Texas Freedom Network

2:25 – The board broke for lunch after David Barton’s comments. Next up will be comments from representatives of the social studies curriculum writing teams.

2:48 – The board is going through each grade level, listening to the curriculum writers. Nothing particularly controversial.

2:52 – Curriculum writers are using this opportunity to defend themselves against criticism that they had left out important Americans and events in their earlier work on the standards. Teachers are explaining the importance of keeping in mind when (at what grade level) and how various historical facts are introduced. We’ll probably have fewer posts here unless some controversy develops during this testimony.

2:59 – Well, this didn’t take long. SBOE board member Terri Leo notes that the Legislature requires students to learn about patriotism, and she objects to references to “global citizenship” in the standards. Such references, she says, don’t promote patriotism.

3:01 – Leo also objects to leaving a discussion of Nathan Hale out of the standards for first grade. But teachers are explaining that Hale’s execution is a difficult and perhaps disturbing concept for such young students. Further, they say, there are very few good, age-appropriate materials available for teaching students about Hale. But Leo and board member Cynthia Dunbar are insisting that Hale must be included. In the grand scheme of things this surely isn’t a big deal. But it’s another example of the board’s far-right members thinking that teachers don’t know what they’re talking about.

3:07 – Leo is back on her “global citizens” complaint. She thinks this is unpatriotic and doesn’t promote American “nationalism.” Board member Bob Craig speaks up to disagree. He’s too kind to say: Leo’s objection is wacked. Does she think first-graders are going to suddenly turn into anti-American zealots because their teacher talks about the concept that we’re all citizens of our world?

3:25 – The curriculum writer for second grade notes that her team never considered dropping Thurgood Marshall from the standards and were, in fact, proud to be able to teach about him. This helps correct the misconception promoted by some board members that objections to Thurgood Marshall came from the writing teams. In fact, those objections came from the so-called “experts” — David Barton and Peter Marshall — appointed by board members themselves.

3:55 – We’re still here. Most of the discussion is focused on specific examples of names and events in the standards. Nothing controversial.

4:45 – A curriculum writer for Grade 6 expresses her dismay over the bogus “war on Christmas” controversy. She explains there was never an intent to keep teachers from teaching about Christmas. It’s absurd that she has to explain something so basic — the writing team was offering one example of a significant holiday from each of the world’s major religions. They included Easter for Christianity instead of Christmas. There was no hidden effort to attack Christmas or Christianity.

5:16 – SBOE board member Don McLeroy asks why the U.S. 8th-grade history curriculum team ever considered removing a standard requiring students to “describe how religion contributed to the growth of representative government in the American colonies.” The curriculum writer notes that there was never majority support for removing it.

5:20 – McLeroy: “We were impressed with David Barton’s command of history.” Well, not all of us, Dr. McLeroy.

5:23 – McLeroy wants students to learn about what he believes are the biblical and Christian foundations of American government: “I’m convinced that’s a missing link, a missing story, about the foundations of our country.”

5:39 – In the government course, SBOE member Terri Leo says she wants the Bible and William Blackstone listed in a standard about “principles and ideas that underlie the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution.” Board member Bob Craig objects, noting that the standard is speaking about “principles and ideas.”

5:45 – Don McLeroy weighs in again on Christian foundations for America. “I agree, we are a secular state. We are not a Christian nation.” But then he goes on to insist that the nation was founded on biblical and Christian principles. “The atheist secularists today say there is no truth and we just evolved. And those are clearly not the principles enunciated in our nation’s founding documents.” McLeroy argues that “there are deeper principles than the Enlightenment principles,” meaning Christian biblical principles.

5:48 – The curriculum team member for the government course suggests that a separate standard on the Judeo-Christian foundations of American government might be better.

6:03 – SBOE Pat Hardy suggests changing the U.S. history standard about identifying “significant” conservative individuals and advocacy organizations to just “significant advocacy organizations” (not just conservative), along with the list of examples. Hardy suggests adding Moveon.org to the list. SBOE board member Mavis Knight suggests leaving out all examples of “advocacy organizations.”

6:07 – Don McLeroy wants discussion of civil rights laws to note Republicans who worked to pass them. All of the groups listed now, he says, are from the left. The political push, he argues, came from Republicans, and more Republicans voted for it than Democrats.

6:18 – McLeroy says he has a problem with the difficulties of choosing which organizations to include as examples of advocacy groups. Well, duh. That’s why the standards shouldn’t be listing groups based on whether they are conservative or liberal. They should be listed based on what they accomplished.

6:55 – SBOE member Barbara Cargill wants to add Puritan and colonial American Pilgrim influences and teachings to a standard that has students “trace the process by which democratic-republican government evolved from its beginnings in teh Hebrew legal tradition, classical Greece and Rome, through developments in England, and continuing with the Enlightenment.” This is only one of the places in the social studies curriculum in which Cargill wants students to learn that the Puritans/Pilgrims influenced the development of representative government.

6:59 – The board has concluded the hearing. Curriculum writing teams will now consider recommendations from board members and the so-called “experts” in revising their first drafts of the standards. Second drafts of the standards are due before the board’s next meeting in November.

11:49 – Another gem from Rev. Marshall’s testimony earlier:

“All men are created equal… this has been the basis of every great social crisis through American history. It was the basis for the American Revolution, the abolition of slavery, the women’s movement, the civil right movement, and is the basis for the modern-day pro-life movement.”

So Marshall is an advocate for equal rights for women, eh? We’re not so sure most American women would be comfortable with Marshall’s idea of equality. Check out this excerpt from one of Marshall’s “Commentaries” from earlier this year on his Web site:

“At some point in life’s journey, both boys and girls must break free from the mother/woman as the source of vitality and power, and yield to Jesus as the source of power and life. Many women have found themselves crying out for someone to deliver them from the natural compulsion to control the lives of others, which is what years of being the life-giving source of vitality for children and husband can easily turn into. And boys cannot become men capable of exercising Godly power in the world as protectors and providers, men who have mastered themselves and thus can execute justice in society and right its wrongs, unless they have separated from their mothers and given themselves to One who is greater than their earthly fathers.”

11:56 – Prof. Jim Kracht of Texas A&M is speaking now. No surprise that the board will let David Barton speak last (among the so-called “experts”).

11:58 – Prof. Kracht suggests that the social studies curriculum standards currently used in Texas public schools don’t need a complete overhaul. Based on their comments about the standards thus far, Prof. Kracht’s suggestion would probably be disputed by David Barton and Peter Marshall.

12:01 – TalkingPointsMemo is following the today’s State Board of Education meeting and has some good insights. Check it out.

12:03 – Prof. Kracht warns about overloading the standards with too many people, dates and events. “Please keep in mind what is necessary.” He also argues, however, that the board should consider balance on various points of view: “It is not a place to put in A point of view, A frame of reference.”

12:07 – SBOE member Terri Leo, one of the board’s far-right members, latches on to Prof. Kracht’s warning about the importance of focusing on what is necessary in the standards. The problem will be her interpretation of what IS necessary and what’s not. Any guesses?

12:26 – Now David Barton is up. He has a slide show! PowerPoint, anyway.

12:28 – Barton has embarked on a long list of “American heroes” who were African-American, Hispanic and Jewish. All of have been left out of the standards, he notes, but students should know about them. It’s as if he is determined to distract critics who have noted his attacks on “multiculturalism” and including people in the standards because of their ethnicity instead of their contributions in American history.

12:37 – Now he goes through a long list of dates and events that should be included to help students understand the Constitution and its origins. But here’s a problem: amateur historians know a lot of dates and events, but they don’t have much expertise in interpreting those events and their significance. Instead of expertise, they substitute their own ideological biases.

12:41 – We’ve said it before: Barton can dazzle with a smooth speaking style and an ability to rattle off a series of facts that makes him appear to be an “expert.” The problem is his historical interpretations are so distorted by his ideological bias.

12:45 – SBOE member Mary Helen Berlanga asks why David Barton wanted to remove Cesar Chavez from the standards. Barton replies that he thought there was a better place for Chavez in the standards. Actually, however, this is what Barton had said about the inclusion of Chavez in a standard on citizenship:

“(Chavez’s) open affiliation with Saul Alinsky’s movements certainly makes dubious that he is a praiseworthy to be heralded to students as someone ‘who modeled active participation in the democratic process.’”

1:01 – SBOE board member Terri Leo is asking Barton to explain his thoughts on the proper placement of people in the standards. But she’s ignoring Barton’s criticism of Chavez as having an “open affiliation with Saul Alinksy’s movements.” Barton will ignore it, too.

1:04 – Yeah, we were right. Barton is portraying his position on Chavez as simply an issue of where in the standards he should be.

1:05 – SBOE member Rick Agosto asks about Barton’s criticism of which holidays are being listed in the standards. Barton now says he thinks dropping from Christmas from a standard in the Grade 6 world cultures course wasn’t an attempt to undermine or hide the importance of Christmas in America. But in his review of the first draft of the standards, Barton suggested that the curriculum writers were deliberately undermining the significance of Christmas in the heritage of America:

“To mention five religions and then mention five holidays ignores the Free-Market nature of America, even among religions. America is not evenly divided among these five religions. . . . The culture of America is not accurately reflected by pretending that all five religions have equal adherents.”

9:45 – The State Board of Education has begun today’s hearing proposed new social studies curriculum standards for Texas public schools. State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, is objecting to efforts to downplay the significance of Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall in the new standards.

9:47 – A live video Webcast of the hearing is available here.

9:53 – Latino members of the State Board of Education are also speaking out on the importance of including the contributions of Latinos in our state and national history.

10:02 – TFN President Kathy Miller is now speaking before the board.

10:03 – Kathy is expressing her concerns about the process the state board has taken to this point in the standards revision. “It really looks like (the state board is) putting politics ahead of sound scholarship and quality education in our classrooms.”

10:04 – “Even the writing teams are feeling the heightened politicization of the process.”

10:05 – Kathy: This politicization is eroding the faith that parents might have that the process will result in standards that give their kids a sound education.

10:08 – Yannis Banks of the Texas NAACP expresses his dismay at suggestions that Thurgood Marshall isn’t a significant enough historical figure to be included in the standards, calling that contention “insulting.”

10:15 – Fidel Acevedo of Texas LULAC also argues for including important Latinos like Cesar Chavez in the standards.

10:16- It’s important to note that some board members are blaming curriculum writers for suggesting that Marshall and Chavez be dropped from the standards. But that’s not true. Calls to drop them from the standards came from David Barton and Peter Marshall, two unqualified right-wing political activists placed by the state board on a panel of so-called “experts” helping guide the curriculum revision process. Board members should stop trying to blame the teachers and academics on the writing teams. The responsibility is on the shoulders of the board members who put Barton and Marshall on the “expert” panel.

10:28 – The far right has its own activists here. One wants students to understand that Christianity, Judaism and Islam worship one God, unlike Hinduish. “This is a religion that pushes many, many gods — almost one for every day of the week.” OK. Got it.

10:29 – “There are forces in our federal government trying to completely rewrite our Constitution of the United States.” Okay… (eye roll)

10:30 – Steven Schafersman of Texas Citizens for Science is speaking now, criticizing efforts to use the social studies standards to promote religion and undermine separation of church and state.

10:33 – Public testimony is done. The board will now hear from the so-called “experts” and curriculum writers.

10:49 – Prof. Frank de la Teja from Texas State, one of the board’s social studies experts and chairman of the Texas State history department, speaks first. One of the themes in his statement is the importance of recognizing America’s diverse history and peoples and their contributions.

10:51 – Evolving democratic institutions in the United States, de la Teja explains, expanded voting and other rights and participation of minorities in American government and society. “The republic has been moving in the direction of a more perfect union since its founding. That journey is not over.”

10:57 – De la Teja is making clear that we do a disservice to our children by presenting a view of American history that is too narrow and limited just to traditional historical figures and events.

11:11 – Peter Marshall of Peter Marshall Ministries is up. He goes right to the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming that the United States was “founded on a creed, a statement of faith.”

11:13 – Rev. Marshall moves into sermon mode, arguing about the importance of belief in God to the nation’s founding and the rights and equality of people. He also argues that a study of the Great Awakening is critical to understanding the nation’s founding.

11:20 – Marshall: Students should learn that “America is a Godly experiment that has no equal in human history.”

11:25 – Marshall: “I’m concerned that the modern trend of just identifying people as groups … I don’t want to see that get out of hand.”

11:25 – SBOE member Mary Helen Berlanga isn’t buying it, reminding Marshall that Hispanics have often been treated as a group — discriminated against because of who they are.

11:27 – SBOE member Mavis Knight wants to know why Marshall wanted Thurgood Marshall dropped from the standards. Peter Marshall goes into a strange discussion about the importance of teaching character to children. What does that have to do with the question?

11:32 – Peter Marshall: He argues that the Founders meant all people when the Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal.” That would be disputed by a number of historians, of course — especially those who correctly note the many Africans who had been enslaved in this country and that women had no right to vote at the time.

11:38 – SBOE member Rick Agosto of San Antonio wants to know why Rev. Marshall wants to include Pedro Flores as “inventor of the yo-yo” in the standards. Marshall replies that he just wanted to be careful about throwing people in the standards. Yeah, we’re confused, too.

11:39 – Prof. Lybeth Hodges of Texas Women’s University is speaking now. Prof. Hodges is focusing partly on issues in coordinating the curriculum standards and standards-based testing. She also expresses the importance of including coverage of minorities and their contributions in the standards.

TFN Insider will be blogging today from the Texas State Board of Education hearing on proposed new social studies curriculum standards.  The Dallas Morning News provides a good preview of the expected debate over the standards. Money quote:

“Unlike science, where most of the debate was over evolution, the list of items to be discussed for social studies is long, ranging from which historical figures should be covered in class to what role Christianity and the Bible played in the founding of the nation. And with an elected board that reflects political tension over social issues, the process is sure to play out as yet another front in the nation’s culture war.”

The meeting begins at 9 a.m., with the social studies item third on the agenda. Click here for more information about the debate.

UPDATE: The Houston Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman also have good previews of today’s meeting. We particularly liked the following quote in the Statesman from John Fea, a history professor at Messiah College, a Christian school in Pennsylvania. Fea spoke about ideologues who are trying to revise the standards in a way that supports their arguments that the Founders intended to create a distinctly Christian nation based on conservative Christian biblical principles:

“Students are not learning history. They are learning the facts about the past that suit some larger agenda, a cultural and political agenda. My best advice would be to respect the historians, respect the voice of historians and try to keep politics out of the teaching of history.”

We agree.