Texas School Lessons Spark Fight Over Patriotism
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Bowing to pressure, the creators of the popular prefab lessons have agreed to stop producing new ones after Republican legislators and other critics cited examples of what they see as bias, such as a high-school lesson in which students are asked to delve into the historical origins of Communism and Socialism. Some of the contested lessons have been phased out. Still, debate lingers about whether teachers should use any of the hundreds of existing plans, with some school officials arguing the lessons are a valuable resource and merely aim to educate Texas children on other perspectives.
The lessons, which are typically used in conjunction with textbooks, aren't mandated by the state. But they were used by about 70% of Texas school districts last year, particularly smaller ones without the resources to customize lessons. The agency involved, the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative, began creating the lessons in 2006, working in tandem with teachers. It has prepared about 1,600 lessons, available online, that cover core subjects across all grades, though only a handful have been publicly criticized.
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Curriculum fights are common in Texas and other states, particularly in science, religion and history, education experts said. In recent years, Texas Board of Education members have debated whether teachers can offer creationist critiques of evolution. They have also fought over whether former United Farm Workers of America leader Cesar Chavez and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall should be featured prominently in history classes. Critics of the Texas lesson plans have also complained about a lesson on religion, saying it offers a more detailed examination of Islam than Christianity.
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Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a Republican, last week publicly sided with a group of central Texas residents who filed a lawsuit this month seeking to block the Llano Independent School District, about 75 miles west of Austin, from using the lessons. He commended the parents for trying to protect children "from being taught values they don't agree with." On Friday, a state district court for procedural reasons declined to grant the request to block Llano's use of the lesson plans. The plaintiffs have not yet decided whether to appeal, according to their lawyer.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323446404579011003512960022.html
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