I have not posted in a while, because I am in the process of selling my home, finishing up school, having a baby, changing jobs etc. But here is a short essay I did on Texas education. The audience is my instructor, and covers questions in regard to the State Board of Education and educational issues in Texas.
What Should Our Children Learn in School
The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is an elected body
by voters in each district who determines what curriculum is to be learned and
how money is allocated. This system replaced the preexisting SBOE which
consisted of nine appointed
representatives. (Collier,
Galatas and Harrelson-Stephens)
Periodically the SBOE formulates new curriculum, textbooks
and their content. It is at these times which political agendas are pushed,
especially in the social studies curriculum. One example of this is a post by
Liberty Institute recommending citizens to contact their local representative
to prevent “the Liberal takeover of Texas Education!” Here is an excerpt from
one of their blogs decrying the removal of Thomas Jefferson from the social
studies curriculum and accusing the ACLU as an antagonist:
Do you want to take a stand for accurate history and the future of Texas
school children? We want to help you make a difference.
Fringe liberal groups and media are working overtime to spread
misinformation, hoping to convince Texans that the Board has completely removed
Thomas Jefferson from the social studies standards (Jefferson is actually more
prominent in the U.S. History standards than anyone else except George
Washington) and not fairly representing minorities (approved standards actually
contain more minority representation than ever before).
The ACLU and others are using misinformation to force their ideology
into the curriculum and force the State Board of Education (SBOE) to delay
the final vote on the social studies standards until after the November
elections, hoping there will be more liberal representation on the Board. The
Board has been working on social studies for over 14 months now, and it’s time
to vote! (Texas Values)
A more recent issue is the revision of Textbooks to include Moses as an
influence of the Founding Fathers. Some critics question the validity of this
statement and say it is an exaggeration
— an underhanded attempt to inculcate Judeo-Christian thought into the
curriculum. (The Associated Press) These changes fall
in the wake of a 2010 ruling of a then new conservative curriculum that allowed
Republicans to retain long held ideas of Moses’ influence on the systems of
law. (The Associated Press) Other issues with
texts include the impetuses of the Civil War, as well as racial, slavery, and
climate change omissions in the texts. (Isensee)
Even more controversial is the problem of evolution as the standard
theory of explaining life to be taught in public schools. This is a problem in
a state in which the majority: 51% doubt the theory of evolution. (Terkel) In 2013 the SBOE
approved new science textbooks that teach evolution. (Klein) This begs the
question, why is evolution —which is not the majority opinion — being taught in
public schools? Texas Freedom Network mentioned that the changes were a result
of “last minute [hijacking]” of special interest groups. (Klein)
Without going into great detail about the controversial topic of
evolution, I feel that it’s necessary to briefly state that there are grave
weaknesses to the theory of evolution which are enumerated well by the Kolbe
Center, who also show that it is a bad/non-reproducible science. (Kolbe Center) In addition to this,
in no way is evolution nor theistic evolution compatible with the Genesis
account of creation, thus prohibiting Christians to adopt it. (Franklin) In essence most
theories of evolution presuppose Adam as representing a group of first parents
(polygenism). If this assumption is granted, then:
[N]ot everyone would be tainted by original sin. [Therefore,
just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in
this way death came to all men, because all sinned…(Romans 5:11)] There would
be millions of other people without the taint of original sin. I know this goes
without saying, but original sin must be believed or you have no need for
sacrifice or a savior and our faith is truncated. There are few evolutionists
who believe in monogenism, they adhere to a group theory of evolution. If they
didn't, they would be positing a theory which by happenstance, one woman
appeared on the evolutionary pathway and one man, they happen to find each
other and then reproduce; the chances of this are unbelievable. Few if any
evolutionary theories are compatible with this orthodox belief and primarily
Genesis. (Franklin)
While liberals may decry the
inaccuracy of Moses as an early influence to democracy as bad science; they
negate to notice the wobbly foundation of evolution and natural selection as
sound science. The evidence for Creationism requires a modicum of faith and
likewise so does the theory of evolution, both have marvelous claims: special
creation of species from an omnipotent God and contrarily, atoms against all
odds, come together form molecules, which in turn form proteins; those in turn
under perfect conditions form microorganisms, etc. Although I officially don’t
recommend it, but for inclusions sake, a solution is to include both in the
curriculum.
Although the Texas SBOE have
been involved in many controversial actions, Common Core hasn’t been one of
them; in fact, “the state legislature in 2013 prohibited Texas from adopting
Common Core or using Common Core standards in its classrooms. (Collier,
Galatas and Harrelson-Stephens 457) Critics of Common
Core attack the instructional material
that must be aligned with Common Core. (Weiss)
132 Catholic college professors, enumerated their issues with Common Core in a
signed letter to their Bishops in order to curtail its adoption in private
Catholic Schools across the country. (Bradley) They say, “[W]e are
convinced that Common Core is so deeply flawed that it should not be adopted by
Catholic schools which have yet to approve it, and that those schools which
have already endorsed it should seek an orderly withdrawal now.” (Bradley) They quote
educational experts who have studied it closely and say it is a “step
backward”, and students “will not be prepared for authentic college work;”
notwithstanding the fact that supporters of Common Core admit “it is geared to
prepare children only for community-college-level studies.” (Bradley) Supporters claim
that it will prepare students for college and careers, but Bradley et al. judge
Common Core to be a recipe for standardized
workforce preparation as opposed to preparing students for “a life of the
imagination, of the spirit, and of deep appreciation for beauty, goodness,
truth, and faith.” (Bradley) I understand that
Bradley et al. represent only a small portion of the opposition to Common Core,
but I believe they capture the heart of the problem.
With all the issues mentioned
above it is not surprising that parents have opted for alternatives to their
children’s education. One of those options that has become very popular is
homeschooling. From 2003 -2013, the number of children being homeschooled has
increased by 61.8%. (Jeffrey)
Certain patterns were also noted by the Department of Education: The more
educated the parent, the more likely they are to homeschool (I can’t help
mention here, that my wife and I homeschool our 6 children) and the majority
are middle class families. (Jeffrey)
Homeschooling has become a refuge for parents who want to avoid opposing ideas
and even unnatural influences to their children. Especially when, in the small town
of Lumberton, Texas, a male teacher — who signs his name as Mrs. Klug and wears
woman’s clothing —is allowed to teach young impressionable children. (The Other McCain)
Aside from mentally confused
teachers, Homeschoolers can protect their children from a milieu of other
problem curricula ranging from explicit sex education classes, evolutionary
theory, climate change, and gender studies; and potential behavioral
temptations such as drugs and premature sexual relations. But right along with
these protections, homeschooling provides superior education with homeschoolers
performing in the top percentiles on standardized tests. (Rorate Caeli) Homeschooling is not for everyone, but
it does afford one-on-one education with children and parents are able to be
more involved relationally with their children —accommodating to their specific
needs more easily than a teacher with 20 something other kids. Lastly, the
socialization complaint from naysayers of homeschoolers is simply founded upon
absolutely zero data.
I am a product of public
education in Texas and although some come out of it doing very well, I feel
that I could have gotten a better education. This is not entirely due to the
curriculum or the teachers, but primarily because my parents did not push me
hard and hanging with the wrong crowd; this is the case for most kids. It is
rare to find a child who is interested in hitting the books; they would rather
play games and goof off; this is natural. If we can figure out how to motivate
parents as well as kids to take a more active role in their education, then I
believe scores would greatly increase. Funding and having resources are very
important, but I think too much emphasis is put on underfunded school districts
and even curricula. Having laptops and new books do not make you smarter, love
of truth and proper motivations do.
Works Cited
Bradley, Gerard V. "Letter to Catholic Bishops
to Oppose Common Core." Notre Dame : University of Notre Dame School of
Law, 16 October 2013. Letter.
<http://files.meetup.com/1387375/Letter%20to%20Catholic%20Bishops%20on%20the%20Common%20Core%20F.pdf>.
Collier, Ken, Steven Galatas and Julie
Harrelson-Stephens. Lone Star Politics: Tradition and Transformation in
Texas. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2015. Print.
Franklin, Jeremy. Theistic Evolution: A
Contradiction to The Genesis Account. 23 August 2015. Web. 22 November
2015.
<http://thetripletiara.blogspot.com/2015/08/theistic-evolution-contradiction-to.html>.
Isensee, Laura. How Textbooks Can Teach Different
Versions of History. 13 July 2015. Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/07/13/421744763/how-textbooks-can-teach-different-versions-of-history>.
Jeffrey, Terence P. 1,773,000: Homeschooled
Children Up 61.8% in 10 Years. 19 May 2015. Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/1773000-homeschooled-children-618-10-years>.
Klein, Rebecca. Texas Oks Controversial
Environmental Science Textbook. 22 November 2013. Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/22/texas-environmental-science-textbook_n_4326160.html>.
Kolbe Center. The Kolbe Center for the Study of
Creation. 2015. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://kolbecenter.org/>.
Rorate Caeli. Homeschooling Growing Seven Times
Faster Than Public School Enrollment. 8 June 2013. Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/06/homeschooling-growing-seven-times.html>.
Terkel, Amanda. Poll: Large Number of Texans Doubt
the Theory of Evolution, Believe in Human Dinosaur Coexistance. 19
February 2010. Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/02/19/82946/texas-evolution/>.
Texas Values. Stop the Liberal Takeover of Texas
Education! Take Action! 5 May 2010. Web. 22 November 2015.
<https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/contact-state-board-of-education-for-improved-curricula/>.
The Associated Press. Texas Approves Disputed
History Texts for School. 22 Novermber 2014. Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/us/texas-approves-disputed-history-texts-for-schools.html?_r=1>.
The Other McCain. Texas Tranny Teacher. 9
April 2014. Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://theothermccain.com/2014/04/09/texas-tranny-teacher/>.
Weiss, Jeffrey. What Texans Need to Know About
Common Core Education Standards. 23 June 2014. Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20140623-what-texans-need-to-know-about-common-core-education-standards.ece>.
