There has been a lot of talk in the news lately about the Texas State Board of Education, new board commissioner Gail Lowe, and the revision of Texas Essential Knowledge Skills.
Many of us in the Lone Star State are well aware of attempts by Lowe’s predecessor to shape science texts toward fundamentalist Christian beliefs.
The fact that the state’s social studies curriculum would be under review by the Board and Gov. Rick Perry’s newly appointed commissioner was reported almost from the moment Lowe took her seat. Reasonable pessimism from the liberal-minded among us began about a half second later.
Most of the stories circulating concern the fact that Lowe is a conservative Christian and she feels our Founding Fathers intended for our country to be guided by Christian principles, thus making it acceptable to use those principles to shape the education of American schoolchildren.
I read several of the published criticisms of the Texas State Board of Education. I became concerned with some of the changes that were being considered that seemed to defy reason in favor of promoting a conservative political agenda.
I wanted to help publicize this revisionist agenda and call people to action against the subversion of public education. Before sitting down to type, though, I took an important step. Rather than regurgitate information that had come to me through secondary sources, I found the drafts of proposed revisions to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, annotated with commentary from members of the board.
What I found actually came as a surprise. Looking at the proposed changes for social studies, government, and several other courses, I discovered that they overwhelmingly supported a broad and multicultural point of view in public education.
Despite reports to the contrary, labor activist Cesar Chavez and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall are not being eliminated in favor of Ronald Reagan and Rush Limbaugh. Many historical figures are being proposed as additions to the curriculum (including Chavez and Reagan) that were not previously specified as part of the required teachings.
The majority of the controversy surrounds opinions expressed by board members (or panelists appointed by those members) on the significance of particular figures, or the balance of “liberal” figures against “conservative” figures. This brings me back to the Founders.
The process underway in Texas to shape the education of our children is reflective of the Founders’ vision of American legislature. They knew that a consensus would be rare, so they created a government in which debate could be used to sway opinion, and the opinion held by the majority would emerge victorious.
Checks and balances would be in place, though, to protect against tyranny by the majority. Americans seem to have forgotten that this is the way the system works. The education delivered to our students is done so with the guidance of a board elected by the majority. Those opposed to the board must accept that their only legitimate recourse lies in voting that board out of office in the next election, not in perpetuating half-truths to an alarmed public.
It is important that we hold our elected officials accountable. This is true right now in Texas as the board decides the things teachers will talk about with our children, and it’s important nationally as our lawmakers decide how to change the health care system.
Equally important is remembering that decisions will favor the majority, and as a member of the minority, one must maintain a rational opposition. Extreme vitriol not only reflects poorly on your point of view, but causes an immediate disconnect with the party you’re trying to persuade. We have all been guilty of it at some point.
Jake Negovan is an editorial board member and columnist for www.redbrownandblue.com
