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The media and
extreme left groups (like the NY Times
and the pro-abortion, pro-homos_xual
agenda, anti-Christian "Texas Freedom
Network") have had a field day blasting
your courageous State Board of Education
(SBOE) for "removing Thomas Jefferson"
from the Texas standards. One
small problem. It isn't true.
Surprised?
Such misinformation and untruths are
common from the media. Please help
correct this in the public's view by
setting the record straight with your
friends, family, and others in your
influence. We are blessed by an
editorial written by Mrs. Gail Lowe,
current SBOE chair, that puts to
rest the idea that the SBOE removed
Jefferson.
Thank you!
TBSE Volunteers
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[Ed. Note: Gail Lowe
(R-Lampasas) is chairman of the
15-member Texas State Board of
Education. Please take time to
thank the Board for their courageous
stand to remove decades of liberal
revisionist history and indoctrination,
and to restore factual education at all
levels. You may do so by emailing
sboesupport@tea.texas.state.us.
Thank you.]
Thomas Jefferson and the Texas Social
Studies TEKS
by Gail
Lowe
It did not
take long for reverberations from the
Texas State Board of Education's
preliminary vote on Social Studies
requirements to spread across the
country. And predictably, the media
coverage was woefully inaccurate and
blatantly distorted.
The New
York Times probably was not the first to
report on the board's deliberations, but
it joined a host of prominent Texas news
outlets that incorrectly claimed Thomas
Jefferson had been dropped from the
curriculum framework used in Texas
public schools.
Apart from
Thomas Jefferson, the only historical
figure with more emphasis in the Texas
Essential Knowledge & Skills standards
is George Washington. The State Board of
Education expects students at the
elementary-grade level, in middle school
and again in high school to study these
Founding Fathers and to be well-versed
in their contributions to American
history and government.
Thomas
Jefferson is included along with John
Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin,
Nathan Hale, the Sons of Liberty and
George Washington as Founding Fathers
and patriot heroes that Texas
fifth-graders should study for their
notable contributions during the
Revolutionary period.
During
Grade 8, in which the history of the
United States from the early colonial
period through Reconstruction is
presented, the Social Studies TEKS
framework requires students to explain
the roles played by the following
significant individuals: Abigail Adams,
John Adams, Wentworth Cheswell, Samuel
Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, James
Armistead, Benjamin Franklin, Bernardo
de Galvez, Crispus Attucks, King George
III, Haym Salomon, Patrick Henry, Thomas
Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette,
Thomas Paine and George Washington.
The U.S.
Government course required for high
school graduation mandates that students
"identify the contributions of the
political philosophies of the Founding
Fathers, including John Adams, Alexander
Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay,
James Madison, George Mason, Roger
Sherman and James Wilson on the
development of the U.S. government."
In
addition, high school students must
"identify significant individuals in the
field of government and politics,
including George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, John Marshall, Andrew
Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore
Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan."
To say the
State Board of Education has excluded
Thomas Jefferson from the curriculum
framework is irresponsible and
untruthful. Jefferson not only penned
the words of the Declaration of
Independence, served as the third
President of the United States and was
father of the University of Virginia,
but his promotion of the ideals of
states' rights and a limited federal
government have permeated our nation for
centuries. No study of American history
would be complete without his inclusion.
That is why Thomas Jefferson warrants
such strong emphasis in the TEKS
standards the State Board of Education
has approved.
A critical
skill Texas students should develop as
part of their education is the ability
to analyze information from primary
source documents. This should be a
requirement for journalists, too. Many
seem to have jumped to erroneous
conclusions without even examining the
actual curriculum standards. One can
disagree ideologically with the State
Board of Education, but the TEKS
standards themselves should be the point
of reference for objective, thorough
reporting.
Gail
Lowe (R-Lampasas) is chairman of the
15-member Texas State Board of Education.
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