- Abolishing (pun intended) the use of the term "slave trade," but rather the use of the term "Atlantic Triangular Trade."
- Presentation of the south in a more positive light, including highlighting Jefferson Davis, the confederate president
- Arguing that the civil war was not for slavery, but rather "state rights," (of course, which include the states' rights to own slaves)
- Less criticism of McCarthyism and the witch hunt of the 1950's
- Critiquing that the U.S.'s involvement in the UN involvement for international humanitarian affairs as undemocratic and a threat to individual liberty
- Studying social movements held through the NRA and the moral majority
- Adding Ronald Reagan as one of the "great Americans"
- Adding country music (but not hip hop) as an important cultural movement
They feel that these changes present America in a more positive light, and will give a more fair and balanced education to their 4.8 million students. Their changes to the Texas education system has been occuring for the last ten years, and last year, they decided to highlight the creationist argument over evolution and the big bang theory.
In essence, we are dumbing down our students even further, and dulling their critical thinking skills, and reinforcing ideas of White, Christian Supremacy. The entire premise of the social sciences is for students to learn how to critically analyze historical and current events. Indirectly, these tools help students articulate their own perspectives, have broader world views, understand the complexities of events, and contextualize their own experiences.
By clouding these historical events into nebulous terms, students will not be able to understand the inhumane injustices that our country has committed, and the deleterious consequences of these historical contexts. For example, reducing the 400 years of slavery our country actively committed into a mere "Atlantic Triangular Trade" takes away the human side of slavery. It takes away the fact that African Americans in this country STILL feel the consequences of slavery, as they have never fully recovered from not being able to own property, having separated families, facing murder, not having the right to an education, citizenship, or voting rights, and the myriad other injustices.
Rather, they will learn a value-based education that aligns with everythng they are taught through all other major social institutions in their lives at such a young age, families and religion.
- Families: There is little doubt in my mind that most families in Texas teach their children traditional Christian values, and inadvertently teach white privilege.
- Religion: As a Christian majority state, young adults will never be able to fully understand anything outside of their creationist ideas of how the world came to be, and will see the world from a cornucopian lens, where they believe it is their God-given right to consume, consume consume.
Education is one place that challenges these taken for granted ideas, and presents alternative points of views. To criticize the truth of America is not a threat to America, but rather a way to create well-informed, well-educated students who have critical thinking skills and can improve the country.
I'm sick and tired of hearing about how education and the media is "liberally biased." It seems lately, anything that has to do with being educated, well-informed and, I hate to say it, intelligent, is "liberally-biased." Even NPR is under attack lately. Meanwhile, Fox news, or I should say, "newsertainment" touts being "fair and unbiased." Yeah... right.
