Texans are getting a clear view of what happens when politicians, instead of teachers and scholars, make the decisions about what our children learn in their public school classrooms. The knee-jerk contempt that some members of the Texas State Board of Education have for true religious freedom, the expansion of rights and for general reform […]
social studies
It Gets Even Worse on Social Studies
State Board of Education member Don McLeroy, R-College Station, is circulating new changes he wants to make to proposed social studies curriuclum standards for Texas public schools. We didn’t think next week’s state board meeting on the standards could get any worse than what happened in March. But McLeroy’s proposed new changes have disabused us […]
Far Right Smears Clergy from Press Conference
Wow. It didn’t take long for far-right pressure groups to start smearing clergy members who want the Texas State Board of Education to stop trying to undermine religious freedom in social studies classrooms. Just minutes after the Texas Faith Network’s Capitol press conference today, the far right’s lies started flying across the Internet. Jonathan Saenz, a lawyer/lobbyist […]
Clergy Take Stand on Social Studies
The State Board of Education’s reckless revisions to proposed social studies curriculum standards for Texas public schools have raised serious concerns among classroom teachers and scholars regarding pedagogical issues and historical accuracy. Issues involving religious freedom are also a growing concern, however. In March the board rejected a proposed standard that would have required high […]
A Board Divided by Faith or Contempt?
We have heard the Texas State Board of Education‘s far-right members claim over and over again that they are unfairly attacked for their fundamentalist religious views. They do so even as they seek to inject those narrow views into curriculum standards for our state’s public schools, whether it’s by promoting creationist arguments against evolution or objecting […]
