Source: www.dallasnews.com
[HPI note: Today’s edition of HPI brings two articles about the same subject: new curriculum standards approved by the Texas State Board of Education. The contrast between the first article (from a Texan newspaper) and the second one (from a UK newspaper) makes for an enlightening comparison.]
TEXAS, UNITED STATES, May 21, 2010: The Texas State Board of Education on Friday approved new curriculum standards for U.S. history and other social studies courses that reflect a more conservative tone than in the past. Split along party lines, the board voted 9-5 to adopt the new standards, which will dictate what is taught in all Texas schools and provide the basis for future textbooks and student achievement tests over the next decade. The decision affects not only Texas students, but others across the United States because Texas standards because national publishers typically tailor their materials to Texas, one of the biggest textbook purchasers in the country.
Before the final vote on the lengthy list of standards, the board’s five Democrats criticized the Republican majority – primarily social conservatives – for injecting their political and religious views into the standards and giving short shrift to important minority figures in history. Board member Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, another social conservative, opened Friday’s board meeting with an invocation that referred to the U.S. and its history as a “Christian land governed by Christian principles. I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses,” she said.