Texas bans Thomas Jefferson from curriculum

The Texas Board of Education has been meeting this week to revise its social studies curriculum. During the past three days, “the board’s far-right faction wielded their power to shape lessons on the civil rights movement, the U.S. free enterprise system and hundreds of other topics”:

– To avoid exposing students to “transvestites, transsexuals and who knows what else,” the Board struck the curriculum’s reference to “sex and gender as social constructs.”

– The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.”

– The Board refused to require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others.”

– The Board struck the word “democratic” from the description of the U.S. government, instead terming it a “constitutional republic.”

As the nation’s second-largest textbook market, Texas has enormous leverage over publishers, who often “craft their standard textbooks based on the specs of the biggest buyers.” Indeed, as The Washington Monthly has reported, “when it comes to textbooks, what happens in Texas rarely stays in Texas.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/12/Texas-education-board-cuts-thomas-jefferson-out-of-its-textbooks/

Democrat Bill White is making the Texas Board of Education -- which voted last week to drop Thomas Jefferson from the world history curriculum, placed Jefferson Davis' inaugural address alongside Abraham Lincoln's speeches and required that students be taught "the unintended consequences" of civil rights legislation -- an issue in the governor's race. White's urging Texans to send Rick Perry an email objecting to the board's conservative take on new curriculum standards for social studies. White says the board is making Texas an object of ridicule. The current and former board chairmen are evangelical Christians and Perry appointees. On his web site, White takes aim at the Republican governor:

Last week the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), led by Rick Perry's appointee, voted to remove Thomas Jefferson from social studies textbook standards. That's right. Thomas Jefferson -- Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and a world-renowned scholar who advocated democratic, limited government -- was deleted from a list of historical figures who inspired political change.
Why?
Because Governor Rick Perry provided no leadership or voice for mainstream Texans against people who decided to substitute their political agenda for the judgment of professional historians.

White's political blueprint is to attract moderates and independents in the fall campaign by portraying Perry as a captive of the hard right. Perry spokesman Mark Miner dismissed the attack as off base. Although Jefferson was dropped from the world history curriculum, Miner notes that he is mentioned elsewhere.

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/03/bill-white-hands-the-Texas-boa.html

I knew Texas was a backwater state, but I NEVER would have seen this coming.

I have nothing to say to this other than 'Well, shit.'

Well played, gentlemen.

I hate public school.

In before HURR NON-AMERICANS COMMENTING ON AMERICA XD

In before HURR NON-AMERICANS COMMENTING ON AMERICA XD

ARLEN keep that shit out.

can't Texas just secede already and leave the rest of us alone?
This is utter bullshit.

DEAR GOD OUR CHILDREN ARE LEARNING ABOUT THE WORLD AND REALITY!
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Texas TO THE RESCUE!

Goddammit, Texas. You're making us look bad.


I can understand wanting an unbiased, equal measure in political teaching, but seriously, removing Thomas Jefferson? It's like they hope that by never talking about sex, kids won't go out to get laid.

Goddammit, Texas. You're making us look bad.


I can understand wanting an unbiased, equal measure in political teaching, but seriously, removing Thomas Jefferson? It's like they hope that by never talking about sex, kids won't go out to get laid.

Actually that is exactly what most people hope will happen.  My parents never talked about sex, other than to tell me if I had it before I was married I was headed straight to hell.  I guess they thought this would be discouragement enough, and assumed it would never happen. Boy were they surprised   The "bury your head in the sand" technique is pretty far practiced in these parts as well lol
/offtopic


ontopic ... uh..   what can I say? :\

IF I PRETEND [SUBJECT ITEMS] DON'T EXIST, MAYBE THEY'LL GO AWAY!

Clearly the best way to deal with sex is to never talk about it, and act as if you should never have it.

That works, right?

I mean, it worked when the Pope did the same with South Africa...

Right?

durr

What did the pope do to South Africa, with its whopping 6% Catholic population? He holds no sway with which he could have done anything at all.

What did the pope do to South Africa, with its whopping 6% Catholic population? He holds no sway with which he could have done anything at all.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7947460.stm

whopping 6% Catholic population

Baptised Catholics made up 17% of the African population in 2006

The Pope basically promoted abstinence (read: Catholicism) by saying condoms increases the risk of contracting HIV. Of course, not having sex would lower the risk a fair bit! However, the Pope (and the Bishops of South Africa) should probably try educating people instead of saying "don't have sex, ever."

Because obviously they're going to have sex and obviously they're going to go about it the wrong way because of stuff like this. I have no way of giving you data on how many people were swayed by his words, but I figure there were people in the Catholic community who listened to him. I also don't think it's out of the question that the crap he dribbled managed to convince non-Catholics that condoms increase the risk of contracting HIV.

Just because you say it before I see the thread doesn't make it any less valid.

ITT: Non-Americans complaining about America.


This is utterly retarded, though, so it's not like I disagree.

@chewey - Africa != South Africa

But realistically, people who obey Catholicism by not using condoms are generally not going to disobey Catholicism by being promiscuous, considering the latter is considered a far more serious sin. Also, he hasn't said that using condoms increases the risk of HIV, he's said that exclusively promoting condoms can increase the problem of HIV in society. What I take that to mean is simply that he thinks a better way to address the problem would be to discourage risky sexual behaviours such as having multiple partners or encouraging monogamy and fidelity. I think there's a difference between saying "never have sex" and "only have sex with one person," and I don't think the latter is as impractical as you claim. I think where, he says that it can increase the problem, he means only that exclusively preaching, "as long as you use condoms, you can do anything you want with anybody you want" is not an effective strategy, especially considering that in many of these communities, many women have very little power to resist sexual advances or to insist on condom use. He could very well be wrong, and I don't think he's right in discouraging the use of condoms; I also think that imposing Western sexual norms such as monogamy on other cultures is a form of cultural suppression and may not be a good solution, but I don't think it's fair to blame the AIDS crisis in Africa on the pope.

I don't understand the issue with people outisde America having opinions about news in America.

Sadly what americans do does have an effect on the rest of us as well eventually.

I don't see how the Texas school board is going to impact Finland and Manitoba. It's not even going to impact Tennessee.

Texas raises their little brats to try to be extreme conservatives, religious fanatics, gay , right-wing republicans, etc, and then those little brats grow up and disperse. They then grow to have more political say and try to start changing the view of the USA as a whole, and then they take over the military and start enforcing their view on anyone who disagrees with them, and soon they take over the world! Mwahahaha!


Does it matter if Skanker or Firerain live outside of the states? I mean, they have the same opinion that everyone else seems to have here, that the Texas Board of Education is being absolutely ridiculous.

Highly entertaining. Seriously. Go for it Texas, go for it.

It gives other countries more of a reason to assume that all Americans are racist, overweight assholes. This way, they can feel better about their 5gb internet limits, and falling asleep to the smell of maple syrup.

hokay

1. my limit is a lot more than 5gb

2. maple syrup is awesome, son.

 

I have to agree with number 2, and....my limit is really low compared to that.... 

There's not a whole lot politically that pisses me off.

That said, this shit pisses me off.

SINCE WHEN WAS KASHII BACK?

I lol'd at the third "bullet" in the first quote, though.

Haha, I told my mother about what the Texas Board is doing, and she said that they should just secede already.