So what is the deal with the Texas State Board of Education anyways? And how in the world did we end up voting in people who want to implement religion into the school curriculum and take out facts and true events related to minority groups? Anyone want to take a stab at this? I will take a turn: it’s the overly religious right-wingers on the SBOE who want our kids learning solely about Jesus and all the white, male, conservative followers of the last two thousand years.
Recent changes in Texas textbooks reflect the staunch resistance by the SBOE to the economical, social and spiritual evolution of the total population of America. Apparently, these “righties” want our children believing that, as columnist Michael A. Jones expresses it, “Jesus wrote the Declaration of Independence.” Relatively soon, our kids will know how to judge the Black, Hispanic, Asian, female and Gay population with the critical and condemning eye of a true religious, right-wing fanatic. Soon, your child will become one of the many Texas kids who blame President Obama for the deficit in our country instead of referring back to the 1.9 trillion that the Bush administration left him with! One last time, just for fun, I want to say, "religion has NO place in public schools! That is what a church is for!"
So, everybody in Texas get ready to hop into your time-machine! We are heading back to 100 B.C.E.! Forget about Harvey Milk and Jane Addams! Forget about the facts! Let us just toss out the book of morality and truth and re-write history, folks! If we work together, those lesbians, homosexuals, ethnic minorities, and that dispensable species called “woman,” will be—historically speaking—no more!
Really?! Well, here is my opposing proposition: Write your SBOE everybody! Tell them that we do not need their help in skewing our history anymore. I have embedded a link here. It will connect you to a site where you can write your opinion about these issues and any others you would like to mention to the State Board of Education. The SBOE has no idea what kind of outrage this will cause if enough people learn about what they are doing behind closed doors. Don McLeroy of the Texas SBOE stated in an interview with New York Times columnist James C. McKinley Jr. that the Republicans on the SBOE were simply “adding balance. History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed far to the left.”
Hmmm, Mr. McLeroy, I think the “founding fathers” were also compelled to give people the freedom to practice their own faiths without manipulative, religious influence from the local SBOE or any other entity, don’t you think? In many ways, they were running away from the same skewed perspective we are nurturing in our SBOE today. How ironic.
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I found this interesting. When you said "how in the world did we end up voting in people who want to implement religion into the school curriculum and take out facts and true events related to minority groups?" I was shocked! I definitley agree that school is no place for religion and if it is taught to children they should be at least introduced to other religions instead of using christianity to dominate their beliefs. I believe the facts and true events to minority groups are more important than the religious parts being put it. It seems to be a way to keep children closed-minded and ignorant. I also like that you gave evidence for your argument against these decisions. I can't image how damaging this would be if the problems were to become a reality. Our textbooks are screwed enough as they are and this would just completely ruin it and bring a generation backwards when it should be the opposite. Well done.
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