Comments on: Part I of III: The Left’s War on U.S. History

By: Anonymously Anonymous

Anonymously Anonymous — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:40:40 +0000

Having known Ryan Valentine since he was just a young kid, and knowing the values he was reared with, and knowing some of his family, I can truly say that “much learning has driven him mad.”

By: Bubbles

Bubbles — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:23:12 +0000

It is despicable that you right wingers want to eliminate anybody who is not white from Texas history books. Newsflash: people of all races have fought in our wars and built our country. You want to perpetuate a myth of white superiority.

Furthermore, the Founding Fathers were not Christians. Stop spreading that lie.They were Deists. Read “The Age of Reason” by Thomas Paine, and you will see what he thought of Christianity.

By: polako1

polako1 — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:03:23 +0000

Bill Ames, and all those who agree with him, are the poster children in favor of abortion! Your parents should have been forcibly sterilized!

By: D. Williams

D. Williams — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:52:16 +0000

E148 – I think you missed my point. I teach US History and World Geography. I don’t teach about other cultures/countries in US History, unless we’re talking about (for example) Gemany or Japan during WWII…I mean, how does that not make sense. Again, I think we would have to agree to disagree about what “revisionist” really means. I see a revision as changing a fact as though a mistake was made. When you’re mentioning what had been previously left out, that’s not a revision, it is fact that had never been discussed. Slaves did help to build the economic foundation of the US (more than the two paragraphs in my history books that said black peeople were slaves, the Civil War happened, then they were free and Martin Luther King Jr. came along, had a big march and gave a great speech and everything was OK.) I understand that it is a survey course and we can’t hit everything, but the TEKS for social studies are SO ambiguous that what can be emphasized or not emphasized can be left up to the teacher and I understand how that can be a problem. I had one of my students tell me once that “Blacks and Asians and Mexicans aren’t in history books because they never did anything…” So is that the mindset you want our kids to have? And this was a smart kid who graduated in the top %10 of our DISTRICT.

How would you feel if you are taking a class and you never saw how anyone who looked you ever did anything positive for the country? I have seen ALL of my students perk up when we learn things they had never known and may never know – everyone is not going to college. And when they are able to learn these things, they think “Oh, I really am a part of this…” I AM NOT a touchy-feely liberal or love or leave it Conservative. I am too smart and have far too much common sense to think either political leaning has all the answers or have a clue as to how to handle real issues in the classroom.

And when it comes to politcs, my students can never figure out where I stand. And that means I’ve done my job. Present the information and they make up their own mind. Again, teaching them how to think not what to think.

By: Don

Don — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:00:02 +0000

Nohing on the left or the right in regards to politics should be taught in the classroom. Politics should be taught at home. Only historical facts should be taught in the classroom.

By: Edward Stimach

Edward Stimach — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:03:20 +0000

I have read all the confllicting comments on education above, and I see some truth in all of them.
So I guess the truth is–too much politics in education…..I don’t have a solution.
No wonder private/home schooling is on the rise. I guess one’s perception becomes the truth.

By: E148

E148 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:53:47 +0000

that should be “so far”.

By: E148

E148 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:48:20 +0000

I am not an educator.I maybe the only poster, sa far, who is not. I did not go to grade school in this state but my daughter did. I did go to college here though. I know nothing of unions and particularly nothing of teacher unions, so I will not comment on that.

D Williams– your third point: A change to anything is a revision. So your changes are revisionist by definition.

“Growing up I never learned anything about Africa or Asia or South America or the contributions of different groups to American history.” Neither did I so far as American History goes, nor should I learn about South America in US History. I did learn things like the Chinese had a big hand in building the railroads (from the west) but I did not learn that the Irish had a big hand in building the railroads from the East. Nor that a lot of Irish people died in our Civil War on both sides. I went to high school back in the 1970s. US History needs to be taught for the majority of the people and the majority are from Europe.

As time goes on the more US History has happened an must be covered. History is a survey course– highlights. The history of the Chinese and the railroads, for example, is of less importance than the history of the Irish on those same railroads. Most of us are of European origins. Europeans had more to do with making this country what it is.

You can take college courses in African, Asian, or South American studies and focus on them but high school should just give the general background for how we came to be. AS a matter of fact you can probably get a PhD by studying the Battle of Gettysburg or the Civil War in general or in whatever subset of US history you want.

Just because you want to know every detail of US History does mean it should be taught. It is fine that you want to know this, by the way.

By: D. Willliams

D. Willliams — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000

I have been a social studies teacher for 11 years. Four of those years in alternative schools with kids who were on the fast track to jail, not college. I am a parent and a teacher and cannot believe how woefully misinformed some people are.
First, why in the name of all that is sane, do people think that teacher’s unions have all this power? Not in my school, certainly not in my district. The teachers I know are only part of the union to protect themselves from frivolous lawsuits. I don’t know any teacher, myself included, who expects that the union is going to do anything in the way of changing legislation, improving the classroom environment, etc.
Second, why was there not an uproar last year when a right-wing political group proposed that we only teach world history from a European perspective and leave out Africa, Asia and South America as if they didn’t exist?
Third, as a student and teacher of history I can assure you that what some of you may call “revisionist” history is not revisionist, it is just adding what has been left out for 100 years or more. Growing up I never learned anything about Africa or Asia or South America or the contributions of different groups to American history. It was all about Europe and Europeans. Now when I teach, I make sure my students know about both the good and bad that EVERYONE has done throughout the world – and that is the only diversity I’m interested in.
Now I could get into 19 year-old freshman, 16 year-old seventh graders, parents that don’t care (and that’s were it really starts), administrators that are out of touch and a host of societal issues that burden education…but I digress. If Americans want to get real and “fix” education we are going to have to take a very, long, hard politically incorrect look at ourselves. Stop trying to assign blame. Most people aren’t interested in solutions; they only want to be right. Realize that your way isn’t the only way. Understand that helping your kids to get a quality education does not mean that they just learn to agree with you. Give your children some credit; teachers like me want to teach them how to think not what to think. I take great responsibility and pride in knowing that I make a point to explore different perspectives and to “dare” my students to look at things through someone else’s eyes. That is how you foster learning, capture the “video-game” generation and get them to THINK, not push a button and get the answer. That’s what real teachers want. And I know a lot of them. But, of course, I can only speak for myself.

By: Dennis Berger

Dennis Berger — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:46:47 +0000

Allow me to address the remarks by Mr Ames by pointing out that I am a member of the committee he was on that was charged with writing the 11th grade U.S. history TEKS.
I am a public educator in the Panhandle and have been one for seven years. Before that I served twenty-one years in the Air Force. I have voted Republican for president every year since 1976. That said, I resent his categorization of myself as being liberal. Rather, I prefer to label myself “intelligent.”
In our committee there were a number of persons who proudly labeled themselves liberals, but at the same time I saw a group educators who know that no matter what your ideological bent, you leave it at the classroom door.
In our deliberations on the curriculum there was a great deal of heated discussion about particular individuals and events. We did our best to make the TEKS as inclusive as possible, while maintaining as much balance as possible. For instance, one SBOE member had directed us to note the importance of Congress in “giving” blacks their civil rights. The final TEKS on this issue noted that the Congress, two presidents, and various civil rights groups worked in concert to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Like I said, inclusive and balanced.
In another episode we decided to eliminate the listing of specific World War I battles, not to minimize the sacrifice of doughboys, but to streamline the TEKS. We know that teachers will mention those battles. Yet, when I supported that proposal I was called unpatriotic by Mr.Ames. (It has not escaped my attention that those who have never been to war are always the first to wave the flag.)
Despite Mr. Ames’ contention about interest groups no member of the group, with the possible exception of Mr. Ames himself, allowed an outside group to dictate to us what should go into the TEKS. In my view it is an outstanding product–one that Texas school kids can benefit from.
An outstanding “conservative” scholar at Texas Tech, Dr. Jim Reckner, once mentioned that a “liberal” education was not one in which only liberal leaning topics were taught, but one in which you provide the students with as much information as possible, from both sides, and allow them to interpret it. I believe that with these TEKS the teachers of Texas have that ability.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:46:51 +0000

Perhaps I should be more specific. As a retired Texas classsroom teacher and long-time member of the Texas Council for the Social Studies, I am highly offended by the characterization of the organization as “a liberal educators’ group.” The organization seeks to support social studies educators in all fields, history, geography, government, and economics. Most of the members that I know personally, are rather conservative, as I am myself. But above all, the organization has in my opinion, always maintained a forum for open discussion of issues, demonstrating respect for the values and opinions of both liberals and conservatives in addition to moderates. Indeed, this organization has always been more moderate than other teacher groups, such as TSTA and NEA, two organizations I resigned from decades ago because of their liberal leanings.
Additionally, I contest the statement: “It was the TCSS that had attempted to hijack the standards review process.” Teachers across the state knew in advance that the TEKS revision was pending. TCSS provided an opportunity for them to consider possible revisions in the social studies TEKS. The results of the survey were organized to efficiently communicate those ideas to the State Board of Education. It is regretable that anyone was offended by this effort, but let me assure you that hundreds of teachers, both liberals and conservatives, had opportunity for thoughtful input based on their expertise in the field and their experience with students. In addition, untold hours of hard work by dedicated teachers, went into the collection and organization of the information that has been characterized as a “hijacking”.
Despite the atmosphere in Austin, I will continue to participate in the political process of TEKS revision, even though I have retired from the classroom. I also will continue to participate in the Texas Council for the Social Studies, even though it has been inaccurately characterized as “liberal” by Mr. Ames, because it is an organization of skilled professionals dedicated to acting in the best interest of the children, the future of Texas.
Thank you for the opportunity to join this discussion.

By: C. R. Evans, Jr.

C. R. Evans, Jr. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:23:43 +0000

There is no”union line” in our school.

By: C. R. Evans, Jr.

C. R. Evans, Jr. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:21:49 +0000

I am probably more conservative than most and a recently retired public schoolteacher. I taught math for 41 years but also am certified in History.

Who are these teachers in your reply? Our school is small. We have a total of 42 certified teachers. Only 6 of them voted for Obama. Most of the teachers that I know are independent, value oriented voters who believe that Obama is the most dangerous man on the planet.

Many social studies teachers are frustrated with the curriculum. The problem is that many are fearful of losing their jobs if they try to “correct” the curriculum. In many schools department heads and and, to a certain extent, administrators control the classroom lessons. They don’t want to lose their jobs because of TAKs. We have to meet the absurd standards of TEKs or else. In smaller schools like ours teachers have a little more freedom…or maybe it’s just our school that has more freedom to “correct” things.

Home schooling is a solution to this problem but we need more conservatives on the Texas State School Board. They have to be the guardians of our history.

By: Radman

Radman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:40:49 +0000

Wake up Jenny! Wake up Doc! Those teachers who do not vote their union’s party line keep it to themselves for fear they will be ostracized and marginalized by their peers! While I wholeheartedly (and sadly) agree that teachers have lost control of their classrooms…and are almost prohibited from removing disruptive and sometimes violent students, I would point out that until the teachers collectively accept some reasonable competition for the product (“education”) they provide (e.g., vouchers that would permit students to escape failing schools), NO thinking person will believe that the vast majority of teachers will NOT continue to vote for the perpetuation of their monopoly in public schooling.

Oh, and Jenny, you cannot have a “fact that is “inaccurate.” “Inaccurate fact” would be an oxymoron. And don’t just make the statement that there are inaccuracies in the article. If you are going to challenge Mr. Ames, be specific. The unvarnished truth has a way of being “offensive,” especially to those folks whose personal bull is being gored.

CW is right! Parents must find a way to talk to their children about what they are being taught in the classroom. And, if its political correctness or revisionist history, they must take whatever action is necessary to stop it…even if it means educating them at home or sending them to a private school. Otherwise, this nation reaps a tainted crop from what the government schools have sown.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:48:00 +0000

To Pauline, if you are talking about teachers in Texas, you are absolutely wrong.

To Doc, I disagree with your assessment of the article; I found inaccurate facts in the article and found the tenor of it very offensive. However, I agree with your observations about teachers. Thank you.