When one considers that the largest volume of text books are purchased by the Texas public education systems, it is rather disconcerting that these changes you've noted, along with a couple of other minor nuances that have not as yet been clarified, are taking place.  Additionally, it seems rather self-defeating for a board whose members have traditionally pushed for conservative values, such as bringing the alterations and changes of moving into the future to a halt in most social aspects of daily life, would now decide to change something as fundamental as historical material.

The oppression of the Church of England was a major factor in the colonists' breaking away from their motherland, and the removal/replacement of Thomas Jefferson from the texts is simply unacceptable. 

No board of education should be allowed the ability to push its own religious or political agenda on the hapless minds of the student body in this fashion.  I am reminded of a little television series I rather enjoyed watching once called 'Jericho'.  In the second season, a new union of states banded together to form the Allied States of America as efforts to recover from the nuclear war started making greater headway.  A set of textbooks were brought to the town of Jericho, to show that the newborn country was going to get right back into the practice of educating the youth.  But the information in the texts was viewed as being heavyhanded with revision, and we do our future generations a great disservice by emulating such practices.

And if anybody truly wishes to see the result of establishing a theocratic state, look no further than to the very Middle-Eastern nations for whom so many conservatives hold disdain.  Is that the sort of country you want?

by DrTrentHayes on 03/14/2010 12:42:34 PM EST