My OperaTexas and Textbooks or messin' with the kids' minds
Monday, September 7, 2009 7:07:45 AM
This is a continuation of the blog "Liars for Jesus" textbook situation.
I start with a Buddhist's thought on the matter...
Barbara's Buddhism Blog
By Barbara O'Brien, About.com Guide to Buddhism
My BioMy BlogMy Forum
Add to: iGoogleMy Yahoo!RSS
Texas and Textbooks
Wednesday July 29, 2009
Americans for decades have struggled over religion in public schools. Today's battleground is Texas, where six "experts" are making recommendations that could affect the religious content of textbooks sold in all 50 states.
The six experts hired by the Texas State Board of Education to review social studies textbooks used in the state include an evangelical Christian minister and the president of a Christian heritage advocacy group. These two, and another conservative Christian on the panel, are urging that Texas textbooks place more emphasis on the influence of Christianity in American history. They also want students to be taught that American government is rooted in religion, a claim that is historically inaccurate.
If you don't have children in the Texas public school system, you may think you don't need to be concerned. However, what Texas wants in its textbooks can have subtle and not-so-subtle influence in what is written in everyone else's textbooks.
First, a little background -- for several years I worked in the textbook publishing industry as a production manager. My "thing" was managing production of the teachers' editions of elementary and middle school textbook series, although I helped put together student textbooks as well. So I have seen up close the issues textbook publishers struggle with when producing new textbook series, and how they handle these issues.
A number of states are "adoption" states, meaning that any textbooks used in the public schools of those states must be "adopted" or approved for use by state textbook committee members, usually appointed by the governor. If a series fails to be adopted in one of the large states, such as Texas or California, it's a considerable financial blow to the publisher. So, textbook publishers take great care to please textbook adoption committees, especially in the big states.
The Texas textbook committees have been particularly demanding for many years. When I first began to produce textbooks in the mid-1980s it already was common practice to put out two editions of every textbook series -- Texas and National. Over the years more special state editions have been added, as the adoption committees of several states realized they could dictate to publishers what would be in the textbooks. But Texas generally is the most demanding state, which has given rise to an industry of Texas textbook consultants who steer publishers through the complex maze of Texas textbook requirements..
However, to keep production costs down, publishers like to keep all of the editions as uniform as possible. Uniformity requires a minimum number of writers, editors, and typesetters. It's also a goal to print all of the editions, one after another, with a minimal plate changes. So, except where a state demands content that would make the textbook unsalable in the other states, content is crafted to be acceptable to all states as much as possible.
For many years religious conservatives in the U.S. have complained that the role of religion in American history has been deleted from textbooks. This accusation is exaggerated. Publishers in my experience do include discussion of the role of religion in historical events, where that role was significant. I've seen the demands that textbook publishers receive from Christian conservative groups, and these groups will not be satisfied until history textbooks are more about Christianity than history.
The good news is that the "expert" recommendations will not necessarily be followed in Texas. Last year a similar panel failed to get creationism written into Texas science textbooks.
The TPMMuckraker steps right into the mess....
Could Texas' Gingrich-Based High School History Curriculum Go National?
Justin Elliott | September 4, 2009, 9:02AM
Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly
While Republicans are busy gnashing their teeth over President Obama's imminent indoctrination of the nation's schoolchildren, there's an education story bubbling up in Texas that could have considerably more far-reaching consequences.
The GOP-controlled State Board of Education is working on a new set of statewide textbook standards for, among other subjects, U.S. History Studies Since Reconstruction. And it turns out what the board decides may end up having implications far beyond the Lone Star State.
The first draft of the standards, released at the end of July, is a doozy. It lays out a kind of Human Events version of U.S. history.
Approved textbooks, the standards say, must teach the Texan student to "identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly, and the Moral Majority." No analogous liberal figures or groups are required, prompting protests from some legislators and committee members. (Read an excerpt here.)
The standards on Nixon: "describe Richard M. Nixon's role in the normalization of relations with China and the policy of detente."
On Reagan: "describe Ronald Reagan's role in restoring national confidence, such as Reaganomics and Peace with Strength." (That's it.)
The Cold War section is rendered as "U.S. responses to Soviet aggression after World War II ... "
The state board of education, made up of 10 Republicans and five Democrats, has to vote on the standards twice in the coming months before they would go into effect.
Comments in the margin of the draft explain the proposed changes. And a persistent, tendentious conservative voice comes through throughout. Next to the section listing key names and groups from the civil rights movement and 60s activism, including Martin Luther King, Betty Friedan, and the American Indian Movement, it's noted that a committee member demanded parity ... for late 20th century conservative groups:
MV[Multiple Views]: One person: inclusion of 7 names and organizations disproportionate compared to only 3 in conservative section.
Next to a noncontroversial seeming item requiring students to "describe how McCarthyism, the arms race, and the space race increased Cold War tensions" is the note:
"MV[Multiple Views]: One member thinks that if McCarthyism is noted, then the Venona papers need to be explained that exonerates him."
A bullet point on "women and minority employment" as an economic effect of World II caused "one member" to gripe "there is too much emphasis on multiculturalism."
And "one member" deemed a section on "effective leadership" a perfect place to bring to students' attention Charlton Heston's celebrated (among right-wingers) culture war speech.
Here's what makes this a national story: what happens in Texas doesn't stay in Texas, says Diane Ravitch, professor of education at NYU.
That's because Texas is one of the two states with the largest student enrollments, along with California. "The publishers vie to get their books adopted for them, and the changes that are inserted to please Texas and California are then part of the textbooks made available to every other state," says Ravitch, who wrote a book about the politics of textbooks.
Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute explains it as a simple economic calculation by the big textbook publishers. "Publishers are generally reticent to run two different versions of a textbook," he says. "You can imagine the headache the expense the logistics, the storage, all of it."
But don't start saving for private school tuition just yet. A spokeswoman for the Texas State Board of Education tells TPMmuckraker the board will have to pass the standards first in January, in a "first reading and filing authorization vote," and then in March in a final vote, before they would go into effect. In an article on the controversy in the Houston Chronicle, one of the conservative leaders on the board actually predicted the standards will pass at least the first vote.
This one bears close watching.
(h/t Think Progress)
Late Update: Phyllis Schlafly: Yes, my role in history should be in textbooks.
TPM even posted Excerpts Of Proposed Texas US History Textbook Standards
Go here for full size...
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2009/09/excerpt-of-proposed-texas-us-history-textbook-standards.php?page=2
I start with a Buddhist's thought on the matter...
Barbara's Buddhism Blog
By Barbara O'Brien, About.com Guide to Buddhism
My BioMy BlogMy Forum
Add to: iGoogleMy Yahoo!RSS
Texas and Textbooks
Wednesday July 29, 2009
Americans for decades have struggled over religion in public schools. Today's battleground is Texas, where six "experts" are making recommendations that could affect the religious content of textbooks sold in all 50 states.
The six experts hired by the Texas State Board of Education to review social studies textbooks used in the state include an evangelical Christian minister and the president of a Christian heritage advocacy group. These two, and another conservative Christian on the panel, are urging that Texas textbooks place more emphasis on the influence of Christianity in American history. They also want students to be taught that American government is rooted in religion, a claim that is historically inaccurate.
If you don't have children in the Texas public school system, you may think you don't need to be concerned. However, what Texas wants in its textbooks can have subtle and not-so-subtle influence in what is written in everyone else's textbooks.
First, a little background -- for several years I worked in the textbook publishing industry as a production manager. My "thing" was managing production of the teachers' editions of elementary and middle school textbook series, although I helped put together student textbooks as well. So I have seen up close the issues textbook publishers struggle with when producing new textbook series, and how they handle these issues.
A number of states are "adoption" states, meaning that any textbooks used in the public schools of those states must be "adopted" or approved for use by state textbook committee members, usually appointed by the governor. If a series fails to be adopted in one of the large states, such as Texas or California, it's a considerable financial blow to the publisher. So, textbook publishers take great care to please textbook adoption committees, especially in the big states.
The Texas textbook committees have been particularly demanding for many years. When I first began to produce textbooks in the mid-1980s it already was common practice to put out two editions of every textbook series -- Texas and National. Over the years more special state editions have been added, as the adoption committees of several states realized they could dictate to publishers what would be in the textbooks. But Texas generally is the most demanding state, which has given rise to an industry of Texas textbook consultants who steer publishers through the complex maze of Texas textbook requirements..
However, to keep production costs down, publishers like to keep all of the editions as uniform as possible. Uniformity requires a minimum number of writers, editors, and typesetters. It's also a goal to print all of the editions, one after another, with a minimal plate changes. So, except where a state demands content that would make the textbook unsalable in the other states, content is crafted to be acceptable to all states as much as possible.
For many years religious conservatives in the U.S. have complained that the role of religion in American history has been deleted from textbooks. This accusation is exaggerated. Publishers in my experience do include discussion of the role of religion in historical events, where that role was significant. I've seen the demands that textbook publishers receive from Christian conservative groups, and these groups will not be satisfied until history textbooks are more about Christianity than history.
The good news is that the "expert" recommendations will not necessarily be followed in Texas. Last year a similar panel failed to get creationism written into Texas science textbooks.
The TPMMuckraker steps right into the mess....
Could Texas' Gingrich-Based High School History Curriculum Go National?
Justin Elliott | September 4, 2009, 9:02AM
Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly
While Republicans are busy gnashing their teeth over President Obama's imminent indoctrination of the nation's schoolchildren, there's an education story bubbling up in Texas that could have considerably more far-reaching consequences.
The GOP-controlled State Board of Education is working on a new set of statewide textbook standards for, among other subjects, U.S. History Studies Since Reconstruction. And it turns out what the board decides may end up having implications far beyond the Lone Star State.
The first draft of the standards, released at the end of July, is a doozy. It lays out a kind of Human Events version of U.S. history.
Approved textbooks, the standards say, must teach the Texan student to "identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly, and the Moral Majority." No analogous liberal figures or groups are required, prompting protests from some legislators and committee members. (Read an excerpt here.)
The standards on Nixon: "describe Richard M. Nixon's role in the normalization of relations with China and the policy of detente."
On Reagan: "describe Ronald Reagan's role in restoring national confidence, such as Reaganomics and Peace with Strength." (That's it.)
The Cold War section is rendered as "U.S. responses to Soviet aggression after World War II ... "
The state board of education, made up of 10 Republicans and five Democrats, has to vote on the standards twice in the coming months before they would go into effect.
Comments in the margin of the draft explain the proposed changes. And a persistent, tendentious conservative voice comes through throughout. Next to the section listing key names and groups from the civil rights movement and 60s activism, including Martin Luther King, Betty Friedan, and the American Indian Movement, it's noted that a committee member demanded parity ... for late 20th century conservative groups:
MV[Multiple Views]: One person: inclusion of 7 names and organizations disproportionate compared to only 3 in conservative section.
Next to a noncontroversial seeming item requiring students to "describe how McCarthyism, the arms race, and the space race increased Cold War tensions" is the note:
"MV[Multiple Views]: One member thinks that if McCarthyism is noted, then the Venona papers need to be explained that exonerates him."
A bullet point on "women and minority employment" as an economic effect of World II caused "one member" to gripe "there is too much emphasis on multiculturalism."
And "one member" deemed a section on "effective leadership" a perfect place to bring to students' attention Charlton Heston's celebrated (among right-wingers) culture war speech.
Here's what makes this a national story: what happens in Texas doesn't stay in Texas, says Diane Ravitch, professor of education at NYU.
That's because Texas is one of the two states with the largest student enrollments, along with California. "The publishers vie to get their books adopted for them, and the changes that are inserted to please Texas and California are then part of the textbooks made available to every other state," says Ravitch, who wrote a book about the politics of textbooks.
Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute explains it as a simple economic calculation by the big textbook publishers. "Publishers are generally reticent to run two different versions of a textbook," he says. "You can imagine the headache the expense the logistics, the storage, all of it."
But don't start saving for private school tuition just yet. A spokeswoman for the Texas State Board of Education tells TPMmuckraker the board will have to pass the standards first in January, in a "first reading and filing authorization vote," and then in March in a final vote, before they would go into effect. In an article on the controversy in the Houston Chronicle, one of the conservative leaders on the board actually predicted the standards will pass at least the first vote.
This one bears close watching.
(h/t Think Progress)
Late Update: Phyllis Schlafly: Yes, my role in history should be in textbooks.
TPM even posted Excerpts Of Proposed Texas US History Textbook Standards
Go here for full size...
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2009/09/excerpt-of-proposed-texas-us-history-textbook-standards.php?page=2
