Texas School Board Passes Controversial Social Studies Curriculum

In a 9-5 vote, the Texas School Board passed controversial changes to the state's social studies curriculum on May 21. The new curriculum, to take effect in August of 2011, has been under the microscope for the past few months due to its strong lean towards ultra-conservative ideas.

Some of the adjustments to the curriculum include focusing on the impact of conservative groups and not discussing the influence of associations labeled as liberal or minority. There will be no requirement to talk about the career of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, though more focus will be given to former president Reagan's legacy. In addition, a positive light will be shone on Senator Joe McCarthy, the power behind the 1950s hunt for Communists on U.S. soil that resulted in the ruined lives of countless Americans.

One of the arguments in support of the changes is that current textbooks are too left centric and liberal in the topics they cover. People argue that history is supposed to equally represent all sides. Few would contest this statement. However, the cries of outrage from Americans across the country at many of the now accepted changes suggest that the new curriculum still gives a biased account of historical events. The indignation doesn't just come from liberals either. Former Education Secretary Rod Paige, a conservative who served under former president George W. Bush, denounced the new curriculum as being a vehicle for political views and not an accurate representation of history.

Don McLeod, the now infamous dentist credited with leading the conservative members of the school board, recently wrote that "the left...focus on differences not unity," which is why the textbooks required adaptations. Considering the motto of the United States, E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one), that seems like an appropriate approach to United States history. It took many different people of many different ethnic, religious and ideological backgrounds to establish the America we know today. These people should all be equally represented in our textbooks: the conservative, the liberal, the majority, the minority and everyone in between.

Texas's new curriculum is not a step towards remembering "what it means to be an American" as Mr. McLeod claims. It is a politically motivated piece of work that will end up hurting America's most important asset: her children.

Photo Credit: Sh4rp_i