The GOP-dominated Texas Board of Education has spent this winter revising social studies standards and the results have been a bizarre disaster. Led by Dr. Don McLeroy (a dentist, not an academic) the new standards stress the Christian principles guiding the founding fathers (questionable at best); the influence of Ronald Reagan but not Lyndon Johnson's Great Society; Newt Gingrich and his Contract With America but not Sonia Sotomayor. They also removed Thomas Jefferson from a discussion of the Enlightenment. They're not too thrilled about that whole enlightenment thing anyway. The latest travesty is the whitewashing of The Alamo. The Republicans on the board flatly refused to teach students about Tejanos who fought and died for Texas independence at The Alamo. They seem to think the old Fess Parker TV series was historically accurate.
The news isn't all bad. McLeroy was recently defeated in his bid for the republican nomination for re-election. His opponent campaigned specifically on not imposing his personal views on the school system and stepping back from McLeroy-style extremism. McLeroy's term doesn't expire until the end of the year, however, so he has plenty of time left to do more damage.
A final vote on the standards takes place in May, then the textbook manufacturers bring their finished products to the board for approval next year.
Texas, one of the wealthiest states, ranks 46th in education.
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