September | 2009 | TFN Insider

Monthly Archives: September 2009

‘Engage the Darwin-Lovers’

Are evolution deniers in the “intelligent design”/creationism movement adopting the disruptive tactics of rowdy folks who besieged “town hall” meetings in August to protest health insurance reform? We hope not. But  it’s a fair question considering an extra-credit assignment some students at a fundamentalist Christian seminary were offered last week. A little background: Southern Methodist University in [...]

Posted in evolution | 8 Comments |


The Problem in Texas on Sex Ed

Given the news earlier this month about shockingly high rates of multiple births to teens in Texas (see here and here), we thought we’d share (again) data from this year’s Texas Freedom Network Education Fund report about sexuality education in Texas public schools. What are Texas school districts teaching students about responsible pregnancy and disease [...]

Posted in sex education | 2 Comments |


Don McLeroy on Civil Rights: Not Pretty

It just gets worser and worser. So the countless civil rights workers who put their lives on the line and women who marched and lobbied for voting and equal rights – all of those generations of Americans who demanded that our country live up to its promise of justice and equality for all — have ”the majority” to thank for [...]

Posted in Don McLeroy | 17 Comments |


Gov. Perry and ‘Government Intrusions’

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign just sent out an e-mail touting his speech at the religious right’s “Values Voter Summit” in Washington, D.C., this past weekend. This speech excerpt noted in the e-mail caught our eye: “It is well past time for us to halt the endless intrusions into our lives, put a stop [...]

Posted in Rick Perry | 1 Comment |


Debating Mediocrity and Expertise

Last week’s Texas State Board of Education meeting included an interesting discussion about who should be helping guide the revision of curriculum standards. The conversation was a perfect example of how politics and mediocrity have taken precedence over scholarship and expertise in deciding what students will learn in Texas public school classrooms.

Posted in Barbara Cargill, Cynthia Dunbar, Don McLeroy | 6 Comments |


TFN Brings Dionne to Austin on Thursday

The religious right is still a powerful force in Texas, but is it finally on the decline in the rest of the country? That’s what E.J. Dionne, the award-winning columnist for The Washington Post, suggests in his best-selling book Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics after the Religious Right. You can still reserve a seat to hear [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment |


Gov. Perry: ‘We’re in a Recession?’

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is speaking in the nation’s capital today at the “Values Voter Summit,” a confab put together by a constellation of religious-right groups like the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family and the American Family Association. What’s more likely to make news in coming weeks, however, are the governor’s comments this [...]

Posted in Rick Perry | 12 Comments |


First Amendment? Not in Mississippi

Texas isn’t the only state that is constitutionally challenged. In fact, Mississippi is giving us a run for our money when it comes to (willful?) ignorance about what the First Amendment means. Earlier this summer, our friends at Advocates for Youth brought us the disturbing tale of an abstinence-only rally/evangelical prayer meeting sponsored by the [...]

Posted in sex education | 14 Comments |


Important Progress

Today’s State Board of Education hearing on proposed new social studies standards for Texas public schools was long and often exhausting. (Scroll down to find our blog posts from the hearing.) But we noted some important progress for ensuring that our schoolchildren get an honest and sound education. In particular, David Barton and Peter Marshall [...]

Posted in David Barton, Peter Marshall, social studies | 10 Comments |


Blogging from the Social Studies Hearing III

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 [...]

Posted in live blog, social studies | 15 Comments |