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Texas Education Now in the Toilet

Thanks to the Texas Board of Education children in public schools will now be taught in a religious conservative manner.

No more Thomas Jeffferson in history-no joke, they took him out of the history books.

They also reject the notion of a "constitutional separation of church and state."

I'm sure many of you have already heard about this so what are your thoughts? I know my son is going to be happily attending school outside of Texas once he reaches the age.

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Permalink Reply by Shine on March 27, 2010 at 11:45am

If you are interested, there is a group aiming to reform the TSBOE called, fittingly, "Just Educate: A Campaign to Reform the Texas State Board of Education."

Here is their Facebook page, where several lively debates are going on:

Just Educate: A Campaign to Reform the Texas State Board of Education

Permalink Reply by Allen Uribes on March 27, 2010 at 11:50am

Oh very interesting! Thank you. :)

Permalink Reply by Shine on March 27, 2010 at 11:52am

You're welcome! My name is Jeannie, and I'm the one writing excessively long responses; I have a terrible habit for being longwinded, lol. ;)

Permalink Reply by Allen Uribes on March 28, 2010 at 9:22am

Hi Jeannie, I'm Allen.

Your responses weren't too long at all-they are informative and that's a great thing.

Permalink Reply by Shine on March 28, 2010 at 9:58am

Thanks! I am making an effort to be more succinct, because I know that the attention span of most people on the internet is quite short and a message can be lost inside of a longer post. When debating on atheist sites and forums, this is not a problem since readers here have no problem actually reading several paragraphs quickly. But on Facebook I start to worry that people just see a wall of text and skip to the next one-liner, lol.

(Does that whole statement make me an elitist? I mean, it's true...)

Permalink Reply by danwest on March 27, 2010 at 7:16pm

The TSBE has made Texas a laughingstock. Does anyone know where we can find a readable map of the TSBE districts and info on the candidates running for office in each district? Looks like I'm in district 10, and will have a chance to vote against Cynthia Dunbar.

"The curriculum standards will now be published in a state register, opening them up for 30 days of public comment. A final vote will be taken in May, but given the Republican dominance of the board, it is unlikely that many changes will be made."

Anyone know how we go about making comments to the state register? Is it on-line or do we have to make a trip to Austin?

Permalink Reply by Allen Uribes on March 28, 2010 at 9:27am

I was wondering about the same thing. Here is what I found from the Texas Education Agency website:

"A document containing the extensive revisions will be posted on the Texas Education Agency website and posted in the Texas register by mid-April. Once posted, the official 30-day public comment period will begin. At that time, comments with suggested changes to the document can be sent to rules@tea.state.tx.us."

There is also a menu bar at the top with a link to 'Districts' where you can view a map version.

Permalink Reply by Shine on March 28, 2010 at 10:00am

Hi, Dan! Have you made it down to any more Sundays with the ACA? I've been so busy that I have not made it down since that lecture in the beginning of February.

And how did your script go? I tried to think of a punchline, but I came up with nothing. :(

Permalink Reply by Jacob Eskridge on March 28, 2010 at 7:39pm

As the writer of the Declaration of Independence, our 3rd president, and the man who bought half our country from the French, I find it difficult to believe that it is even possible to not mention Jefferson when discussing US history. Yet somehow, this is seen as perfectly acceptable by our state board.

While I'm happy I'm not in the position to be fed this bull, I feel terrible knowing that this is what Texan children will be taught for the next 10 years, or until the standards are fixed.

Permalink Reply by danwest on March 29, 2010 at 8:39pm

Jacob,

To quote the Times article: "...managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. (Jefferson is not well liked among conservatives on the board because he coined the term “separation between church and state.”

So not yet removing him from US history, just taking the first step. I'm sure this bunch would have no trouble turning the Jefferson Memorial into the Reagan Memorial.

And another quote:
“I reject the notion by the left of a constitutional separation of church and state,” said David Bradley, a conservative from Beaumont who works in real estate. “I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.”

All right Mr. Bradley, why don't you show us where it says "Jesus Christ" or "Ten Commandments" or "Christian Principles" or "God" in the Constitution?

Permalink Reply by Shine on March 29, 2010 at 8:52pm

Hiyas, just wanted to add a link to another Ning network devoted to this cause:

The Thomas Jefferson Movement

Permalink Reply by Noelle on April 12, 2010 at 8:06pm

American Atheists is co-sponsoring a rally on May 16th to protest the proposed textbook changes. If you're interested, please e-mail secularcenterusa@gmail.com, or follow us on Twitter @secularcenter, or subscribe to our blog at www.secularcenterusa.blogspot.com to stay updated on our plans for the rally.