Texas to revise history textbooks: liberals out, Limbaugh and Gingrich in

[marmar]

from ThinkProgress:



Texas to revise history textbooks: liberals out, Limbaugh and Gingrich in.

The Texas State Board of Education review committee is preparing to vote on a draft of proposed standards for history textbooks. Noting that the draft has “nothing about liberals,” the Houston Chronicle reported:

The first draft for proposed standards in United States History Studies Since Reconstruction says students should be expected “to identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly and the Moral Majority.” (...) Others have proposed adding talk show host Rush Limbaugh and the National Rifle Association.

The 15-member committee, stacked with 10 Republicans, is expected to vote along party lines. Earlier this year, a panel of right-wing “experts” produced a report urging the committee to remove biographies of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen F. Austin, and César Chávez, and instead add history about the “motivational role the Bible and the Christian faith played in the settling of the original colonies.”


http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/21/texas-history-gingrich/

[Deja Q]

1. Yeah. And Newt only had one wife, never cheated, and stands for integrity like all repubs.

Have these people no limit to their depravity?

[Kingofalldems]

2. I am amazed that there are some who want to negotiate with these

people. All one has to do is study the states where the GOP has absolute power to see what they are about.

[backwoodsbob]

3. then they can teach kids that

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a dinosaur and Ronald Raygun saved us from those evil commies

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

4. Texas secession sounds better every day.

[OHdem10]

5. Do not get caught up in the emotional raling against Newt and Rush

This is serious stuff. The GOP apparently believe they
have destroyed Liberalism. Therefore, there is only one
Philosophy for the United States. Conservatism Rules.

When children go to school they will only learn Conservatism.
Liberalism must have been so bad, they do not print about
it or Liberals anymore.

Texas today, which state will be next, and next and next??

Why do you think we are having such a difficult time with
Health Care Reform. We rolled over and let the GOP destroy
Liberalism.

If there is no alternative to Conservatism, Conservatism wins.

[MadHound]

7. Doesn't necessarily mean that teachers will use the "official" textbook.

Many teachers bring in various other sources to teach with and use the textbook only as a broad outline. I know a number of teachers who use Zinn's "A Peoples' History of the US" and other such sources.

[Lasher]

9. I suspect the Texas State Board of Education will impose approved curriculum enthusiastically.

Just a guess based on this move by their review committee.

[Le Taz Hot]

10. True; however,

I've come across districts that insist the teachers use the prescribed curriculum (no matter how bad) and nothing else. I've run across cases wherein teachers were threatened with suspension if they used outside curriculum. I've not had to deal with Texas Department of Education (so far) but judging by the lack of a coherent set of academic standards not to mention a complete lack of cognitive rigor, I wouldn't be surprised if TX follows that same practice.

[OHdem10]

14. This still should be bone chilling to the Democratic Party.

The very thought that a state could and would conceive of such
a notion--much less, try to put it into effect.

Our Party fails to take these things seriously until it
is too late.

[Lasher]

6. How many times have you heard a Republican accuse Democrats of wanting to revise history?

Projection. It's a core component of your basic Republican.

[KingFlorez]

8. This is highly inappropriate

I can't believe something like this would even be seriously considered, but this is Texas which is heavily Republican, so that explains a lot it. Something like this shouldn't even be allowed, it's fascist.

[baldguy]

11. Rush Limbaugh is more important than George Washington?

How is this different from the Soviets air-brushing pics to remove Stalin's political enemies?

[OHdem10]

15. Of course not, the Founding Fathers were Christian Right Wingers

Did you not realize this is already the dogma.

[DrDan]

12. do you really think this has anything to do with the downfall of education in the U.S.

It is all the fault of football coaches.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6368024

[ShadowLiberal]

13. Typical southern republican move, if you don't like it and don't want it to spread censor it

How many times over the last 2 centuries have they censored (as in ban & burn) books about things they didn't like, such as Uncle Tom's cabin, etc, fearing that the political views in them would spread in the south to?

They're fighting a losing battle, they know that demographic changes, and the large number of minorities in the state will inevitably make Texas no longer a solid red state.

[OHdem10]

16. They still have a strangle hold on Democratic Party. Where

do we get the Blue Dogs. Who is giving us problems with HCR--Blue Dogs.

[Chile]

17. Politicians writing "their" own history?

No wonder health care plans getting compaired to euthanasia.

[Odin2005]

18. Why should this surprise anyone?

Public schools are the first thing ideologues on both the right and the left pervert for purposes of social engineering and indoctrination.

[booley]

19. So when Shrub said he would leave it to history to judge

we should have realized what he meant is he'll leave it to other cons to rewrite the history to make a predetermined judgment.

[onager]

20. My favorite Texas history quote...

"If the English language was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for me."--Texas Governor Miriam "Ma" Ferguson, during a debate on bilingual education in the 1930's.

In 1932, Ferguson was asked to parole a Texas inmate, a small-timer arrested for petty thief and burglary. Instead, for no apparently good reason, Ferguson awarded the prisoner a complete pardon.

Maybe she got the forms mixed up.

That particular prisoner wouldn't be a small-timer for long. After his unexpected pardon, Ivan "Buck" Barrow hooked up with his little brother Clyde and went on a long and bloody crime spree.

[Ilsa]

21. Lovely. I'll be sure to place some up-yours stickers next to their names

in the textbooks before my son turns his in. Hell, I might just tear the goodam section out in protest.

I am so goddam tired of the Texas school system. They treat our children like criminals, they don't hire enough speech therapists for disabled children, they instruct the teachers to offer Bible instruction, and now this bullshit. Makes me dream about mcveighing the whole damned dept.

[DFW]

22. Awful, but believable

Man, am I glad my children were educated elsewhere!