Slashdot Mirror
Texas Schools Board Rewriting US History
suraj.sun picked up a Guardian (UK) piece on the Texas school board and their quest to remake US education in a pro-American, Christian, free enterprise mode. We've been keeping an eye on this story for some time, as it will have an impact far beyond Texas. From the Guardian: "The board is to vote on a sweeping purge of alleged liberal bias in Texas school textbooks in favor of what Dunbar says really matters: a belief in America as a nation chosen by God as a beacon to the world, and free enterprise as the cornerstone of liberty and democracy. ... Those corrections have prompted a blizzard of accusations of rewriting history and indoctrinating children by promoting right-wing views on religion, economics, and guns while diminishing the science of evolution, the civil rights movement, and the horrors of slavery. ... Several changes include sidelining Thomas Jefferson, who favored separation of church and state, while introducing a new focus on the 'significant contributions' of pro-slavery Confederate leaders during the Civil War. ... Study of Sir Isaac Newton is dropped in favor of examining scientific advances through military technology."
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future."
They can do that?
They are not even trying to cover up that they are trying to indoctrinate everyone: "Dunbar says really matters: a belief in America as a nation chosen by God as a beacon to the world, and free enterprise as the cornerstone of liberty and democracy."
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
Of course it is absurd that the Texas school board is even considering such changes, but it really is up to the people of Texas to fix their school board.
On the other hand, if an education in Texas gets bad enough, universities and employers might start to pass over applicants from Texas because they are under qualified. This seems like a good thing as it is basically the free market sorting out the educated from the ignorant.
Zero comments after most of a day? Really?
Okay, I'll throw one down. Probably a bit OT, but WTF.
I live in Arizona, ground zero for this crap. I had an interesting conversation about Our State Issues this week.
And I left there thinking:
The problem is not the 25% hardcore dipshits who will always lean this way. Nothing can be done to help them.
The problem is the 30% of otherwise kind, intelligent, educated people who because of some flaw in their heads find themselves thinking things like: "Hmmm, that Glenn Beck fella makes some good points."
I wish there were more I could do to reach them, beyond conversing with them delicately and providing an alternative example by what I say and how I live my life. It will never be enough to turn the tide in the nation, or this state. Maybe not even enough to turn it in this town. But it's what I have. And hoping against hope, I'll keep going with it, and just pray to a god who doesn't exist that power ends up in the hands of better people.
"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..."
--Treaty of Tripoly
Ratified by the Senate, signed by President John Adams in 1797.
I hope that clears things up for these right wing wackos who are confused about our founding fathers' intentions. I hope to see this quote up on a sidebar in the next issue of their books.
I'm wondering why omit Newton, he was a very devout Christian. One of his greatest regrets was not making a theological breakthrough that matched his scientific discoveries. Heck, he was also a strong advocate of maintaining virginity (perhaps too strongly, he died a virgin and reputedly call that his greatest accomplishment).
Putting a pair of words in quotes generally means that the author doesn't share that opinion
Uh No, it means that the author is quoting literally here and is not paraphrasing based on his own opinions.
Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.
No slashdot discussion of the stupidity of textbooks would be complete without a reference to Richard Feynman's little thing on the horribleness of how textbooks get approved. Spoilers: it involves sex, lies, bribery, political cronyism, plagiarism, and other delicious things.
Is there an easy way to find schools with curricula that are less dependent on what happens in Texas? I mean, without having to read hundreds of textbooks and do lots of gruesomely painful research on my own (I get enough of that in my day job).
But the textbook companies will not stand up to it. The Texas School Board has been influencing textbooks for all of America for many decades. Texas is a populous state, so it is a big market for textbooks. Furthermore, Texas is unique in that textbooks are adopted statewide for all the schools in the state. That means huge numbers for the publishers, and that gives the publishers' ears to the School Board.
I do not remember the attempts at influence of the fundamentalists to be quite so blatant in the past. Perhaps they are becoming emboldened in these times of the Tea Parties.
In addition to encouraging you to RTFA, let me strongly encourage you to consider the political position consistently advocated by the paper that published the FA. The Guardian makes no pretense at all of being balanced, centrist, unbiased, or apolitical. This is the British newspaper (and web site) that developed a web site with the names and addresses of registered voters in Ohio, and encouraged their readers to write to them to exhort them to vote for John Kerry rather than George Bush. (Bush won Ohio by a handful of votes--which Ohio politicos attributed to the furious backlash the Guardian created, but that's another story.)
In other words, the Guardian article is an advocacy piece meant to alarm, rather than enlighten. If you're a Brit, this will come as no surprise--if you're as Internet-savvy as a SlashDot reader should be, you shouldn't be surprised, either.
The sun will come up tomorrow, even in Texas...
Despite the panicked anxiety of the writer (and the New York Times, here), it's not terribly controversial to emphasize the strong Christian views of many of America's founders. Which is not to say that America's Constitution is a statement of Christian faith--which is often how this argument is misconstrued. (A standard freshman year American History exam question is to compare and contrast the Christian and Deist views expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.) But it is interesting to know that in most U.S. states you had to be a professing Christian in order to run for political office--it provides a perspective on our First Amendment that is all-too-often missing when discussing what the "separation of church and state" means. (What it meant, then, was that no state could "establish" a church--in the way that the Church of England is established in the U.K., or the Lutheran Church is established in Denmark. They're supported by taxes, their leadership is appointed by government, etc.--they are state religions. Jefferson wrote about a "vast wall separating church and state" to reassure Baptists in New England that they would not face oppression by Congregationalists.).
Isaac Newton vs. military technology:
Well gosh--I can see the insidious hand of Sarah Palin here, too. Or...perhaps, it might be worthwhile to consider that the intentional pursuit of military technology as a means of achieving battlefield superiority has been a hallmark of U.S. strategy since the Civil War. Especially in Texas, home to Ft. Hood, Ft. Sam Houston, Lackland AFB, and most U.S. Air Force pilot training. To me (who majored in Economics and American History) that sounds like a pretty perceptive point to make. I'd include Isaac Newton, too--but presumably they decided something had to give. Oh, well.
Guns
TFA breathlessly tells Brit readers that:
One can understand that this would so shock a Brit that he might drop his second or third pint of Guinness Stout that he'd swilled that day. Which is to say, what a Brit might find commonplace (down two or three pints of Guinness Stout in the U.S. and you're a de facto alcoholic) in the U.S. is seen as entirely normative. Again--given that the entire point of the Second Amendment was a direct reaction to the abuses of British occupation forces prior to American independence--this is a pretty welcome emphasis on the impact of early American history on our constitution and present-day policy. Not to mention, of course, that in Texas even self-avowed liberals emphasize their support for "Second Amendment Rights".
Think critically--read critically
I'm far less bothered by this article (it's the Guardian, for heaven's sake, what would you expect?) than I am by the fact that SlashDot's editors include
I was indoctrinated with a liberal public education full of PC bullshit. And the only effect it had on me was a contempt for those who would push their agendas onto me. I ended up being somewhere between libertarian and conservative, with a strong feeling that the state should neither support nor suppress religious beliefs. I'm an atheist myself, but realize that religion is very important to many people. And atheist conservative, I suppose I challenge the narrow view political labels has taken in the last few decades. But I suggest that perhaps it was the Christian Right that made state religion part of a "conservative" platform.
If Texas wants to eliminate liberal bias and insert some neoconservative/christian right bias then so be it. The ideals of neocons and christian right are generally incompatible and it has fractured the Republican Party for many decades. Likely students will see the contradictions and the hypocrisy and make their own choices. With the wild Internet providing easy access to information, and the culture of this new generation being very open and honest about their beliefs (even though they are often outlandishly liberal) I have little doubt in my mind that students will overcome this minor obstacle in propaganda tainted education. The kids who aren't critical thinkers and fall prey to such propaganda would have fallen anyways, to the Church or to social pressures. They are the causalities of our society, and will be integrated into society as taxpayers and ineffective voters.
It's not like Americans haven't had to face insane propaganda mixed in their education. From Commies to Political Correctness, we over came the bullshit.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Manifest Destiny ... look it up. Think of it as a democratic jihad. Not a good idea. The British had a similar notion: The White Man's Burden. Well meaning ideas that just result in a lot misfortune.
Bitter and proud of it.
You know, back when it was the US and the Republic of Texas?
Not really, it's a lot cheaper to just use open source text books for most things. Granted things like science won't do so well with that, but many things like math and English don't really need to be particularly up to date. Last I checked an open source book cost something like $23 for a print edition.
like the "economic crisis"
Yep, no crisis at all right. Easy to find jobs. We didn't waste billions of taxpayer dollars "bailing out" businesses. Not sure if that was your primary point that it didn't exist, but putting "economic crisis" in quotes seem to indicate it...
or the whole Obama fear.
Because we should all be just happy that we have a president who has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, supports a supreme court nominee vowed against true freedom of speech and supports unsustainable programs. Right?
I say, the primary target should be to shoot Glenn Beck and close down FOX News ASAP.
News flash. News sources are biased. It isn't new. Look at MSNBC, heck, look at the Guardian which TFA is taken from. The Guardian doesn't even make any claims to be balanced or fair.
Oh and is the new tactic to eliminate anyone with views who you don't agree with now?
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
I'm all for this. If they want to diminish science and taint history, let 'em.
That'll give my child that much bigger of an advantage in about 15 years when she's applying for jobs. She'll understand the scientific method. She'll know her history. She'll be well educated, while the children from texas will believe that there is no USSR/soviet union.
This works for me.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Why do you think the GOP is tearing itself apart? Free enterprise is an entirely different religion than Jesusitude. Seriously, read Ayn Rand.
I scream. You scream. I assume that means we're both acquainted with the problem. We proceed.
Reasonable discussion isn't going to cut it any more. A woman who home-schooled her children because, and I'm quoting exactly here, sending them to public education would be "throwing them into the enemy's flames," i.e. damning them to Hell, has gotten some control over the Texas Board of Education. It's time to unleash the awesome power of ridicule.
Seriously. Look at the proposed changes from the article:
These are not the crackpot fringe. These are people in charge of educating the children of one of the country's largest populations, and who influence education thoughout the country.
We're beyond rational discussion here. Reasonable debate only works when both sides are intellectually honest. How about we begin with Harvard, Princeton, Caltech and MIT dropping all applications from students educated in Texas out of hand? I mean, surely no REAL American would want to send their kid to California or the bastions of the Liberal Elite to be educated?
He put his boots up on the table and made a face. "The sig," he smirked. "You can waste your life in search of the sig."
It's time for the US to give Texas back to Mexico. This will solve many problems, such as: (1) lying textbooks, (2) warmongering presidents, (3) Mexicans illegally streaming across the border for jobs, and (4) country and western music.
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Mussolini
It wasn't just Jefferson that wanted to seperate Church and State, there was this guy called Jesus that said "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's".
Then again, we're dealing with merchants in the temple here.
A big clue about whether your Church is about worshipping money and power instead of anything else is their attitude to the poor and homeless. The ironic thing is such wide ranging heresy which could not exist without tolerance is incredibly intolerant.
Texas: "We must close the ignorance gap with Kansas!"
Table-ized A.I.
President John Adams, eh?
John Adams, Oct. 13, 1789
oh, this one is good too:
So while the government of the United States might not be Christian, the opinion at the time was that Christianity was necessary to preserve it. 'Why' is explained above. Atheists have not demonstrated an adequate method for instilling the necessary values on as wide a scale as Christianity. They constantly deride it, coming across as little better than the teenager who thinks his dad's a moron, only to figure out how smart he actually is when he gets to his late twenties.
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
There is not a real "left" in America. Democrats are not left, they are just slightly left of the Republicans. If you want to know what real leftist ideas look like then read about the Green Party, or the Democratic Socialist Party. If those were viable parties and were winning elections then you could say we have a real right-left divide, right now all we have is right and far right so if you have a problem with either the Democrats or the Republicans then you are saying you don't like conservative ideas - they are both conservative.
If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
It might be good for students to learn that slavery existed since the dawn of mankind. They may view things a little differently. We shouldn't be surprised that existed even among relatively decent people. We should be surprised that it was eradicated and ask why it was eradicated.
Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
Warning, do not approach.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
It's time for the US to give Texas back to Mexico.
Sure. You just have to get the okay from Texans, who'd probably go independent first. For that matter, they'd probably burn their own cities and salt every farm & ranch before joining Mexico.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
When you leave it up to the government to decide what to teach everybody's kids, sometimes the people who get to decide what to teach your kids are going to be wrong.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Really? It was actually the liberals that toyed with them-there books first?!?! Well shoot, buckaroo, I guess fillin' the new books with crazy-ass God-fearin', patriotic rhetoric is just fine, so long as it's done in retaliation. You got me convinced!
Grasshoppa,
Where do you think your child will be living in 15 years? The problem with your "my-kid-will-be-one-eyed-in-the-land-of-the-blind" theory is that those blind people all get a vote on where to point the steering wheel. When they vote to drive the car off a cliff, your daughter and mine will be trapped in the car with them.
Sure, maybe her superior education will make her captain of the ship, but that's not gonna help her much when the crew starts setting explosives against the hull down in the hold because "metal ships are not mentioned in the Bible and are therefore an abomination before the Lord..."
You're arguing that an educated woman in Afghanistan is doing great because she's more employable than the Taliban.
He put his boots up on the table and made a face. "The sig," he smirked. "You can waste your life in search of the sig."
Maybe Texas did, but they were wrong.
When Geordi LaForge is taking Advanced Warp Field Theory at Starfleet Academy, when the Narn and the Centauri are running student exchange programs, it will still be "Newton's time."
When we get the Grand Unification Theory and we're about to Ascend beyond the Stargates we've planted all over, we're still going to teach Newton as a rough-and-ready method for most mundane physics and as a precursor for what came next.
Have you heard about this newfangled math called calculus?
BTW, I'm a Christian too, and excuse me as I go repent of the anger in my heart toward this comment, and beg your forgiveness for the snark in this reply.
He put his boots up on the table and made a face. "The sig," he smirked. "You can waste your life in search of the sig."
I especially like the one about ditching Isaac Newton in favor of military technology. Not only did the law of gravity give the first definitive equation for the ballistic trajectory of cannonballs, artillery shells, etc., but Newton switched from being a physicist to being a devout Christian theologian later in his life. I would've thought they'd love Newton, but nooo, they're so ignorant they're chopping out someone who falls right into their key focus areas. Either that, or maybe he was the wrong kind of Christian.
We are the 198 proof..
My grandfather and my wife's grandfather were on opposite sides of WWII. We have radically different interpretations of the events of that conflict. You should hear some of the conflicting explanations my wife and I offer our kids when we travel to some places around the Pacific Rim.
But, to borrow from Lewis Black, we "agree on what the fuck reality is." We agree that you can't talk about Truman without Hirohito, you have to include both Tojo and MacArthur, the A6M and the Corsair.
Only telling part of the truth is a famous method of deception. In fact, the Devil is famous for telling the worst lies by speaking only part of the truth.
The Texas Board of Education isn't even trying to look like they're working in good faith.
He put his boots up on the table and made a face. "The sig," he smirked. "You can waste your life in search of the sig."