From deep in the heart of Texas to California classrooms: Textbook Wars
Textbook regulation
One wouldn’t immediately associate a pitched political battle in Texas over new standards for curriculum and textbooks with what students in California will be reading in the coming academic years, and yet that is exactly the case. On Friday the Texas State Board of Education tentatively approved standards for social studies that would emphasize the superiority of American capitalism and question the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government, among many other controversial historical positions. The Texas school board is split between conservative and liberal members that have consistently fought over how to frame the state’s curriculum, but the implications go far beyond the Lone Star borders. Because of the size of its textbook market Texas could dictate what ends up in California’s lesson plans. Are we stuck with Texas textbooks?
Guests:
Dr. Don McLeroy, board member, Texas Board of Education & a practicing dentist
Mary Helen Berlanga, board member, Texas Board of Education
Thomas Adams, Executive Director of the California State Board of Education’s Curriculum Commission & Director of Curriculum Frameworks
- Patt Morrison for March 15, 2010
- Was the runaway Prius really a runaway driver? More questions about Toyota’s acceleration problems
- "The History of White People"
- From deep in the heart of Texas to California classrooms: Textbook Wars
- Andy Garcia's "City Island"
Also on this episode
Events
Comedy Congress Live
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
7:30 p.m.
- 9 p.m.
The comedic material emanating from Washington D.C., and state capitols across the country, is enough to make any sitcom writer jealous, even if most of that comedy is unintentional. Our motto on Comedy Congress is that just when politics makes you want to cry, it’s usually best to laugh.
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