The Texas Board of Mis-Education Strikes Again

[marmar]

Blacklisting César Chavez
By TFN


It didn’t take long for the absurdly unqualified ideologues appointed to a social studies curriculum panel by the Texas State Board of Education to start playing politics with our kids’ education. Two far-right members of the so-called “expert” panel guiding the curriculum revision are demanding that César Chavez — the renowned community and labor organizer and civil rights leader — be stricken from the standards because they say he’s not the right kind of role model for students.

That’s only one of the problems with the “expert” reviews of the current social studies standards provided to the Texas Education Agency last week by the panelists. The panel is made up of six members, including a trio of mainstream academics from Texas universities. The others include political activist David Barton of Texas and evangelical minister Peter Marshall of Massachusetts, who used their reviews to criticize the inclusion of Chavez and other historical figures they consider inappropriate. In addition, they and fellow panelist Daniel Dreisbach of American University make lengthy arguments that the Founders intended to create a distinctly Christian American nation based on biblical principles. That contention conflicts with multiple rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court and sharply differs with the research of most scholars. In fact, mainstream scholars point out that the Founders sought to protect the religious freedom of citizens by keeping the affairs of government and religious institutions separate.

But let’s consider first what we fear might become a growing “blacklist” of historical figures, especially Chavez, social conservatives find objectionable.

Barton — a historical revisionist, founder of the Christian-nation advocacy organization WallBuilders, and former vice chair of the Texas Republican Pary whose bachelor’s degree is in religious education — notes Chavez’s ties to a prominent guru of community organizing and democratic participation, Saul Alinsky (also a frequent target of attacks by conservatives). Barton writes:

“(Chavez’s) open affiliation with Saul Alinsky’s movements certainly makes dubious that he is a praiseworthy to be heralded to students as someone ‘who modeled active participation in the democratic process.’”

Marshall, who heads Peter Marshall Ministries and also has no graduate academic work in the social sciences, agrees:

“Chavez is hardly the kind of role model that ought to be held up to our children as someone worthy of emulation.”

Really? That might come as a surprise to the parents of children attending the (at least) 44 schools across this country named after Chavez (including eight schools in Texas). Or to people in communities who have named numerous parks, libraries, major thoroughfares and other places after Chavez, who died in 1993. (Click here to read about the relationship that Chavez developed with Robert F. Kennedy. Of course, we imagine Barton and Marshall don’t think much of Kennedy, either.) .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://tfnblog.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/blacklisting-cesar-chavez/

[KamaAina]

1. We were having a bit of fun with this yesterday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6008849&mesg_id=6008849

[TygrBright]

2. Wow. That's some serious stupid. They givin' Kansas a run for the money. n/t