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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Education Week: Texas Braces for Debate on U.S. History Standards



What the state incorporates into its standards can have nationwide significance because publishers often look to Texas, as well as California—the two biggest adoption states—when writing textbooks.

"Peter Marshall, the president of Peter Marshall Ministries, for instance, said he objected to a 5th grade “citizenship” standard that called for students to be able to identify Cesar Chavez, a Latino civil rights and labor leader; and Benjamin Franklin as people who modeled active participation in U.S. democracy. Mr. Marshall wrote, “To have Cesar Chavez listed next to Ben Franklin is ludicrous. Chavez is hardly the kind of role model that ought to be held up to our children as someone worthy of emulation.”"