====================================================================== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. ======================================================================
By Eric Foner --- > > The changes to the social studies curriculum recently approved by the > conservative-dominated Texas Board of Education have attracted attention > mainly because of how they may affect textbooks used in other states. Since > Texas certifies texts centrally rather than by individual school districts, > publishers have a strong incentive to alter their books to conform to its > standards so as to reach the huge Texas market. Where was Lee Harvey Oswald, > after all, when he shot John F. Kennedy? In the Texas School Book > Depository--a tall Dallas building filled with textbooks. > > Most comment on the content of the new standards has focused on the mandate > that high school students learn about leading conservative figures and > institutions of the 1980s and '90s, specifically Phyllis Schlafly, the Moral > Majority, the Heritage Foundation, the Contract With America and the NRA. In > fact, there is nothing wrong with teaching about modern conservatism, a key > force in recent American history. My own textbook has a chapter called "The > Triumph of Conservatism" and discusses most of the individuals and groups > mentioned above. > > More interesting is what the new standards tell us about conservatives' > overall vision of American history and society and how they hope to instill > that vision in the young. The standards run from kindergarten through high > school, and certain themes obsessively recur. Judging from the updated > social studies curriculum, conservatives want students to come away from a > Texas education with a favorable impression of: women who adhere to > traditional gender roles, the Confederacy, some parts of the Constitution, > capitalism, the military and religion. They do not think students should > learn about women who demanded greater equality; other parts of the > Constitution; slavery, Reconstruction and the unequal treatment of nonwhites > generally; environmentalists; labor unions; federal economic regulation; or > foreigners. > > Here are a few examples. The board has removed mention of the Declaration > of the Seneca Falls Convention, the letters of John and Abigail Adams and > suffrage advocate Carrie Chapman Catt. As examples of "good citizenship" for > third graders, it deleted Harriet Tubman and included Clara Barton, founder > of the Red Cross, and Helen Keller (the board seems to have slipped up > here--Keller was a committed socialist). The role of religion--but not the > separation of church and state--receives emphasis throughout. For example, > religious revivals are now listed as one of the twelve major "events and > eras" from colonial days to 1877. > > The changes seek to reduce or elide discussion of slavery, mentioned mainly > for its "impact" on different regions and the coming of the Civil War. A > reference to the Atlantic slave trade is dropped in favor of "Triangular > trade." Jefferson Davis's inaugural address as president of the Confederacy > will now be studied alongside Abraham Lincoln's speeches. > > In grade one, Veterans Day replaces Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the list > of holidays students should be familiar with. (Later, "building a military" > has been added as one of two results of the Revolution--the other being the > creation of the United States--an odd inclusion, given the founders' fear of > a standing army.) The Double-V Campaign during World War II (blacks' demand > that victory over the Axis powers be accompanied by victory over segregation > at home) has been omitted from the high school curriculum. Japanese-American > internment is now juxtaposed with "the regulation of some foreign > nationals," ignoring the fact that while a few Germans and Italians were > imprisoned as enemy aliens, the vast majority of people of Japanese ancestry > who were interned were US citizens. > > Students in several grades will be required to understand the "benefits" > (but none of the drawbacks) of capitalism. The economic system, however, > dares not speak its name--it is referred to throughout as "free enterprise." > Labor unions are conspicuous by their absence. Mankind's impact on the > environment is apparently entirely benign--the curriculum mentions dams for > flood control and the benefits of transportation infrastructure but none of > the problems arising from the exploitation of nature. Lest anyone think that > Americans should not fall below a rudimentary standard of living, the > kindergarten curriculum deletes food, shelter and clothing from its list of > "basic human needs." > > Americans, the board seems to suggest, do not need to take much notice of > the rest of the world, or of noncitizens in this country. Kindergartners no > longer have to learn about "people" who have contributed to American life, > only about "patriots and good citizens." High school students must evaluate > the pros and cons of US participation in "international organizations and > treaties." In an original twist, third grade geography students no longer > have to be able to identify on a map the Amazon, the Himalayas or (as if it > were in another country) Washington, DC. > > Clearly, the Texas Board of Education seeks to inculcate children with a > history that celebrates the achievements of our past while ignoring its > shortcomings, and that largely ignores those who have struggled to make this > a fairer, more equal society. I have lectured on a number of occasions to > Texas precollege teachers and have found them as competent, dedicated and > open-minded as the best teachers anywhere. But if they are required to > adhere to the revised curriculum, the students of our second most populous > state will emerge ill prepared for life in Texas, America and the world in > the twenty-first century. > > http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100405/foner > > > ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
