[NFBMT] Dallas Morning News

Sun Sep 16 13:26:36 UTC 2018

The Dallas Morning News

Texas board votes to eliminate Hillary Clinton, Helen Keller from history
curriculum 

Written by

 <https://www.dallasnews.com/author/lauren-mcgaughy> Lauren McGaughy, Texas
Government Reporter 

Updated at 11:30 a.m. to include the board's vote, at 1:20 p.m. with comment
from board member Barbara Cargill and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Chris
Turner and at 4:10 p.m. with comment from a Christian advocacy organization.

AUSTIN — History curriculum in Texas
<https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2018/09/11/texas-probably-wont-ax-
reference-heroic-alamo-defenders-history-class-moses-slavery> remembers the
Alamo but could soon forget Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller.

As part of an effort to "streamline" the social studies curriculum in public
schools, the State Board of Education voted Friday to adjust what students in
every grade are required to learn in the classroom. Among the changes, board
members approved the removal of several historical figures, including Clinton
and Keller, from the curriculum.

The board also voted to keep in the curriculum
<https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2018/09/11/texas-probably-wont-ax-
reference-heroic-alamo-defenders-history-class-moses-slavery> a reference to
the "heroism" of the defenders of the Alamo, which
<https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2018/09/07/dont-call-alamos-defende
rs-heroic-texas-school-curriculum-panel-urges> had been recommended for
elimination, as well as
<https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2018/09/11/texas-probably-wont-ax-
reference-heroic-alamo-defenders-history-class-moses-slavery> Moses'
influence on the writing of the nation's founding documents, multiple
references to "Judeo-Christian" values and a requirement that students
explain how the "Arab rejection of the State of Israel has led to ongoing
conflict" in the Middle East. 

The vote Friday was preliminary. The board can amend the curriculum changes
further before taking a final vote in November.

Barbara Cargill, a Republican board member from Houston and former
chairwoman, said work groups recommended removing Clinton and Keller, and the
board agreed.

"In speaking to teachers and testifiers, they did not mention these specific
deletions," she said.

<https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2018/09/11/texas-probably-wont-ax-
reference-heroic-alamo-defenders-history-class-moses-slavery> After public
outcry, Texas unlikely to ax references to 'heroism' of Alamo defenders from
history curriculum

Clinton to Keller: Which historical figures are Texas students required to
learn?

High schoolers have been required to learn about Clinton,
<https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-conventions/hillary-clinton-becomes-f
irst-female-nominee-major-u-s-political-n617406> who was the first woman to
win a major political party's presidential nomination, in history class.
Under a section about citizenship, students were assigned to "evaluate the
contributions of significant political and social leaders in the United
States" including Clinton, Andrew Carnegie, Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day
O'Connor. 

Barry Goldwater was also removed from this teaching requirement. A
<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883138-Work-Groups.html> work group
tasked with the curriculum streamlining also recommended removing evangelist
and Baptist pastor Billy Graham, but the state board kept him.

Third-grade social studies teachers have been required to educate kids about
the life of Keller, who despite being deaf and blind graduated from college
and lived a life of activism and authorship. But Keller did not make the work
group's list this time, and students in other grades aren't required to learn
about her life.

Removing figures like these from the curriculum doesn't forbid them from
being taught but just means they're no longer mandatory. Also, the
streamlining of the curriculum won't affect textbooks or other instructional
material, which the board is not updating at this time.

So why didn't Clinton, Keller and several dozen other historical figures make
the cut?

The Dallas Morning News spoke with two teachers from the group of
board-nominated volunteers that made the recommendations. Both said the state
required students to learn about so many historical figures that it resulted
in rote memorization of dates and names instead of real learning.

The 15-member work group
<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883122-Historical-Figures-Rubric.ht
ml> came up with a rubric for grading every historical figure to rank who is
"essential" to learn and who isn't. The formula asked questions like, "Did
the person trigger a watershed change"; "Was the person from an
underrepresented group"; and "Will their impact stand the test of time?" 

Out of 20 points, Keller scored a 7 and Clinton scored a 5. Eliminating
Clinton from the requirements will save teachers 30 minutes of instructional
time, the work group estimated, and eliminating Keller will save 40 minutes.

By contrast, local members of the Texas Legislature (whom fourth-graders
learn about) got a perfect score, as did Barbara Jordan, Sam Houston, Stephen
F. Austin and Henry B. González. President Donald Trump isn't included in the
list by name, but students are required to learn about the current president,
governor and mayor.

<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883122-Historical-Figures-Rubric.ht
ml> Search the historical figures rubric

Earlier this year, the work group split up and each subgroup took a set of
figures to grade using the rubric, said the two teachers, who both said they
wanted to keep politics out of the decisions.

"There were hundreds of people" kids had to learn about, Misty Matthews, a
teacher in Round Rock, told The News. "Our task was to simplify. ... We tried
to make it as objective as possible." 

Jana Poth added that the work group did "not want to offend anyone" with its
choices. "But there's too many [figures]," she said.

Third-graders, for example, are required to learn about three dozen figures.
Fourth-graders have to learn about 69, and in eighth grade, when students
take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness social studies
test, they must learn about 50 historical figures. 

Neither Poth nor Matthews said she was in the small group that made the
decisions about Clinton and Keller. In a note next to the deletion from the
third-grade social studies curriculum in which Keller was included in a
lesson about "the characteristics of good citizenship," the work group wrote,
"Helen Keller does not best represent the concept of citizenship. Military
and first responders are best represented."

There was no comment next to the recommendation to remove Clinton. Students
in that grade are still required to learn about former President Bill
Clinton's impeachment.

Slavery, eugenics and Alamo heroes: What made the cut?

Each year, the board discusses and debates new classroom standards for Texas'
5.4 million schoolchildren. Its members, currently five Democrats and 10
Republicans, are elected to four-year terms and represent specific geographic
areas. 

The board's process has always garnered attention — and often controversy.
Five years ago,
<https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2013/09/09/religious-conservatives-on-
texas-textbook-review-panels-criticize-proposed-science-books> members
clashed over whether science books should have to teach an alternative to
evolution. In 2014,
<https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2014/11/15/dallas-area-parents-sch
ool-districts-stressed-by-texas-new-math-criteria> math standards were
revised, drawing criticism from parents and teachers. And earlier this year,
<https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2018/04/11/texas-board-education-a
pproves-mexican-american-studies-course-name> a new Mexican-American studies
course was the subject of the latest culture war.

Many of the work group's recommendations that were rejected by the board
dealt with descriptions of the nation's "Judeo-Christian" heritage. Texas
Values, a conservative Christian political advocacy group, sent
representatives before the board this week to speak out against removing the
descriptions. On Friday, they applauded the board's decision to keep them.

"In Texas, you don't mess with the Alamo and you don't mess with our
Christian heritage. We applaud the majority of the State Board of Education
for doing the right thing by restoring our foundational rights and history,"
Texas Values President Jonathan Saenz said in a statement. "We are prepared
to fight to protect these standards all the way to the end."

Others criticized the board's vote. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Chris
Turner urged boadmembers to add Clinton and Keller back into the curriculum.

"If Helen Keller was an important historical figure when I was in school (and
she was), then she still is today,"
<https://twitter.com/ChrisGTurner/status/1040670731913314304> tweeted Turner,
D-Grand Prairie. "Clinton is the 1st and only woman to be the presidential
nominee of a major party in U.S. history. Enough said."

Here are some of the changes the board approved Friday:

 <https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883129-Grade-1.html> Grade 1

Replace San Jacinto Day with Constitution Day in a section on "the origins of
customs, holidays, and celebrations of the community, state, and nation" (the
Battle of San Jacinto is taught in fourth-grade social studies and high
school U.S. history).

 <https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883130-Grade-3.html> Grade 3

Remove Helen Keller from section on "citizenship."

 <https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883131-Grade-4.html> Grade 4

Remove Poteet Strawberry Festival from a section on "customs, celebrations,
and traditions of various cultural, regional, and local groups in Texas."

Remove the phrase "such as holding public officials to their word" from a
requirement that students learn "how individuals can participate voluntarily
in civic affairs at state and local levels" (this phrase was removed from
fourth grade for "not being grade appropriate" and from third grade for
"redundancy." However, it is still included in the first-grade social studies
curriculum).

 <https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883132-Grade-5.html> Grade 5

Amend section on the Civil War to recognize the "central role of the
expansion of slavery in causing the Civil War and other contributing factors
including sectionalism and states' rights." Previous language included a list
of factors, among them slavery and states' rights.

 <https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883134-Grade-7.html> Grade 7

Reinsert requirement to learn about the William B. Travis letter and
reference to "the heroism of the diverse defenders who gave their lives" at
the Alamo. (The work group had recommended cutting them.)

<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883136-High-School-Government-Cours
e.html> U.S. Government (High School)

The work group had recommended these be removed.

Reinsert references to "Judeo-Christian (especially biblical law)" in section
on "major intellectual, philosophical, political, and religious traditions
that informed the American founding." 

Reinsert the biblical figure of Moses and remove Thomas Hobbes from section
on "individuals whose principles of laws and government institutions informed
the American founding." 

 <https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883139-World-History.html> World
History (High School)

The work group had recommended these be removed.

Reinsert reference to "German invasions of Poland and the Soviet Union, the
Holocaust, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Normandy landings, and the
dropping of the atomic bombs" from section on "the major causes and events of
World War II." Remove "Japanese imperialism" from that list. 

Reinsert "Arab rejection of the State of Israel has led to ongoing conflict"
in section on "the rise of independence movements in Africa, the Middle East,
and South Asia and reasons for ongoing conflicts." 

Reinsert reference to "the Judeo-Christian legal tradition" in section on
"the development of democratic-republican government from its beginnings." 

<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883137-High-School-U-S-History.html
> U.S. History from 1877 (High School)

Remove the phrase "describe the optimism of the many immigrants who sought a
better life in America" in a section on "social issues affecting women,
minorities, children, immigrants, and urbanization."

Reinsert a reference to "eugenics" in a section on "causes and effects of
events and social issues such as immigration, Social Darwinism, the Scopes
Trial, race relations, nativism, the Red Scare, Prohibition, and the changing
role of women."

Add Dolores Huerta to a section on "significant leaders who supported various
rights movements, including Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez" and more.

Remove Hillary Clinton from a section on "the contributions of significant
political and social leaders in the United States such as Andrew Carnegie,
Thurgood Marshall, Billy Graham" and more.

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 <https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education> Education 

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