Why more kids should study world history, harder

November 20, 2009

Jon Taplin explains why knowing world history is valuable. The sad thing is that, of course, the story that makes his reason doesn’t appear in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills list for world history, nor in any other social studies course.

Now that the Texas State Board of Education has taken off the cloak of education and made it clear that social studies in Texas is considered a political free-fire zone, and that they plan to vitiate anything but the propaganda value for the Republican Party, Taplin’s piece has all the more poignance.

The Renaissance, and Florence, were more than just a minor question on the TAKS test.  Santayana’s Ghost weeps bitterly.

Why isn’t Jon Taplin’s blog required reading in more places, by more people in government and politics?  We know why the Texas State School Board doesn’t want anyone to read it — that alone should make people fight to see what Taplin says.

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1 Comment | Education, Education quality, History, Renaissance, Santayana's ghost, Social Studies, State school boards, Taxes, Texas, Texas Freedom Network, War, War on Education, World history | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Creationist as Texan of the Year

December 10, 2008

Time Magazine’s Person of the Year selection sometimes produces a shudder, such as when Ayotullah Khomeini got the designation for 1979.  Time patiently explains that the designation is for the person who most affected the year, not necessarily the good guys.  Even bad guys affect history.

The Dallas Morning News designates a “Texan of the Year,” with a month of conjecture and nominations for who it should be.  True to the Time tradition, News columnist Steve Blow nominated a member of the Texas State Board of Eduacation, Cynthia Dunbar.  Blow explained his nomination:

I mean, how do you top someone who warned us that the next president is a terrorist sympathizer with plans to topple the government?

Thank you, Cynthia Dunbar.

You knew about that, of course.

Dunbar is part of Dark Ages Coalition threatening to take Texas school kids hostage if science standards should — brace yourself — support science in Texas public school classrooms.   You think I’m kidding?  Blow noted that Dunbar’s views, now available in a book, do not count America’s public schools as things of much value.

In fact, she calls public education itself a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.” (Her kids have been home-schooled and attended private school.)

So on the slight possibility that she’s completely wrong about Barack Obama’s secret plan to overthrow America, I’d make her Texan of the Year for a second reason.

The Prophet Dunbar just might wake Texans up to the circus that is our State Board of Education.

That would be valuable, yes.

Note:  I do object, with a smile, to Blow’s calling Dunbar our state Cassandra.  Cassandra’s curse was that no one would listen to her, though she accurately foresaw the future.  Dunbar doesn’t seem to be connected with accuracy in any discernible fashion.

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4 Comments | Creationism, Education, Education quality, Evolution, Rampant stupidity, State school boards, Texas, Texas Citizens for Science, Texas Freedom Network, War on Education, War on Science | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell