A disservice to students — and history
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Texas Sets a Dangerous Precedent
The Texas State Board of Education recently recommended sweeping alterations for the textbooks it buys, casting American history in a more conservative light. As Texas is the largest single consumer of textbooks because of the nature of its statewide book ordering system, its standards are adopted by the publishing companies, and thus any changes it makes are made to the textbooks that 80 percent of American students read. The changes are typical of Fox News/Glenn Beck extreme-right bias, which is to be expected from a board dominated by ultraconservatives. As a high school student, I find the consequences of this adulteration of history terrifying.
The changes include Latino history and culture being covered meagerly at best; third-party candidates such as Ross Perot and Ralph Nader not being mentioned; Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson being cited as an example of effective leadership; and McCarthyism being given a more positive portrayal. Thomas Jefferson is no longer mentioned as a writer who influenced the intellectual origins of America - apparently due in large part to his espousal of separation between church and state. He is replaced by the likes of Thomas Aquinas andJohn Calvin.
The board also refused to require that "students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from
The Texas State Board of Education recently recommended sweeping alterations for the textbooks it buys, casting American history in a more conservative light. As Texas is the largest single consumer of textbooks because of the nature of its statewide book ordering system, its standards are adopted by the publishing companies, and thus any changes it makes are made to the textbooks that 80 percent of American students read. The changes are typical of Fox News/Glenn Beck extreme-right bias, which is to be expected from a board dominated by ultraconservatives. As a high school student, I find the consequences of this adulteration of history terrifying.
The changes include Latino history and culture being covered meagerly at best; third-party candidates such as Ross Perot and Ralph Nader not being mentioned; Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson being cited as an example of effective leadership; and McCarthyism being given a more positive portrayal. Thomas Jefferson is no longer mentioned as a writer who influenced the intellectual origins of America - apparently due in large part to his espousal of separation between church and state. He is replaced by the likes of Thomas Aquinas andJohn Calvin.
The board also refused to require that "students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from
