Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

Teaching Conservatism

by BooMan
Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 01:16:56 PM EST

As if Texans weren't generally conservative enough, now they will be indoctrinated in the public schools.

AUSTIN, Tex. — After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.
The vote was 10 to 5 along party lines, with all the Republicans on the board voting for it.

I suggest the rest of the country adopt textbooks that equate electing presidents from Texas with starting expensive land wars in Asia that cannot be won. Yeah, I know that Truman was from Missouri, by why stick with the facts?

Optional: teach students that all the Founding Fathers were into voodoo.

Teaching Conservatism | 21 comments (21 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Teaching Conservatism (4.00 / 2)

From what I have read, these will be the textbooks that the rest of the country will use, as Texas makes most of the textbooks and it's cheaper to buy the ones that have the highest runs, i.e. Texas is also biggest buyer, therefore those will be the ones most often purchased.

Click here to step into the Village Blue2

by diane101 (dianed101 @ yahoo.com) on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 01:42:04 PM EST

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

The larger textbook companies routinely do regionally adapted editions. They couldn't sell a Texas book in CA, for example. Their record of caving to even the most idiotic pols in Texas and elsewhere has been pretty shameful for the most part.

Textbooks have always been of questionable value, but in most parts of the country they're now a lot more honest then they were a few decades ago. In the intelligent parts of the country there's a trend to use more source material, including the Net, and less prepackaged stuff from the educational publishers. In places like Texas, who knows. With a school system run by morons, the schools themselves will do the kids a lot more harm than just textbooks.

FDR's response to progressive demands: "I agree. Now go out and make me do it."

by DaveW on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 03:41:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

I just had a thought -- standardized testing, which has increased in popularity with the cries for accountability, might likewise increase the use of standardized texts. Testing isn't new but it's a good excuse to demand the purchase of new materials.

I've had to wonder if one of the elements in the attack on education is the motivation to sell new texts.

The following report is an excellent treatment of the subject.

http://www.commonwealinstitute.org/cw/files/Responding_Ed_Report%20from%20CI%20website_0.pdf

ad bellum purificandum - Kenneth Burke

by colinski on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 06:46:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

Last night on our local Ca. news, they did in fact say that Ca was likely to get these books.

Click here to step into the Village Blue2

by diane101 (dianed101 @ yahoo.com) on Sun Mar 14th, 2010 at 09:29:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 1)

If someone can come up with enough basis for a lawsuit to slap a restraining order on this bunch of idiots, I think we might actually overturn the board enough by November to solve this specific problem. (I mean "we" literally, I'm in Texas.)

The larger issue of letting Texas set textbook standards for the rest of the country, though, remains to be dealt with. Maybe other states should abandon textbooks altogether and move to electronic/online media, thus bypassing the system completely.

by lacerda on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 01:25:30 PM EST

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

Your suggestion about moving toward electronic/online media will, oddly enough, arrive in impoverished rural areas sooner than you may expect. In coastal NC, the state cannot pay enough to convince qualified teachers to live out here. Their solution is large-screen video systems with one teacher in Raleigh or Charlotte beaming out to multiple classrooms across the state. Students' desks are being equipped with keyboards and smaller screens to allow taking tests, researching documents & email interactions. Classrooms will share printers for hard copies. "Monitors," i.e., low-paid caretakers, will sit in the classrooms to maintain order. Many school/public libraries here already allow students/residents to "check out" laptops! Online textbooks will also be part of this system beginning next year.

Rural NC -- where the next generation will never have to directly look a teacher in the eye!

by sjct on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 02:31:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

I would think teachers could have a case that politically based "standards" like this violate their free speech rights. It's insane that totally unqualified politicians get to micromanage what professional teachers do.

The bottom line is, what the hell's wrong with Texas, and why do the rest of us have to be in the same country with it? I think it's a shame that all the pol talk about secession is just hot air.

FDR's response to progressive demands: "I agree. Now go out and make me do it."

by DaveW on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 03:35:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Texas Education Agency (TEA) (none / 1)

The State Board of Education (SBOE) has legislative authority to adopt the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for each subject of the required curriculum. SBOE members nominated educators, parents, business and industry representatives, and employers to serve on the review committees.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
DRAFT Proposed Revisions
World History Studies (pdf)

Social studies standards, educator preparation accreditation program win State Board's backing

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

by Oui on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 02:11:31 PM EST

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

sigh

National curriculum...it's time for one.

by seabe on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 03:34:36 PM EST

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 1)

That strikes me as a nightmare scenario.

FDR's response to progressive demands: "I agree. Now go out and make me do it."

by DaveW on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 03:43:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

Why's that? The right-wing outcry or legitimate concerns? If so, what would those be?

by seabe on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 03:47:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

I guess I don't feel any need to rescue places like Texas from their own idiocy. National curriculum standards would be set by education-school academics who are generally the bane of good teachers. At the same time they'd be political and thus inevitably sink to the standard of being the least offensive to the most ignorant -- ie, just more pablum for everybody, nationwide. At least now there are places in the country where good educators can try something new and better, or just more competent and honest. I see no reason we should all be dragged down toward the level of places like Texas, Kansas, and western PA.

FDR's response to progressive demands: "I agree. Now go out and make me do it."

by DaveW on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 04:01:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

Did you hear about Obama and his education comments Friday(it might have been Thursday). Basically, educators from across the US gathered to plot the way forward for education and Obama said something about national standards. And Governor Good-hair(that's Perry of Texas for those that don't know) didn't waste 5 minutes in telling the educators, and Obama, to stick it where the sun don't shine. I just wanna know how the state of LBJ, Molly Ivins and Jim Hightower became so messed up.

by Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 04:16:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

Standards probably meant more national test stuff than curriculum. I don't think the feds micromanaging curriculum content is much of an improvement over Texas dimwits doing so.

FDR's response to progressive demands: "I agree. Now go out and make me do it."

by DaveW on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 05:05:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

I'm all in favor of nat'l curriculum standards.

"One America" Obama should be, too. We shouldn't have two sets of US History being taught out there, one mostly true for some of the Blue states and one mostly false for the rest of the country.

Here's hoping Obama can show he's at least tough enough, ferchrissakes, to stand up to one yahoo governor and his wacky school board.

by Brodie on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 05:31:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

food for thought (none / 0)

The trick would be to get people to think these new standards are somehow the result of Republican bigwigs in another part of the country. Texans seem so devoted to bucking other people's will, they'd shoot themselves in the foot hurrying to get rid of this crap.

The more control, the more that requires control. This is the road to chaos. -Frank Herbert, The Dosadi Experiment

by chimneyswift on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 04:23:20 PM EST

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

The Texas Board of Education reviewers are the very definition of a complete and fatal disconnect. They claim they want to stress American exceptionalism and explain its roots. So then they dump the writings of Thomas Jefferson in favor of John Calvin (a French Catholic) and Thomas Aquinas (an Italian priest)to prove their point. The logic is obtuse and the reasoning is absurd. I suppose the next step to to completely eliminate all written history of Paine, Madison, et al. Who needs founding fathers when we have Phylis Schafley and the Moral Majority.

by Roodster (RoodsterCrows) on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 06:45:14 PM EST

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

This whole charade is because of Texas's supposed dominance in the text book publishing game.

Why isn't there a multi-state consortium of buyers? I dunno a North East governors conference of buyers or a mid-Atlantic one.

This seems so easily offset that the whole thing says to me that that the victims are even more stupid than the perps. And that is deeply stupid.

by paulo on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 08:19:40 PM EST

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

It was previously counterbalanced to some degree by California's influence but California isn't buying any tests right now because of its economic problems, which are in part the result of Proposition 13's 2/3rds requirement that gives conservatives there a veto over increases in educational funding.

ad bellum purificandum - Kenneth Burke

by colinski on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 09:15:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

Here's a good article on this subject.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2010/1001.blake.html#Byline

ad bellum purificandum - Kenneth Burke

by colinski on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 08:50:19 PM EST

Re: Teaching Conservatism (none / 0)

At present, I'm wondering if public education will survive at all in our state after the governor and his henchmen finish pulling a Grover Norquist on it.

They came up with an easy formula:

Move teacher salaries and other general fund items from stable property tax revenue funding to a much more volatile sales and income tax funding scheme.
Wait for a recession.
Presto! Now there's a 300 million shortfall in public school funding.

Makes great neocon sense, since it rids school payrolls of large quantities of teachers, pleases the teabaggers no end and pisses off the teacher unions. Indiana is projected to lose 5,000 teacher positions this year.

Textbooks are a minor concern here at this point.

I predict blowback from parents.

"I never trust people who don't laugh." Maya Angelou, March 5, 2009

by Indianadem on Sat Mar 13th, 2010 at 10:28:28 PM EST

Teaching Conservatism | 21 comments (21 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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