OUR TURN: Textbook revisions create opportunities for parents to be teachers

The State Board of Education is at it again, working to insert a skewed view of history into Texas textbooks based on ideology instead of facts.

Earlier this month, the board voted along party lines — 10-5 — to revise the social studies curriculum, with social conservatives carrying the day to put a decidedly right-wing mark on history.

The board’s recommendations for the curriculum standards will again be put to a board vote in May.

The initiative, led mainly by Republicans who believe academia leans too far to the left, adopted curriculum standards that drop Thomas Jefferson from a list of historical figures whose writings inspired revolution; opts for the wording “free enterprise” instead of “capitalism” to avoid negative connotations; and fails to include many prominent Hispanic figures who have contributed to America’s social awakening.

But all is not lost.

The board’s choice of curriculum creates a perfect opportunity for smart parents to get involved in the education process once again.

If they don’t like what educators are being told to teach their kids in school, parents can open a dialogue with their children, discuss alternate views and read texts with their children different than the ones the state says they must peruse.

This approach not only broadens a child’s education, but also creates some quality time for parents and kids.

Meanwhile, the board’s decision will have consequences for schools across the Highland Lakes, which will have to adopt the politically based curriculum.

This is to be expected from the right-wingers on the board. After all, they have long been critics of established scientific theory, including evolution; believe government and religion should be conjoined; and have often stressed that America is a Christian country, when reality clearly shows many belief systems are represented on these shores.

That may be one reason for the reduction in Jefferson — a founding father, author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States and the man who in 1802 composed a letter to Danbury Baptists in support of a constitutionally created “wall of separation” between church and state.

It boggles the imagination to think that Jefferson, one of the greatest thinkers and statesmen this country has ever produced, would be dropped from some lessons.

What makes things worse is that Texas schoolbooks have an impact on the rest of the nation.

The actions of the Texas board go beyond the borders of the Lone Star State. Because Texas is a major buyer of textbooks, changes dictated in Austin can influence publishing houses across the country.

The sad fact is that some members of the board can’t distinguish school lessons from political ideology, and that cripples the Texas education system.

Textbooks and study lessons should be based on historical facts and empirical data, not driven by ideology — liberal or conservative. Texas schoolchildren deserve a quality education divorced from partisan politics so they can compete in a global arena.

That’s why it becomes even more important for parents and children to discuss different viewpoints and to engage in a marketplace of ideas where they examine opposing opinions and theories.

The Founding Fathers questioned authority, and so should today’s families when it comes to textbook revisions chosen by the State Board of Education.

That’s the American way.

The Daily Tribune editorial board includes Dan Alvey, Amber Alvey Weems, Thomas Edwards, Daniel Clifton and Chris Porter.