting it thrives best absent excessive government intervention.
"Some board members themselves acknowledged this morning that the process for revising curriculum standards in Texas is seriously broken, with politics and personal agendas dominating just about every decision," said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, which advocates for religious freedom.
Republican Terri Leo, a member of the powerful Christian conservative voting bloc, called the standards "world class" and "exceptional." Among the standards Leo deems "world class" is this tidbit:
"The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum's world history standards on Enlightenment thinking, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.”
Board member Cynthia Dunbar wants to change a standard having students study the impact of Enlightenment ideas on political revolutions from 1750 to the present. She wants to drop the reference to Enlightenment ideas (replacing with “the writings of”) and to Thomas Jefferson. She adds Thomas Aquinas and others. Jefferson’s ideas, she argues, were based on other political philosophers listed in the standards.
Board member Bob Craig of Lubbock pointed out that the curriculum writers clearly wanted to students to study Enlightenment ideas and Jefferson. Could Dunbar’s problem be that Jefferson was a Deist?
The board then approved the amendment, taking Thomas Jefferson OUT of the world history standards. The board’s far-right faction has spent months now proclaiming the importance of emphasizing America’s exceptionalism in social studies classrooms. But today they voted to remove one of the greatest of America’s Founders, Thomas Jefferson, from a standard about the influence of great political philosophers on political revolutions from 1750 to today.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. In addition to learning the Bill of Rights, the board specified a reference to the Second Amendment right to bear arms in a section about citizenship in a U.S. government class. Hmm, there's a great idea as if the American nation already didn't have a serious gun problem to start with. Can anyone say "Remember Columbine?"
The board's conservatives also beat back multiple attempts to include hip-hop as an example of a significant cultural movement. I see, so apparently whitey music is good and black music is not good. Oh wait, have any of them heard of Will Smith? You know, famous Hollywood actor who got his start in hip-hop?
Numerous attempts to add the names or references to important Hispanics throughout history also were denied, inducing one amendment that would specify that Tejanos died at the Alamo alongside Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. Another amendment deleted a requirement that sociology students "explain how institutional racism is evident in American society." I see, okay, so this lot apparently thinks that throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water is acceptable.
Oh and then this: The Board refused to require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others.” This group is now scaring me..this smacks of censorship eh?
Then of course in keeping with the other ludicrous and quite frankly whites only Christiban ideology, the board members also rejected requiring history teachers and textbooks to provide coverage on the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, while the late President Ronald Reagan was elevated to more prominent coverage.
Hey there's an excellent idea, lets promote the actor turned politician that ignored the HIV-AIDS pandemic, damn near bankrupted the entire U. S. Government in his race to outspend the Soviet Union into oblivion, oh and lest I forget, laid the groundwork for the loss of American Civil Rights and Liberties by encouraging some rather questionable behaviours by government agencies that were fine tuned nearly 25 years later by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney into the Patriot Act, spying on U. S. citizens, and a host of other measures that have left the U. S. resembling George Orwell's nightmarish vision of a big-brother future.
Finally, there's this gem:
"Board member Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, objected to a standard for a high school sociology course that addressed the difference between sex and gender. It was eliminated in a 9-to-6 vote. She worried that a discussion of that issue would lead students into the world of 'transvestites, transsexuals and who knows what else."
All of this matters because this is what U. S. children in numerous states will be taught unless teachers, principals, and administrators in other states' school systems have the courage, no, make that have the balls to not purchase these proposed revisionist and twisted textbooks. Some are calling this the Texas Textbook Massacre.
Me? I'm in favoring of siccing the Southern Poverty Law Center & the ACLU on these morons as all I see are a bunch of folk wearing metaphorical white hoods & sheets and carrying burning crosses. Oh, did I mention that Reverend King's contributions were marginalised and minimised? Ah yeah, LGBT rights and the fight for equality, such as Stonewall or the White Night Riots? Nope...not happening folks, at least not as far as these Christibans are concerned with their version of history.
Last month, The New York Times Magazine published an article by Russell Shorto about the influence of that school board. It included an interview with leader of the board’s conservative faction, Dr. Don McLeroy. “I’m a dentist, not a historian,” Dr. McLeroy told Mr. Shorto. “But I’m fascinated by history, so I’ve read a lot.”
This recent video report from ABC News includes an interview with Dr. McLeroy in which he defended his work to correct what he sees as the liberal bias of the experts who write American history textbooks:
Political Cartoon By Ben Sargent
The Austin American-Statesman
Location: Canada
Registered: December 2003
Messages: 869
at netscape.aol.com which actually gave extracts from one of the proposed textbooks; but, here are two further links to the story with additional detail.
The article this morning reveals that the proposed revisionist history will deify Joe McCarthy, suggesting he was far ahead of his time. Damn, I wish I could locate the article, but I didn't think anyone here would be interested so I didn't bookmark it.
Warren C. E. Austin
THe Gay Deceiver
Toronto, Canada
George Orwell was right wasn't he? I agree with you, Chris, that the free world is under dangerous attack and the worst danger is from the bigots who pervert our minds rather than the simple-minded Taliban who only shoot at us and bomb us.
And if anyone tells you 'Truth will out' ask them how they would find the truth if it isn't in the book.
All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.
Location: U.S.
Registered: November 2009
Messages: 630
Thank you, Brody...I knew you would be eloquent on the subject. In time the brainwashed millions in North Korea will have nothing on the kids in Texas.
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
Private schools may have the capacity to indoctrinate their students. But not on the same kind of scale.
Centrally planned-curriculum always result in crap like this happening- minority views being forced on an entire STATE of kids.
Rather than fight what is in the curriculum we should be fighting how the curriculum are devised in the first place.
I'd much rather principals and teachers of respective schools have input into what their kids are taught. They are closer to the ground and (usually) better equip to teach what they feel the kids need to learn.
Boards of education projecting an education model top-down... This is the crap that results from that.
Look at this tree. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time [...] No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Oogway
I think things are different in the UK, Saben. The state specified education is fairly middle-of-the-road because it mainly reflects what the consensus of educationalists and politicians will accept of each other.
Here the unacceptable face of religion comes with privately sponsored schools such as the Gateshead Academy where I believe creationism is taught 'alongside' darwinism as if each were a tenable point of view.
But even this is limited to some extent as the children do have to get qualifications and the exams, too, are centrally set and marked.
I don't think it makes a great deal of difference whether schools are state maintained or not. What's important is that each school is well run by well-selected teachers and the governors can dismiss a teacher who is not satisfactory and replace them.
The question of how to build an institution which will be able to maintain an excellent performance is not an easy one to answer.
In my case to declare one is against state education means "there is a difference between provision and funding".
My current-paradigm ideal is what's known as a "voucher scheme". Basically schools can be funded a flat amount on the basis of student enrolment- some schools would be for poorer children that can't afford more than the base cost the government provides. Others may charge extra fees on top of the government provided amount.
The point is that assessment, curriculum, staffing decisions, etc would all be the responsibility of individual headmasters. I trust headmasters more than I trust bureaucrats in Canberra (or Texas as the case may be).
In Australia private schools offer superior outcomes, in a lot of cases, though for parents it is often the discipline and religious side that motivate them. We also have "alternative school", though, such as Steiner Schools. I think such schools offer a glimpse into a more diversified (and quite possibly superior) education.
Look at this tree. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time [...] No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Oogway
You may have a private school that teaches creationism alongside evolution. But that is one school. That model isn't legislated for the entire country.
That's a big deal to me.
Look at this tree. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time [...] No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Oogway
Location: U.S.
Registered: November 2009
Messages: 630
Public vs. private education, so much depends upon the school and the teaching staff. I don't imagine most of the major private schools will be touched by this Texas business unless they are Christian based.
I attended private schools for most of my life. We had good textbooks for the subjects, but a lot of the teachers did not follow the course material chapter and verse. Having good teachers who could speak to the subject at hand made all the difference. The textbook simply became a reference book, we studied for tests from our notes, thoughts and ideas given to us by the teacher.
The shame will come from the poorer schools. If Texas does manage to get all these books changed then school systems will only have access to those books. A textbook is an expensive cost for schools, this is why many of them do not issue the books to the student to take home, they have to be kept at the school.
I would baulk at such a fraudlient use of the books, I used to study at home and a book was necessary. Now it seems the school hands out "study pages" on a daily basis, information taken from the books and copied on cheap paper. It's redundant and forces a teacher to teach to the text and not introduce creative ideas. Heaven forbid a student might ask a question that's not on the page, where would the answer come from?
As it stands many poor, and often inner city schools that teach minorities, are using old textbooks. In some of the history texts I believe the first President Bush is the last president listed. But despite these horrid examples of the way our schools are treated there are still some students who become stars. There are more ways to learn a subject than reading textbooks, it just takes personal motivation.
The very example of that is the new Supreme Court Justice Sotomayer who rose from inner city poverty, to attend the most prestegious scools in the country and now sits at the pinnacle of her profession. It can be done, it has to be done, otherwise those idiots in Texas win. Then we will end up with the Bible as the only text allowed in school. We know how well using just one religious book has served the Taliban.
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
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Re: Revisionist History in America 
