Should Public Schools Promote Godly Character?

How Christian Were the Founders?

Was Jesus one of America's Founding Fathers? If you care about what your children are taught about science and history in Texas public schools, then you'll want to pay attention this election year not only to the governor's race but to some obscure races down the ballot for the State Board of Education (SBOE). According to Unfair Park:

"This could be the election that decides exactly how much power religious ideologues hold over the board that shapes the education for 5 million public school students in Texas."

Last year, the seven members of the religious-right faction on the SBOE successfully steered the science standards to include wording that undermines evolution. This year, the SBOE is tackling social studies, seeking to include language that revises American history to promote Christianity. For the fundamentalists, takeover of education is but a step towards a larger goal, takeover of government. In an article this week, The New York Times explains the fundamentalists' strategy:

"As Cynthia Dunbar, another Christian activist on the Texas board, put it, 'The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.'"

After the jump, what the SBOE candidates themselves had to say at a League of Women Voters forum in Richardson Wednesday evening.

SBOE Cannot Be Trusted With Money, Either

You might remember that the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) has been one of my favorite topics, usually because of its over-the-top thinking regarding school curriculum (e.g., demoting Thomas Jefferson, questioning separation of church and state, balancing Lincoln's Gettysburg Address with Jefferson Davis' speeches, rehabilitating the reputation of Senator Joseph McCarthy, etc.). The Dallas Morning News' Jacquielynn Floyd described the SBOE as a "whacked-out troop of underqualified ideologues ... [who] make us look like a bunch o' goobers in the eyes of the whole nation."

Not content with being goobers regarding school curriculum, now the SBOE insists on being goobers regarding money, too. Last week, the SBOE voted to raid the piggy bank for their pet cause. The SBOE voted to allow tapping into the Permanent School Fund, taxpayers' money that's been entrusted to them for investment, to make loans to charter schools.

After the jump, what others think of this latest move by the SBOE.

Meet Tincy Miller and Lois Parrott

There was another debate Tuesday night: the League of Women Voters (LWV) sponsored a forum for the candidates for the District 12 seat on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), Geraldine "Tincy" Miller and Lois Parrott.

What's the SBOE? Knowing you'd ask, the LWV selected as the very first topic the audience question, "What is the mission of the SBOE?" Miller answered first: to manage and protect the Permanent School Fund (PSF), to define curriculum, and to review and select textbooks. Parrott agreed.

After the jump, what the candidates promised to do to achieve that mission.

Good Luck, Amie Parsons

You'll need it.

Four months ago, GOP party primary voters denied nominations to two members of the State Board of Education (SBOE) representing north Texas. Don McLeroy in District 9 (northern Collin County and much of east Texas) and Tincy Miller in District 12 (much of north Dallas and Richardson) were rejected by Republican Party voters. McLeroy and Miller continue to hold their seats until the November general election. A month ago, the SBOE approved changes to the social studies standards used in Texas public schools. The lame duck far-right majority on the board dictated far-right changes, seemingly against the primary voters' wishes.

With the damage done, the SBOE has been out of the news lately and is likely to remain that way through the November elections. After the jump, why we should still care.

SBOE Waits for Right-Wing Reinforcements

It looks like the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is going to kick the can down the road, deciding to wait until next term to rewrite the Texas social studies curriculum (what we know as the TEKS). Why? It appears that the SBOE caved to pressure from right-wing Republican lawmakers who objected to the standards coming out of the curriculum committee. When the SBOE decided to delay, Republican lawmakers celebrated on Twitter, "The board voted to scrap the wokeified proposed changes to the TEKS." The likely explanation for delay is that right-wing Republicans hope that they can increase their majority on the SBOE next term and get proposals more in line with their politics.

"Keep parents as far from the schools as possible"

That philosophy may soon be represented on the State Board of Education (SBOE). Two seats on the SBOE changed hands Tuesday as a result of the GOP primary election. In District 12, which includes north Dallas, Richardson and Plano, the challenger George Clayton beat long-time SBOE member, social conservative Geraldine "Tincy" Miller. In District 12, which includes northern Collin County and counties east of Dallas all the way down to Bryan, challenger Thomas Ratliff beat former SBOE chairman, young-Earth Creationist Don McLeroy.

Tincy Miller has been on the SBOE since 1984. She is a social conservative whose viewpoints have gradually come to be considered moderate as the SBOE has veered farther and farther right. Don McLeroy is leader of the far-right conservative faction on the SBOE who favored science standards that discredit evolution and social studies standards that promote his belief of America as a Christian nation.

After the jump, some lessons from the election results.

New Front in Culture War at the SBOE

I was shocked in 2010 when George Clayton defeated Geraldine "Tincy" Miller for the GOP nomination for the District 12 seat on the State Board of Education (SBOE). Clayton was an unknown. Miller was the longtime incumbent. Most attributed his victory to an indiscriminate anti-incumbent attitude by the voters. I personally was lukewarm (lukecool?) to both candidates, but I sided with Miller because at least I knew what I was getting with her. I was concerned with what I was hearing from Clayton.

Since the 2010 election, I have heard little about George Clayton's service on the SBOE. In recent years, I've considered no news to be good news when it comes to the SBOE. Usually the SBOE makes news for pushing Creationism in the science curriculum or Christian revisionism or McCarthyism in the American history curriculum. So, if George Clayton and the SBOE were keeping theirs heads low, they couldn't be doing too much damage, right?

Well, George Clayton has now raised his head, on a surprising matter that is likely to become a factor in his bid for re-election. After the jump, the story by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.

State Board of Education Recommendations

The Dallas Morning News has made its recommendations for the State Board of Education (SBOE) District 9 and 12 races in the GOP primary. The SBOE is an elected 15 member board responsible for setting curriculum standards for Texas public schools. The three Rs. 1492 and 1776. Ho hum, right? Not if you care about Texas kids. Unless you've spent the last decade living on Pluto (not a planet anymore, by the way), you know that the SBOE has become the front line in the culture war over evolution, climate change, religion, everything from the Indian Wars to the Indian festival of lights, Diwali. (By the way, the argument over Diwali taught me that there are over 50,000 Hindus in north Texas. I didn't know that. Maybe my education, which didn't include Diwali, was deficient.)

After the jump, why one DMN recommendation is merely OK and the other patently obvious.

SBOE Faceoff in District 12

Recently, I offered my opinions on the four candidates for the GOP nomination for the State Board of Education (SBOE) District 12 seat.

• Gail Spurlock
  
• Tincy Miller
  
• George Clayton
  
• Pam Little
  

George Clayton, the incumbent, received my (reluctant) nod.

Tuesday night, all four candidates, plus Lois Parrott, who is uncontested in seeking the Democrat-ic nomination, had a chance to impress me in person at a forum jointly sponsored by the Leagues of Women Voters of Plano/Collin County, Dallas and Richardson, the Greater Dallas Section of the National Council of Jewish Women, and the Women's Council of Dallas County.

After the jump, how the candidates fared in changing my mind.

SBOE: Pam Little, Standing Firm

This week, I've reviewed three GOP candidates for the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) -- Gail Spurlock, Tincy Miller, and George Clayton -- and found all of their candidacies wanting, either deal breakers or issues that make me reluctant to endorse them.

There's a fourth candidate in the GOP primary for State Board of Education (SBOE) District 12, Pam Little. After the jump, my first impressions.

SBOE: Tincy Miller and Bill Ames

Recently, I quoted some statements by Gail Spurlock, candidate for the GOP nomination for Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) District 12, which includes Richardson. I wasn't too impressed with her opinion that the Pilgrims were communists and sex education isn't needed because kids can figure out on their own how to have sex. I said that I'd take the other candidates, either George Clayton or Tincy Miller, in a heartbeat over Spurlock.

After the jump, what I've learned since that further narrows the field.

SBOE: It's George Clayton by Elimination

This week, I've reviewed two GOP candidates for the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) -- Gail Spurlock and Tincy Miller -- and found their candidacies wanting. That left me, reluctantly, leaning towards endorsing the incumbent, George Clayton, on the grounds that I haven't heard anything about him contributing to the stupid antics of the SBOE. But, to be fair, I couldn't leave it at that without spending some effort trying to find out what Clayton is up to in his own campaign.

After the jump, I'm still trying, but what I'm finding isn't helping.

Is It Too Late To Stop The Nonsense?

The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) finished revising social studies standards for Texas public education for the next decade. After this rewrite of history by these elected non-historians, Texas schoolchildren are now going to be taught that maybe Thomas Jefferson was factually incorrect when he described the First Amendment as "building a wall of separation between church and state," that Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address needs to be balanced by the speeches of Jefferson Davis, and that Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, who found a red under every bed, didn't have much to be ashamed of after all.

Our children will have to endure a decade of this. Or will they? After the jump, is it too late to stop the nonsense?

Checking In With The SBOE

Let's check in with the SBOE - the Texas State Board of Education - you know, that government body that The Dallas Morning News's Jacquielynn Floyd once called a "whacked-out troop of underqualified ideologues ... [who] make us look like a bunch o' goobers in the eyes of the whole nation." That was thanks in large measure to SBOE chairman Don McLeroy, the Bryan dentist who once argued that the good fit between humans' upper teeth and lower teeth is evidence of Creationism (apparently, he never saw my children's orthodontist bills). Texan voters and their schoolchildren scored a rare victory at the ballot box in 2010 when McLeroy was defeated by Thomas Ratliff in the Republican primary, who went to win the general election.

After the jump, catching up with Thomas Ratliff.

If I Were On the Texas SBOE

By now, you are likely well aware of the brouhaha triggered by the Texas State Board of Education's proposed standards for the teaching of history and social studies to Texas schoolchildren. Everyone has weighed in on the subject. Today, The Dallas Morning News' Jacquielynn Floyd calls the SBOE a "whacked-out troop of underqualified ideologues ... [who] make us look like a bunch o' goobers in the eyes of the whole nation." Speaking of whacked-out ideologues, conservative talk radio host Mark Davis, in the guise of the "Textbook Ref", tells us how he personally would referee the disputes.

So, at risk of belaboring a point, after the jump I weigh in on how I would have behaved if I were on the SBOE.

Not Much Evolution In The Creationism Debate

Suppose you're a candidate for school board in Texas. Suppose further that a reporter for the local newspaper asks you this question, "Are you in favor or opposed to the teaching of Creationism in science classes?"

The question sounds like a simple yes/no question, but it's anything but simple. Importantly, the question is not equivalent to asking, "Do you believe in Creationism?" Also, it's not equivalent to asking, "Will you attempt to include Creationism in the curriculum for science classes?" To do the question justice, it's important to provide both a yes/no answer and answers to the questions, "Why?" and "How will your beliefs influence your behavior as a school board trustee?"

So, how would you answer? After the jump, I examine the different tacks that might be taken.

Worrying About Our SBOE

Burning oil to run cars also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Some scientists believe that this carbon dioxide could lead to a slow heating of Earth's overall climate. This temperature change is known as global warming or climate change. Scientists disagree about what is causing climate change. Many people, however, worry that climate change might cause environmental problems, such as increased storm activity and rising sea levels.

Source: New York Times.

That's a passage from a proposed social studies textbook for use in Texas. Publishers want their books bought in Texas, so they do their best to meet the demands of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), which oversees textbook adoption. (Tincy Miller represents Richardson on the SBOE and is up for re-election November 4.)

In an October 20 work session, the SBOE reviewed public comments on the proposed textbooks. After the jump, my own unsubmitted comment:

Redistricting Musical Chairs

New Texas House district maps were published by the court this week. Maybe, finally, the redistricting fiasco handed Texans by the last Texas legislature is coming to a close.

After the jump, what it means for Richardson.

24 Questions for Elementary Physics

The State Board of Education (SBOE) has been meeting in Austin to set the curriculum standards to be used in Texas schools for the teaching of social studies. The board is split, with eight of the fifteen members solidly or frequently in the conservative camp. And by conservative, I'm talking Texas conservative. For example, former chairman of the board Don McLeroy wants to rehabilitate communist witch hunter Joseph McCarthy in our children's history books ("Read the latest on McCarthy. He was basically vindicated."). Read the Washington Monthly article for scary details about this powerful faction setting standards not only for Texas schoolchildren, but for textbook publishers who will sell into states all across the country.

After the jump, what century-old math questions can tell us about teaching social studies in the 21st century.

Twitter Tracks: Tomato The Town, Census, Oil Leak

Twitter tracks from April, 2010:

• 2010 04 01 - The next big thing for @amiromar: Tomato the Town (http://bit.ly/blGFpX)
• 2010 04 01 - Claire: "How could anybody reasonably be expected to distinguish an April Fool's joke from their [D Magazine's] normal content even on 4/1?"
• 2010 04 01 - Don't forget, today is Census Day. Fill it out. Thanks, great-great-great-grandpa for returning yours in your day: http://bit.ly/cAtd7f
• 2010 04 01 - Robin Williams calls Australians "English rednecks." Australian PM takes offense. You see, Aussies really hate being called English.
• 2010 04 01 - The Church's response to revelations of sexual abuse? Stonewall. Issue non-denial denials. Attack the messenger. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
• 2010 04 01 - Sarah Palin joins Sierra Club in criticizing Obama's drilling plan. Both are being consistent. SC champions environment. SP opposes Obama.
• 2010 04 01 - Daily Show on the census: If the gov't doesn't know you exist, how will the black helicopters come to tax your guns to pay for death panels?

After the jump, more Twitter tracks.