A group of historians have called on the SBOE to review and rethink its recent changes to the social studies curriculum.
Historians are decrying the social studies curriculum standards crafted by the State Board of Education that they say misrepresent and distort the historical record.
About 800 college history professors from across the country have so far signed on to a letter circulated this week by seven academics from the University of Texas campuses in Austin and El Paso.
“Those of us who teach and conduct research in colleges and universities have grown concerned that social studies curriculum standards in Texas do not meet student needs,” the letter reads.
The letter says that some board revisions undermine “the study of the social sciences in our public schools by misrepresenting and even distorting the historical record and the functioning of American society.”
You can read the letter here. They are asking the Board to do the following:
- Delay the final adoption of social studies curriculum standards;
- Allow curriculum teams and a new panel of qualified, credentialed content experts from the state’s colleges and universities to review changes that the Board has made and prepare a new draft of the standards that is fair, accurate and balanced;
- Permit the public to review and comment on the new draft of the standards before final adoption; and
- Make final changes to the draft of the standards only after public consultation with classroom teachers and scholars who are experts in the appropriate fields of study.
This isn’t the first call on the Board to delay implementation of the changes and I suspect it won’t be the last. I don’t expect them to pay any attention – it should be crystal clear by now that the wingnut faction thinks they know better than any so-called “expert”, so what do they care about stuff like this? – but the more that can be done to show how out of touch they are, the better. The Texas Freedom Network has more.
That’s a welcome turn of events.