SBOE–A Texas Embarrassment

Well, not surprisingly, the Republican heavy State Board of Education has re-written History into a right-wing handbook for the ages.  A 9 to 5 vote approved the content for the upcoming printing of school textbooks, leaving out notable Latin@s such as UFW Founder Dolores Huerta and San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros.

Arne Duncan, President Obama’s Secretary of Education said it best.

“Curricula should be written by educators who know the subject matter, know the standards and know what it takes to prepare our children for college and careers in the global economy.”

Instead, intolerant and downright racist Republican politicians have white-washed History.

Minority members could not get support for an amendment that would have focused on discrimination for the creation of two Hispanic civil rights groups — the League of United Latin American Citizens and the GI Forum.

Over the Democrats’ objections, the majority adopted a standard calling for high school students to study “instances of institutional racism in American society.” Cargill said not all Americans should be linked to discrimination.

Democrat for Texas Governor, Bill White responded strongly to the SBOE’s vote.

When people see Texas as a place with political agendas in schools, it hurts our ability to attract entrepreneurs and new businesses.

Instead of politicians spending their time editing textbooks, we need leaders who will push electronic textbooks forward to save money and create a better variety of courses for Texas students.

Fort Bend County’s new Democratic Chair  Steve Brown had this to say.

“Our students aren’t robots, and they should be granted every opportunity to explore history from every point of view. That includes those points of view that may not fit neatly into their particular political prism.”

Joe Montemayor, Democrat for Texas House – District 127 had this to say.

” The SBOE has played politics with the knowledge base needed by our students to succeed in a global and multicultural economy. The Texas House needs leadership in 2011 which will undo this insult to education.”

More reactions will come, I’m sure.