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Dedicate yourselves to thankfulness. Colossians 3:15

Friday, March 26, 2010

TSBOE clarifies Thomas Jefferson legacy in curriculum

“Jefferson was not himself an Enlightenment philosopher, although he was heavily influenced by the writings of these individuals. But to say the (Texas) State Board of Education has removed him from the TEKS is inaccurate and irresponsible,” said (Gail) Lowe (board chairman).

NOTE (updated March 26): On Wednesday, March 24, I received an email from Texas State Board of Education member Terri Leo. The content was a release on TSBOE letterhead dated March 19 that corrects erroneous reportage and clarifies a March 12 board decision regarding Thomas Jefferson's role as a founding father and statesman. The original on letterhead may be viewed at the Fort Worth Star Telegram archives. Ms. Leo may be reached at TerriSLeo@aol.com. Here, then, is our email exchange, including the TSBOE release:

From: Terri S, Leo
To: Nancy E. Thoerig
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 9:15 PM
Subject: Re: Thomas Jefferson remains in social studies curriculum (17)

Thank you, we covet your prayers!

**********

From: Nancy E. Thoerig

To: Terri S. Leo

Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 6:15:21 A.M. Central Daylight Time

Thank you, Ms. Leo, for includimg me in your update.
I appreciate receiving this letter and applaud the good work you and your colleagues are able to achieve, in the face of opposition, to strengthen the American history curriculum for students everywhere.
Keep plugging...and praying.
Best wishes for a blessed Easter for you and yours,
Nancy E. Thoerig

**********

From: Terri S. Leo
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 8:51 PMMarch 19, 2010

Thomas Jefferson remains in social studies curriculum

After hours of public testimony and more than 100 amendments offered to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for social studies, the State Board of Education last week gave preliminary approval to the curriculum standards that will be used in Texas public schools.

One amendment in particular has garnered a lot of attention, after some media outlets erroneously reported the State Board of Education was dropping Thomas Jefferson from the curriculum framework.

“The only individual mentioned more times in the curriculum standards than Thomas Jefferson is George Washington,” said Gail Lowe, chairwoman of the 15-member board. “We expect students at the elementary level, in middle school and in high school to study the Founding Fathers and to be well versed in their contributions to our country. That includes Thomas Jefferson and his legacy,” she said.

In fifth grade, designed as an introductory survey course of the United States from 1565 to the present, students are expected to “identify the Founding Fathers and Patriot heroes, including John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Nathan Hale, Thomas Jefferson, the Sons of Liberty, and George Washington, and their motivations and contributions during the revolutionary period.”

In the eighth grade, in which the history of the United States from the early colonial period through Reconstruction is presented, the TEKS framework requires students to “explain the roles played by significant individuals during the American Revolution, including Abigail Adams, John Adams, Wentworth Cheswell, Samuel Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, James Armistead, Benjamin Franklin, Bernardo de Galvez, Crispus Attucks, King George III, Haym Salomon, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Paine and George Washington.”

The U.S. Government course required for high school graduation states that students will “identify the contributions of the political philosophies of the Founding Fathers, including John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, George Mason, Roger Sherman and James Wilson on the development of the U.S. government.”

In addition, students must “identify significant individuals in the field of government and politics, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan.”

Although Jefferson had been listed in a World History standard, the board removed his name from a list of European Enlightenment philosophers that included John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

“This was inappropriate placement of Jefferson’s name,” said Lowe of the World History proposal. “Jefferson was not himself an Enlightenment philosopher, although he was heavily influenced by the writings of these individuals. But to say the State Board of Education has removed him from the TEKS is inaccurate and irresponsible,” said Lowe.

Lowe continued, “Jefferson not only penned the words of the Declaration of Independence, served as the third president of the United States and was father of the University of Virginia, but his promotion of the ideals of a limited federal government and states’ rights also permeated our nation for generations. No study of American history would be complete without his inclusion,” she said.

The social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills will be finalized in May when the board holds its last public hearing and final adoption of the standards.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Christians, atheists square off in battle over God in public

Published Friday, March 12, 2010, in Cumberland Times-News.
"Ironically, a conservative atheist would endorse the Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical and Orthodox Christian principles of the Manhattan Declaration, regarding exercise of conscience in political matters of compromise, more readily than could a liberal Christian."

Christians won in the courtroom in recent weeks, while atheists advanced to ground zero, in the battle over God in the public square.

Late Feb. 26, Christians cheered as Westview (Calif.) High School math teacher Bradley Johnson, a 30-year employee, won his three-year battle for the right to re-post classroom banners that display historical and religious American heritage themes.

That morning, atheists gloated over a first-ever secular lobby meeting at the White House (two hours with five Obama staffers) to discuss religious policy matters.

In San Diego, the school district violated Johnson’s constitutional rights, ruled Federal District Court Judge Roger Benitez, when the principal ordered him to remove the banners – because they “overemphasized” God, or might offend a hypothetical Muslim student.

For 25 years, Johnson displayed a banner that features traditional patriotic phrases – “In God We Trust,” “One Nation under God,” “God Bless America,” and “God Shed His Grace on Thee.” For 17 years, he displayed another that quotes from the Declaration of Independence: “All Men Are Created Equal, They Are Endowed by Their Creator.”

Johnson removed his patriotic displays, but other teachers’ personal banners that promoted political positions or non-Christian religions stayed put, a fact that weighed heavily for Judge Benitez:

“Fostering diversity…does not mean bleaching out historical religious expression or mainstream morality. By squelching only Johnson’s patriotic and religious classroom banners, while permitting other diverse religious and anti-religious classroom displays, the school district does a disservice to the students…and the federal and state constitutions do not permit this one-sided censorship.”

In his 32-page opinion, Judge Benitez strongly states, “That God places prominently in our Nation’s history does not create an Establishment Clause violation requiring (scrubbing of) Johnson’s public high school classroom walls. It is a matter of historical fact that our institutions and government (give) place to a supreme God.”

Meanwhile, 60 representatives of the Secular Coalition for America, which unites 10 member organizations -- and boasts 25 endorsing groups -- of atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers, skeptics, brights, ignostics, materialists and naturalists, met with Obama staffers from Public Engagement; Intergovernmental Affairs; Children, Youth and Families; Department of Justice; and Military Personnel.

SCA founder (2002) and president Herb Silverman reports (Washington Post, Feb. 28) the secularists’ three-prong agenda: “to close legal loopholes for the religiously based medical neglect of children;” protect military personnel from “(coercion) into religious participation,” proselytizing, or discrimination; and to establish that religious organizations who receive federal funds “cannot discriminate in hiring,” or proselytize, “and that secular options are made equally available.”

Margaret Talev writes in her Feb. 25 McClatchy Newspapers article that the White House “downplayed the meeting,” while SCA members believe they have a “kindred spirit” in President Obama --- since his mother was agnostic, and he is the first U.S. President to recognize “nonbelievers,” alongside religious groups, in his inaugural address.

Coincidentally, on Feb. 24, the Pontifical Council for Culture announced it would create a foundation to answer Pope Benedict’s call to "renew dialogue with men and women who don't believe but want to move towards God."

Sounds counter-intuitive; but Catholic News Agency reports the council’s aim is “to create a network of agnostic or atheistic people who accept dialogue” to develop “themes of rapport (among) religion, society, peace and nature.” The first conference could take place later this year.

Ironically, a conservative atheist would endorse the Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical and Orthodox Christian principles of the Manhattan Declaration, regarding exercise of conscience in political matters of compromise, more readily than could a liberal Christian. In fact, the document signatories commend pro-life atheists for their support.

Could convictions of heart transcend this battleground?

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Thank you to TSBOE members who vote to preserve American history

NOTE: In the morning of Eeb. 25, 2010, I called TSBOE member Cynthia Dunbar to discuss the textbook controversy and the role of the board in revisionist history. Ms. Dunbar told me that she is one of seven conservatives on the 15-member board. Their continual challenge, she said, is to garner the support of the eighth board member to comprise a majority to be able to vote down revisionist proposals that come from liberal committees. Ironically, she noted, 10 members of the board are Republicans; but most often, one of the moderate Democrats is the eighth vote. They have had significant successes, she noted, in keeping traditional history in place. They got Christmas back into the textbooks, for example, she said, though the board did compromise to put in Dewali. The next vote will take place in March, with adoption to be made in May. In either of those votes, she said, revisions could come forward again; so it is important for her and the conservatives to remain vigilant (and in the majority). Ms. Dunbar appreciates our support; and she encouraged me to email again to the SBOE support address, though we confirmed in our phone conversation that she had not received a copy of the letter I sent Feb. 18 to Dr. Morrow.

Here, then, is a letter emailed Feb. 26, 2010 to all members of Texas State Board of Education, thanking those who vote to preserve traditional, patriotic American history in school textbooks.

Dear Ms. (Cynthia) Dunbar and members of the Texas State Board of Education, in particular,
Ken Mercer, Terri Leo, David Bradley, Barbara Cargill, Don McLeroy, Gail Lowe and Geraldine Miller:

Thank you for all you accomplish to preserve a traditional, patriotic presentation of American history, especially in the face of revisionist pressures. I applaud your ongoing efforts to maintain for students what former President Ronald Reagan calls "an informed patriotism ...an unambivalent appreciation of America."

Well educated in the public schools and state university systems, I come from a family of educators. I believe that American history grounds us in our homes, our communities, our nation and the world; and it is vital that students from kindergarten through graduation learn key age-appropriate and expanding American history concepts in order to develop a mature understanding of our unique experience and place among the nations of the world.

We Americans share an exceptional heritage that began with a quest for personal freedom and traces now from our families to nearly every other country – an experience of trial, courage, commitment and achievement in which all of our students have the right and privilege to participate.

Students should have the opportunity to gain a full understanding of their troubled but beautiful American identity. They need to know that people like them have acted with values of justice rooted in a tradition of faith and clear thinking, and based in a strong Constitution, to right our country's greatest wrongs and take her repeatedly from crises to new heights of greatness. At the beginning, our country's leaders grounded the Constitution, and acknowledged the source of their greatness, in gratitude to God for His many blessings and good guidance. As our U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black's web site affirms today, our First Amendment separates church and state, but not God and state.

These are concepts our students need to learn (and we need to uphold) in order to esteem their own families and communities, their nation and themselves. One cannot love what one does not know. Hire teachers who know and love American history. Give them sound textbooks. Teach our students traditional, patriotic American history. Give them the chance to know and love their country.

Thank you for your consideration.

I pray for your guidance.

Sincerely,

Nancy E. Thoerig
Mount Savage, MD

Preserve traditional, patriotic American history in our schools

Letter emailed Feb. 18, 2010 to Dr. Rosemary Morrow, director of Social Studies, Division of Curriculum, Texas Education Agency, Austin, Texas, in response to her email to Ron Maiers regarding his concerns expressed in a telephone conversation about proposed revisionis to American history textbooks. (Dr. Morrow's email to Mr. Maiers and his email response follow, along with an original email sent Feb. 16, 2010 to the full membership of the Texas State Board of Education.)

Dear Dr. Morrow:

I appreciate your Feb. 16 response to Ron Maiers; but concerns remain.

On Mike Huckabee’s Feb. 6 program, Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel and Liberty University School of Law said the TSBOE would consider proposed revisions to U.S. history textbooks in March; and he urged Americans to contact board members to voice concerns. Accordingly, I wish to say: I believe that revisionist history destroys the American identity, robs our students of a sure sense of their American citizenry, and ill prepares students to be American citizens in the global society.

A Liberty Counsel press release reports further that the proposed social studies guidelines will have final reading and adoption in May.

Dean Staver summed up, essentially, regarding Texas' purchasing power as it influences availability of textbooks for other states to purchase: As goes Texas, so goes the nation. Dean Staver noted that board member Cynthia Dunbar of Liberty University School of Law stands opposed to suggested revisions -- sweeping and trivializing changes that apparently could stay in place for a decade, if approved for the next school year. It seems Ms. Dunbar leads an effort to convince a majority of the 15-member board to vote to preserve a traditional, patriotic presentation of American history in school textbooks, rather than take a revisionist approach to diminish our unique and exceptional American story in deference to a global view.

In reviewing the 148-page "Instructional Materials Current Adoption Bulletin" for the year 2009-2010, I see strong instructional support for music, languages, and the arts, health and technical education, and career preparedness; but only four U.S. History textbook titles appear (page 105), and they are advanced placement. Otherwise, five AP World History titles show, with seven for AP European History (page 106). The four U.S. Government and three AP U.S. Government and Politics textbooks likely are narrow in scope and would not instruct in American history, per se. Moreover, the one title (page 107) for AP Comparative Government and Politics and four titles for Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System likely do not give students a view of the unique American experiment and experience in these arenas.

I am no expert, but I am well educated in the public schools and state university systems; and I come from a family of educators. I believe that American history grounds us in our homes, our communities, our nation and the world; and it is vital that students from kindergarten through graduation learn key age-appropriate and expanding American history concepts in order to develop a mature understanding of our unique experience among the nations of the world.

We Americans share an exceptional heritage that traces from our families to nearly every country in the world – an experience of trial, courage and achievement in which all of our students have the right and privilege to participate. Students should have the opportunity to gain a full understanding of their troubled but beautiful American identity. They need to know that people like them have acted with values rooted in a tradition of faith and clear thinking and based in a strong Constitution to right our country's greatest wrongs and take her repeatedly from crises to new heights of greatness.

These are concepts our students need to learn in order to esteem their own families and communities, their nation and themselves. One cannot love what one does not know. Hire teachers who know and love American history. Give them sound textbooks. Teach our students traditional, patriotic American history. Give them the chance to love their country.

Thank you for your consideration.

I pray for your guidance.

Sincerely,

Nancy E. Thoerig
Mount Savage, MD

*****

Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 3:49 PM
Subject: Re: Texas Social Studies Standards


"IN GOD WE TRUST"
Mrs Morrow,
Just Wanted to tell you thanks for forwarding this information to me. I feel that every citizen MUST stand for the freedoms which all out generations before us fought for and we also must continue the fight so that our generation and the ones after us can live in a free Nation
We must never give up the title of "AMERICANS" and we must pass this idenity on for generations to come.

God Bless
Ron

*****
Sent: Tue, February 16, 2010 3:20:36 PM

Subject: Texas Social Studies Standards

Dear Ron Maiers:

The State Board of Education (SBOE) in Texas is currently reviewing the social studies standards, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). It is from these standards that a proclamation will be issued in a year or so for instructional materials that include textbooks for Texas public schools. The SBOE makes decision for Texas public schools and does not decide standards or instructional materials for private schools or homeschoolers within the state and does not make decisions for other states.

Drafts of the revised standards from social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) review committees can be found at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=364. The State Board of Education (SBOE) met in January and made amendments to Kindergarten through Grade 8 and high school U.S. history. These amended documents will be posted on the same link in early March.

By examining the standards drafts, you will find that there is a history, citizenship, and government strand at every grade level. U.S history is taught at Grades 5 and 8 and high school. U.S. government is required for high school graduation. There are no plans to remove the courses nor radically change the content of the courses. Standards are generally intended to be broad concepts, not specifics of names, places, etc. These specifics are generally included at the level below the standards, curriculum writing, which is left to local school districts in Texas.

If you have any further questions regarding social studies standards, please contact me at (512) 463-9581 or by e-mail at rosemary.morrow@tea.state.tx.us.

Sincerely,

Rosemary Morrow

Rosemary Morrow, PhD, Director of Social Studies
Division of Curriculum

Texas Education Agency
1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701
512.463.9581
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/

*****
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 5:19 PM
Subject: textbook revisions

Dear Texas State Board of Education members,

Texas' purchasing power determines textbooks that other state boards of education order for their students. Therefore, your decisions regarding textbook revisions affect all students across the country.

When you consider revisions, please -- along with portrayals of important historic scandals and mistakes -- respectfully present the fullness and beauty of the American experience, the courage and commitment of our founders and our prominent historical heroes, so that our students may understand the sacrifice and witness of our predecessors.

Only with an understanding of the past -- our countrymen's struggles that are grounded in exceptional primciples and common sense, the experience known as the American experiment -- can our students embrace and cherish their unique heritage in the world. Only with love for this country, nurtured through knowledge of its people and accomplishments, can the well-informed American citizen develop a realistic view of his or her place in the world.

Ours is a legacy that deserves reverence and pride. America is the envy of the world, a light of truth and justice, the desire of the oppressed and the destination of generations of immigrants. From its troubled beginings, this country and its people have been blessed and guided by divine providence to realize uncommon greatness.

I pray that wisdom will guide you.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Nancy E. Thoerig
Mount Savage, Maryland