The Culture War In Our Schools

Today's Houston Chronicle reports on the battle for textbook content that has been going on in Texas.  The State Board of Education has tentatively approved the standards for Social Studies currriculum that will be used in the state.  Because Texas sets the standard for the nation in curriculum (evidently because they buy such a large number of textbooks), the standards they set will eventually be used throughout the country.

Yesterday's New York Times also reported on the events in Texas (although from a slightly different angle).  According to the New York Times:

"After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers' commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light."

All right, let's look at some of the decisions made about those supposed 'Republican political philosophies':

• Experts had recommended students study the impact of cultural movements in art, music and literature, such as Tin Pan Alley, the Beat Generation, rock and roll, the Chicano Mural Movement, country-western music and hip-hop. The board's seven social conservatives, joined by Geraldine "Tincy" Miller, R-Dallas, considered some of the hip-hop lyrics offensive and voted to eliminate hip- hop as an option for students to consider.
• ...the proposed standards reflect the desires of his constituents to emphasize "personal responsibility and accountability" and "to honor our Founding Fathers, and our military.
• The proposed standards include a section on teenage suicide, dating violence, sexuality, drug use and eating disorders which required the teaching of "the importance of personal responsibility for life choices."
• Conservatives passed one amendment, for instance, requiring that the history of McCarthyism include "how the later release of the Venona papers confirmed suspicions of communist infiltration in U.S. government." The Venona papers were transcripts of some 3,000 communications between the Soviet Union and its agents in the United States.  

The proposed standards face a public hearing and a final vote in May.  There is a reason that the name of this site is 'rightwinggranny.'  I support the teaching that American capitalism is superior.  Show me any other country in the world that feeds more people and allows more people the opportunity to succeed.  We don't guarantee success--we just guarantee the opportunity to allow everyone to work hard and achieve their goals. 

I hope this curriculum will be put in place--it may help the cultural decline that America has seen in recent years to remind our children that they live in a land of opportunity and that they alone are responsible for their actions.