Texas Considers New Social Studies Standards

Will Texas adopt K-12 textbooks that eliminate all teaching about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln? Will textbooks begin social studies instruction about American history only after 1877? Will Texas textbooks eliminate all references to Christmas? These are the questions that the Fox News Channel has been asking and promoting the past couple of days.

Whoa! Did the foxes get caught trying to transform the henhouse? Or are things being blown all out of proportion by Fox News?

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) seems to think so; they issued a news release today taking exception to the characterizations being made by Fox News. Click here to see the TEA release.

Tonight, Sean Hannity will have Michelle Malkin on his Fox News Channel program to discuss what's going on further. We invite you to watch the program tonight at 8 p.m. (or view the rebroadcast at 11 p.m.) and see what you think.

Here's what we know:

There is an ongoing, continuing fight between Christian conservatives, secularists, and progressives for control of the Texas State Board of Education. This has been going on for several years. Conservatives have control now, but they have been steadily losing seats.

Today through Friday, the state of Texas is holding formal hearings in Austin to consider the adoption of new social studies textbook standards, which will incorporated in new Texas social studies textbooks to be adopted in 2011. The meetings had originally been scheduled for January, but were continued until today to allow time for more study.

Conservatives in Texas are pushing for traditional teaching of American history in the textbooks, including more teaching about our Christian heritage and the Founding Fathers who birthed the nation. Others in Texas are pushing back against that direction.

Although it's not at all likely the inflammatory social studies standards will be adopted, given the current national attention, it is interesting to us that a proposal to teach history only after 1877 is even on the table. Political Progressivism in the U.S., which began in about 1880, has continued throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries, gaining much influence and dilluting adherence to our nation's founding documents and original understandings about the role of government.

So, any new plan to teach the younger generation history only after the year 1877 would effectively immerse them only in Progressive political thought and influence and divorce students from any understanding of our nation's true historical roots and Christian past.

A preliminary vote will be taken this week. A final vote on the standards will come in May, and, as stated above, the textbooks will not be adopted until next year.

This fight is important because textbooks adopted in Texas are often used as model textbooks by other states nationwide.

Bill to Require Teaching of America's Founding Documents Fails

Yesterday, the state House of Representatives failed to pass a bill by Rep. Charles Key (R-Oklahoma City) and Sen. Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso) that would have required the state Board of Education to promulgate rules to teach public school students in Oklahoma about the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, as a part of social studies curriculum.

The vote was 44-52. To see how your representative voted, click here and search for HB 2814 vote on March 9.

Co-authors of HB 2814 included Rep. Sue Tibbs, Rep. Ann Coody, and Rep. Jason Nelson. Rep. Key filed a motion to reconsider his bill, which means he can attempt to change minds and call for another vote within the next few days.