Texas Textbook Makeover/ Madeline Boreham 4th period 3rd week

Many textbook writers in the State of Texas have been accused of biased information in their pages, as well as lacking information.  For example one textbook downplays the seriousness of segregation by only stating “Under segregation, all-white and all-African American schools sometimes had similar buildings, buses, and teachers,” it says. “Sometimes, however, the buildings, buses, and teachers for the all-black schools were lower in quality.”  This was all the information they gave on segregation in the whole book.

 Now its not completely all their fault, these authors were able to write in things like this, because they had to meet the standards set by the State Board of Education. The board had just recently been taken over by a organized conservative campaign.

One member who helped push the new standards through was Rev. Peter Marshall and his view states. “We’re in an all-out moral and spiritual civil war for the soul of America, and the record of American history is right at the heart of it,”

Just this past Wednesday, a liberal group that strongly rejects the standards, the Texas Freedom Network, put out a series of examples that hint at biased conservative opinions in the books.  These new books are to be reviewed by the board before they are released.  

Even though textbooks sound like minor news, it is still news worthy.  Our children’s education is important right? So it’s important that the textbooks they read everyday in class are as effective as possible. Luckily this was caught in time, and a change will be made. With this new take on the textbooks, I feel like a new wave of learning will come in. There will no longer be biased entries in the book, as well as important moments in history getting way more than a few lines. It will allow the kids the chance to form their own ideas. Kids use their textbook everyday, so its imperative that what these kids take in is the best information we have to offer.  Everyday kids are learning in school, so whatever they take in first they will remember it. We are shaping the minds of the future, and what they read in the textbooks they will believe.  Education is such a key part of our society, but something like this was allowed to happen in the first place. It is crucial that we always keep education and all of its components as a priority, so that our kids will always receive the best and fair education possible.

This article was writing by Zachary Roth for MSNBC

You can read the full article here:

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/texas-text-books-complain-about-taxes-downplay-segregation