The State Board of Education is proving that history doesn’t always have to be rewritten. Instead, sometimes omission is the best way to get an agenda across.
This week, the board began discussing a changed curriculum standard for the subject of social studies. Texas social studies standards have not been updated since 1997, so this decision will have a large impact on the lives and knowledge of 4.7 million public school children.
The preliminary draft of the newly revised standards has excluded the biographies of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen F. Austin and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
The State Board of Education has also appointed six experts who recommended the removal of C’eacute;sar Ch’aacute;vez’s biography. In addition to the removal of said biographies, the early draft has removed Independence Day, Veterans Day and Texas’ and United States’ mottos and anthems from its section on customs and holidays. The revised draft adds more information on the role of the Christian faith in the formation of this country.
The final vote on these revisions will be held next spring. The omission of major political figures from the curriculum might make it easier for students to pass class because they will have less to learn.
This could even alleviate back pain for students, who have had to lug around heavy textbooks. However, it also promotes ignorance. Back pain or ignorance, which is worse?
Wikipedia should not have to fill in the blanks where the education system fails us. While controversial, more information about the role of the Christian faith in the formation of the country is the only beneficial thing that this update seems to offer.
Religion did have a considerable impact on our country. Plus, it makes social studies a subject students can personally relate to. Pretending that Christianity had no effect would be an injustice to not only the students, but also the truth of history.
This addition has potential to be harmful to Christianity and students’ education, if turned into merely an agenda-pusher.
If the revision is not improved by voting time, future generations won’t even know George Washington was the guy who had a powdered wig and fake teeth.
Travis Hensley is a philosophy senior and may be reached at [email protected]
