April | 2010 | TFN Insider

Monthly Archives: April 2010

Getting in Touch with ‘Their Inner Children’

The political jousting between Bill White and Rick Perry over the Texas State Board of Education‘s controversial revision of social studies curriculum standards is legitimate in the electoral arena. It’s certainly preferable to dragging political agendas into our children’s classrooms, which the state board has been doing during the curriculum revision. But what the Republican Party of Texas did [...]

Posted in Republican Party of Texas, social studies, State Board of Education | 8 Comments |


Is This about ‘Payback’ or Education?

We noted this morning that Robert Scott, the Texas education commissioner, told state legislators at a Capitol public hearing that changes the Texas State Board of Education is making to proposed social studies curriculum standards reflect a change in political control of the board in recent years. (A far-right faction took control of the state [...]

Posted in social studies | 24 Comments |


Dodge and Stonewall

At the legislative hearing this morning about the Texas State Board of Education, Robert Scott, the state’s education commissioner, just told lawmakers that he’s proud of the board’s “open process” for developing curriculum standards. The Texas Education Agency and state board have received thousands of written comments about the social studies standards, he said. And [...]

Posted in social studies | 7 Comments |


Lege Hearing on Texas SBOE Today

Texas lawmakers today will focus on the State Board of Education‘s radical rewriting of history and social studies curriculum standards at a public hearing at the Capitol in Austin. Lawmakers from the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, Legislative Study Group, Texas Legislative Black Caucus and Senate Hispanic Caucus will hear testimony throughout the day. The hearing begins [...]

Posted in Gail Lowe, social studies | Leave a comment |


Breathing Fire in Tyler

Political fire-breathing was center stage at “The Oil Palace” on Saturday in Tyler, the only Texas stop on FOX News show host Glenn Beck‘s traveling road show, his “Take America Back” tour. The event showed once again how religious-right rhetoric increasingly dominates the so-called “tea party movement.” Beck and various Texas politicians provided plenty of [...]

Posted in Glenn Beck, Leo Berman, Rick Perry, tea party | 13 Comments |


SBOE Chair to Legislators: Drop Dead

That seems to be the message from Texas State Board of Education Chairwoman Gail Lowe, R-Lampasas, to state legislators this week. Of course, we haven’t seen the communications between Lowe and representatives of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC), which is sponsoring a public hearing on Wednesday to learn more about the state board’s revision [...]

Posted in Gail Lowe, social studies | 7 Comments |


Dunbar Takes New Trip on Extremism Train

Good grief. Cynthia Dunbar has demonstrated once again the kind of religious and political extremism that currently dominates the Texas State Board of Education — and the reason academic experts and classroom teachers should be guiding the process of revising curriculum standards for public schools, not politicians with personal agendas. Speaking last week on a far-right [...]

Posted in Cynthia Dunbar, social studies | 52 Comments |


Pants on Fire, Ken Mercer

Maybe Texas State Board of Education member Ken Mercer, R-San Antonio, should work on controlling his temper. When you’re mad, as most of us probably heard from our mamas growing up, you often say things that, well, aren’t always completely accurate. In an e-mail from his re-election campaign today, Mercer charges that the “major print [...]

Posted in Cynthia Dunbar, Gail Lowe, Ken Mercer | 4 Comments |


Talking Points

From today’s TFN News Clips: “It is of no concern to me if this president, or any president, issues prayer proclamations. I can pray, or not, without government encouragement.” – Cal Thomas, a conservative commentator, writing about a recent court ruling that it is unconstitutional for government to promote the National Day of Prayer. Stay informed [...]

Posted in National Day of Prayer | 14 Comments |


Social Studies or Religion?

From the Buffalo News:

Posted in social studies | 16 Comments |