Check out this alarming interview with Texas State Board of Education member Don McLeroy on the ABC News program Nightline last night. It’s hard to overstate the disaster that is unfolding for the education of Texas schoolchildren — really for schoolchildren across the country, considering the huge influence of Texas in the national textbook market. Fortunately, voters rejected McLeroy’s extremism at the polls earlier this month. Even so, he remains on the board until January. And with the adoption of science and social studies textbooks coming soon, the fight against the rest of the board’s far-right faction will continue far beyond McLeroy’s departure from the scene.
We can’t do it without the support of people like you. Please join us in the fight.
And so it is in politics with our very own Ayatollah, DDS, Don McLeroy. And we wonder why the USA sinks farther and farther behind in Science and Math? You called it , McLeroy.
You know, maybe it’s time for the honchos at the textbook publishers to step up and take a stand. We don’t ever hear anything from them. I bet they read this blog, though. I wish they’d have the guts to speak up.
It’s not “Why We Fight.” In my neck of the woods, it’s “Whah wee Fot.” Ben and Bill should practice saying it. Go ahead guys.
“No taxation without representation.”
The comments at the ABC site are what cause me to despair for this country.
Now, it looks like these amendments will pass. Let’s assume that textbooks publish incorrect info on evolution and history. Can we, as teachers, sue the SBOE, publishers, and such to remove the wording of the TEKS?
Our friend “jdg” brings up an interesting point. Let’s frame that point a little differently so we can see how it stands out in bold geographic relief. Here goes:
Let’s pretend you live in a Georgia county where the locally-elected school board votes in new changes in the mathematics curriculum for K-12. The curriculum requires the following to be taught from now on:
2 + 2 =7
8 x 8 = 43
The value of pi is 8.14
A circle is a three-sided polygon
William Shakespeare invented differential calculus
Waldo Green invented integral calculus
There is no such thing as long division.
A pentagon is round shape measuring 373.7 degrees
Add about 10,000 similar mathematical errors that are also being taught as truth in the county mathematics classrooms.
KEY QUESTION: Could the parents or some other entity take the school board to court to stop this nonsense? We have lawyers who visit here from time to time? What is your opinion? Could this be defined as child abuse? Thanks!!!!
I don’t have an inside track to the textbook publishers, but I would think that someone should emphasize to them that Little Lord McLeroy has been voted out. Listening to him and his sycophants about textbook contents would probably be a financial disaster in addition to being an intellectual disaster.
This is why we need to get the government out of education.
LDM, would you care to explain who you think should manage our children’s educational needs? Homeschooling, perhaps?
Isn’t there a way to stop this legally or legislatively? I am a parent of a school age child and a taxpayer…can’t we sue?
this is the same problem we had 35 years ago, when living in texas, only then it was twice as bad since so few people thought outside the bible or church. now i have to worry about my grandchildren.