On 2.6.2010, Mathew Staver of Liberty Council was on Huckabee speaking about the upcoming Texas School Board meeting about textbooks and curriculum. For those that do not understand the economics of this decision; what Texas decides will end up in your childrens’ textbooks, no matter where you live.
That meeting is going to be held this week, and here is the update.
This week in Texas, the State Board of Education (SBOE) will consider curriculum modifications that could impact millions of students across America. That’s because what Texas ultimately decides has great influence among textbook publishers. The Lone Star state is one of their biggest customers in the world, so publishers craft their books to meet Texas standards. Those books are then sold nationwide. While the Texas SBOE debates whether to include things like Christmas, Paul Revere and the Liberty Bell – some are calling the textbook showdown the newest frontline of the culture war in the U.S.
It’s a battle Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, is watching closely, “Well, if you grab the minds of the young people you grab the minds of the next generation.” Sekulow believes a child’s school board meeting is the most important governmental event a parent can plug into. “Parents don’t check their rights to raise their children at the door to the schoolhouse,” Sekulow cautions. He knows the stakes are high this week in Texas because, “This curriculum, once established, will effect a generation of students – how they think.”
Others are concerned that conservative, religious interests are attempting to stuff Texas textbooks full of their viewpoint. Barry Lynn, of Americans United for Separation of Church and State warns, “There is a whole movement to convince Americans that this was founded as a Christian nation, and that’s simply not the case.” Lynn also worries, as others do, that elected board members – and not educators – are the ones making the final curriculum decisions. “The idea of electing people to make judgments about these topics, which frankly they often known nothing about, is a terrible idea,” Lynn says. (emphasis mine)
“If not a christian nation, then what? Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Pagan? Wasn’t it Pilgrims that sailed on the Mayflower looking for religious freedom?” – How about largely deist? As that is what most of the founders seem to have been. Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Hamilton all seem to show strong deist tendencies in their writings. Especially the last three.
For the last fifteen or twenty years the textbooks have been dropping information about the establishing and settling of America. If you pick up a textbook from twenty years ago and compare it to one of today you won’t recognize the history as that of the same country.
I began collecting and saving history books at least twenty years ago, and have been urging people to go to yard sales, library sales, thrift stores and book sales and buy all the history books they can get their hands on.
This may be the only way your children and grandchildren will get the true story of our country; How it was founded; Why it was founded ; Where the settlers came from, etc.
Too many people are content to let the so-called educators decide what our children should know about the facts. Indeed, the fewer facts the better as far as some are concerned. Just remember history teaches that mistakes (and gains) made and not learned from are doomed to be repeated.
Notice how fast I did not respond to Steve? Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but he has obviously been reading the edited versions.
Jim on March 11, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Barry Lynn has a typically incorrect take on the founding of our nation based on one incorrect word. In recent years, I have heard countless people incorrectly quote our founding fathers, stating “freedom from religion” as a basic tenet among them. The founding fathers oft quoted tenet is “freedom of religion”, which means that old King George would not be able to impose the Catholic Church, Epsicopalean, or any other state-supported religion upon you. You have “freedom OF religion”. While I also support that you have freedom FROM religion, if that is what you want, it was never indicated such by the founding fathers. Ergo, our nation WAS founded as a Christian nation, and an endless library of published papers from the day prove it is so. If American history is to be correctly taught, that emphasis must be included. Freedom FROM religion needs also to be considered is we are to consider ourselves a free nation.
Messing with our history in Texas https://logisticsmonster.com/2010/03/08/texas-board-of-education-meeting-on-textbooks-this-week/
WE must preserve our heritage!
“If not a christian nation, then what? Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Pagan? Wasn’t it Pilgrims that sailed on the Mayflower looking for religious freedom?”
– How about largely deist? As that is what most of the founders seem to have been. Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Hamilton all seem to show strong deist tendencies in their writings. Especially the last three.
RT @Hammax: Messing with our history in Texas https://logisticsmonster.com/2010/03/08/texas-board-of-education-meeting-on-textbooks-this- …
For the last fifteen or twenty years the textbooks have been dropping information about the establishing and settling of America. If you pick up a textbook from twenty years ago and compare it to one of today you won’t recognize the history as that of the same country.
I began collecting and saving history books at least twenty years ago, and have been urging people to go to yard sales, library sales, thrift stores and book sales and buy all the history books they can get their hands on.
This may be the only way your children and grandchildren will get the true story of our country; How it was founded; Why it was founded ; Where the settlers came from, etc.
Too many people are content to let the so-called educators decide what our children should know about the facts. Indeed, the fewer facts the better as far as some are concerned. Just remember history teaches that mistakes (and gains) made and not learned from are doomed to be repeated.
Notice how fast I did not respond to Steve? Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but he has obviously been reading the edited versions.
Barry Lynn has a typically incorrect take on the founding of our nation based on one incorrect word. In recent years, I have heard countless people incorrectly quote our founding fathers, stating “freedom from religion” as a basic tenet among them. The founding fathers oft quoted tenet is “freedom of religion”, which means that old King George would not be able to impose the Catholic Church, Epsicopalean, or any other state-supported religion upon you. You have “freedom OF religion”. While I also support that you have freedom FROM religion, if that is what you want, it was never indicated such by the founding fathers. Ergo, our nation WAS founded as a Christian nation, and an endless library of published papers from the day prove it is so. If American history is to be correctly taught, that emphasis must be included. Freedom FROM religion needs also to be considered is we are to consider ourselves a free nation.
Jim,
I am old enough that when I learned about the founding of our country is was “Freedom OF Religion”…when did it get changed; the ’60’s?
It was changed when the freedoms people wanted did not check with the religion they pretended to practice.