"We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate." -Henry David Thoreau
Unfortunately, Texas does communicate with Maine and most of the country in the form of school textbooks that are read by millions of students. Because Texas is one of the largest purchasers of textbooks nationwide, the changes it makes to its standards end up in textbooks purchased by other schools districts around the country. It's a lot of influence to put in the hands of 15 people that comprise the Texas State Board of Education.
Recently, the Board released amendments to the state's curriculum that rewrites history to comport with the ideological and religious beliefs of some members of the board.
“We are adding balance,” said Dr. Don McLeroy, the leader of the conservative faction on the board. “History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left.”
Sure, adding balance in the same way Fox News is "fair and balanced".
Below are some of the changes that Paul Cates of the ACLU writes about in his blog:
"From a civil liberties point of view, among the more troubling recommendations are changes that minimize the importance of constitutional protections requiring the separation of church and state and that paint the country as rooted entirely in sectarian ideology, a claim that educators and historians dispute. For instance, the board eliminated a standard that would require students to "examine the reasons the Founding Fathers protected religious freedom in America by barring government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion over all others."
Moreover, the proposed amendments intentionally distort the rights of minorities and women and minimize their roles as historical figures. For example, Archbishop Oscar Romero, an important leader in the Hispanic community, was removed from the curriculum.
Meanwhile, under the proposed amendments, Confederate leaders are painted in a positive light — elementary students are asked to "explain the growth, and development, and impact of the cattle industry…" including contributions made by Charles Goodnight and Richard King, both active supporters of the Confederate States of America. This pro-Confederacy bias may explain why civil rights — specifically those of African-Americans, Latinos and women — are given short shrift under the revised curriculum, in which such key advances are portrayed as the result of government actions and equality on paper equals equality in reality."
To get an idea of how a few Texas School Board members are trying to impose their ideology on millions of public school students, take our Texas Textbook quiz.