Wow..Really?Texas cutting school curriculum, Jefferson apparently doesnt matter? Options

[CelicaST_CALI]

BBC link
Texas schools to get controversial syllabus


Texas' decisions could influence curriculums across the US

Education officials in the US state of Texas have adopted new guidelines to the school curriculum, which critics say will politicise teaching.

The changes include teaching that the UN could be a threat to American freedom, and that the Founding Fathers may not have intended a complete separation of church and state.

Critics say the changes are ideological and distort history.

However, proponents argue they are redressing a liberal bias in education.

Analysts say Texas, with five million schoolchildren, wields substantial influence on school curriculums across the US.

The BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani in Los Angeles says publishers of textbooks used nationally often print what Texas wants to teach.
Jefferson out

Students in Texas will now be taught the benefits of US free-market economics and how government taxation can harm economic progress.

They will study how American ideals benefit the world but organisations such as the UN could be a threat to personal freedom.

And Thomas Jefferson has been dropped from a list of enlightenment thinkers in the world-history curriculum, despite being one of the Founding Fathers who is credited with developing the idea that church and state should be separate.

The doctrine has become a cornerstone of US government, but some religious groups and some members of the Texas Education Board disagree, our correspondent says.

The board, which is dominated by Christian conservatives, voted nine-to-five in favour of adopting the new curriculum for both primary and secondary schools.

But during the discussions some of the most controversial ideas were dropped - including a proposal to refer to the slave trade as the "Atlantic triangular trade".

Opponents of the changes worry that textbooks sold in other states will be written to comply with the new Texas standards, meaning that the alterations could have an impact on curriculums nationwide.

This post has been edited by CelicaST_CALI: May 31, 2010 - 3:49 AM

[yarik83]

Many states has been laying off teachers due to lack of local/state/government funding so these classes will be taught by heavily biased southerners. Living in Florida and traveling all over on business trips I certainly meet thousands of them.

I would certainly opt out from merging religion and education since there are already venues such as catholic schools out there right now. When you start mixing the two you no longer respect the fact that while many people in this country happen to associate themselves to a christian religion, there are hindus, muslims and other religious denominations and branches out there. By that definition if they do plan to introduce religion into schools then they need to teach it same way they do in college and that is as a class and not base their entire curriculum on what bible teaches.

I am of course heavily biased myself. Growing up in a religious-less society I have never been subjected to much religion. In russia we have churches that serve more "museum" status than a religious one. Lately there has been a revival but role of religion is at home where it belongs, at least in my opinion.

The unfortunate part is that I am getting closer to where I am ready to start a family and all these questions will be on my mind for school wont be behind me like it was all these years but ahead of me since my children will be subjected to this schooling system and I will have lots and lots of thinks to think about