pineda Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 If you are a parent of school age children, I suggest that you pick up one of their textbooks sometime over the holidays and just read over what's in there. In the state of Texas, there are no parental oversight committees or even any oversight committees at the State Board level. The State Board of Education apparently discontinued such committees in 1995 when Dan Morales challenged the law and won. Dan Morales has since suffered personal as well as public disgraces. The State Board of Education in Texas submits things that need to be covered in textbooks to meet the current requirements for TAKS testing and the controversial "No Child Left Behind" unfunded mandate. But then the contract is turned over to publishers in New York, whose perceptions of reality may be radically different than what you think, to publish whatever they want. They are told what TO put in the books, but not what NOT to put in the books. In a recent check of a newly published history book, Orville and Wilbur Wright were left out completely on a chapter concerning pioneers in aviation. A black female wingwalker was mentioned instead so as to keep everything "equal". I'm sure she had an interesting story to tell, but to leave out other more prominent history makers in order to make history more "interesting" to students is just wacky. If you get a chance, check out their textbooks. It might be very enlightening to you!BTW, if you know who your local legislators are, and you have school age children in your family, why not shoot a call to them and ask where THEIR children go to school! People who are intimately familiar with the inner workings of the Texas State Board of Education and legislators who work on committees with them seem to have a high percentage of their own children enrolled in PRIVATE schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeightsGuy Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Pineda, ever hear of the Texas Eagle Forum? Or how about their arch-nemesis the Texas Freedom Network?Check them both out and report back, I think you'll find there are more than you think keeping an eye on what happens with the textbooks in Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted December 10, 2004 Author Share Posted December 10, 2004 Texas Freedom NetworkHuman Light OrganizationTexas Eagle ForumThanks, Heights Guy, for the eye-opening websites. I appreciate learning new things all the time, and this is something I know very little about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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