Texas Insider

By Carole Hornsby Haynes, Ph.D.

The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) has done an outstanding job in restoring historically accurate social studies & history standards. Recently, the SBOE released updated social studies standards that received preliminary approval in their March meeting.

Distortions and blatant lies have been written by liberal “experts” who are ready to tar and feather the SBOE for “revising our American history”, leaving Thomas Jefferson out, and “bringing religion back into the schools”. It’s doubtful whether these self proclaimed experts have read the curriculum standards, which are available online to the public. 

It’s also doubtful they have ever read any of our original founding documents, relying instead upon the works of revisionist historians who long ago altered our American history to fit their Progressive ideology.

Normally intelligent Americans have bought into this leftist smear about the Texas Social Studies standards because they foolishly believe mainstream media to be reliable in its reporting.  These gullible Americans turn a deaf ear and blind eye to the fact that main stream media does not bother with independent research.

Whatever happened to unbiased, investigative reporting?

One of the most important standards approved by the SBOE is the Celebrate Freedom Week (designated by law HB 1776), during which students will study our founding documents, the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence and the critical role they play in our country.  The standard mandates that students will be instructed “in the intent, meaning, and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in their historical contexts.”

Grades 3-12 will study and recite the following text: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness–That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.”

Although Freedom Week is not new, it has not been a part of the curriculum standards and testing.  Therefore, teachers have not been required to teach the founding documents and their importance to our liberty.

It’s appalling that so many Americans are unable to answer even simple questions about the Constitution.  Nor do they have any idea their unalienable rights are being usurped by our federal government and our elected representatives, who, for decades, have passed legislation that is unconstitutional.

Wonder how many Americans were outraged and alarmed when the Democrat Congressman stated recently that he did ‘not care about the Constitution’, his concern was only about the people? 

Those liberals who were so concerned about Thomas Jefferson “being removed” from the standards ignore Jefferson’s belief in limited government.  Rather they tout that socialism–and big government–is good for the people and capitalism is evil.

Leftists attempted to remove references about our Judeo Christian heritage from the standards, claiming right wing extremists were merely trying to bring religion into our schools. They have denied that our founding fathers and their political philosophies were profoundly influenced by the Bible, even though thousands of historical documents serve as evidence.

A very important addition the SBOE has made to the standards is that of American Exceptionalism, a term first used by Alexis de Tocqueville in the mid 19th century to describe what makes America so special.

After many years of viewing America through a negative lens, our youth again will have the opportunity to study from a positive perspective our American founders, American heroes, American entrepreneurs, and Americans who have pursued the great American Dream.

Also added to the standards is the analysis of unintended consequences of government actions such as the New Deal, the Great Society, and Title IX.   Not told in our Texas American history textbooks is the truth about how big government intervention not only failed to end poverty, but caused millions to give up their freedom to a new plantation master in return for a lifetime of poverty, crime, and low self-esteem.  Along with this came the destruction of the black family unit.

A small rowdy minority now is petitioning the SBOE to trash these standards and permit a group of “experts” to write new standards in order to push their own radical revisionist agenda. 

They claim the voice of the people has been ignored.  Yet it is they who have blatantly ignored the fact that more than 14,000 emails and 30+ hours of public testimony have been received by the SBOE.  They have ignored the fact that there is strong public support for the new Social Studies standards approved by the SBOE in March.

These higher education “faculty and research experts” are demanding that they, rather than our elected SBOE members, make the decisions about what our Texas school children learn because they deem themselves to be so much better qualified.

Reality is that “qualified” educrats have created mass damage to our public school system. They have dumbed down the curriculum and used student centered methodology to such an extent that 42% of those entering college require remedial work.   These intellectual elites have thrown our American values to the winds.  As an unelected review panel they have been responsible for ridiculous changes to our standards including the removal of:

• Christmas
• Albert Einstein
• Neil Armstrong
• Veterans Day 
• Independence Day
• Religious heritage language
• And much more……

These changes were overruled by our elected SBOE members, their expert review panel, parents, and taxpayers of Texas. ALL significant historical facts were returned to our Texas standards.

The screams by liberals across the country are nothing more than those of irresponsible, special interest elitists who have had their radical agenda for our schools and children exposed, an agenda designed:

• to alter the historical facts about our Founding Fathers and founding documents along with their real intent and meaning
• to destroy the truth about how American Exceptionalism and our free enterprise system have made America the greatest nation in the world
• to destroy the American dream
• to destroy the “shining city on the hill”
• to indoctrinate children in Marxist ideology
• to insure that all future generations will know only what the left wing ideologues want them to know, thus being unable to think and reason independently

Because our country’s future lies with our children, we must accept responsibility for their learning and being inspired by a positive and accurate history of America and of Texas. 

Our SBOE members have produced social studies curriculum standards designed to promote academic success and pride in our country, our leaders, and our values instead of the leftist negative view of shame.

It is important that we show our support for the fine work the SBOE has done in creating strong and historically accurate social studies standards.

It is important that we let them know we want them to finalize these social studies standards when they reconvene in May.

To find your representative and contact information, copy and paste the following link into your browser (http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us), or click here.  Then enter your address.

1. Write a brief, respectful letter to your representative prior to May 19th.
2. Public testimony.   During their meeting on May 19, 2010, the SBOE members will be taking public testimony.  Anyone can sign up to make a three-minute presentation.  Those who can attend … sign up to testify by calling (512) 463-9007, starting at 8 a.m. on Friday, May 14th.
3. Written testimony can also be submitted.  Instructions can be found at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3958#Public Testimony

To review the SBOE released social studies standards that received preliminary approval in their March meeting, visit http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=3643. 

The author welcomes reader comments at chaynes777@yahoo.com.