Read this article in the Wall Street Journal, then read this article from the National Review, THEN read the letters from the wall Street Journal.
Respond in the comment section with your own opinion (in order to develop your opinion, you might have to do a wee bit of research!)
Essentially the question is, should we mess with Texas?
Have fun!
-Ms. Kavy
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Essentially, I do not believe that Texas deserves to be messed with or it is neccessary to mess with Texas. But, they do go a bit far in requiring students to analyze any unintended consequences of The Great Society and Affirmative Action. For one this is such a broad scope to analyze, and requiring it to be analyzed implies that there are evident flaws that need to be fixed. V. Franks argues that progressivism has destroyed classic education, while I disagree with this, I do not believe that analyzing the consequences would help solve the problem. The problem lies with the professors and educators writing the text books as stated by Thomas Frank.
ReplyDeleteThomas Franks assserts that criticizing Texas Boards methods shuts you out of society, and most people are scared to boldly stand up and question their policies, while this may hold some truth, I do not believe that it is neccessary to challenge them. Their alternative solution of analyzing is to benefit the education system and help make it better, though their strategy may seem a bit absurd. Rather than challenging them or aiming to criticize or ridicule them, it is best to try to add toward the improvements and question them, rather than implementing our own personal views. The goals of Great Society and Affirmative Action sought out to end racial injustice, poverty, discrimination based on sex, social class, physical disabilities, and promote equal opportunity.
-Lorina Kegler
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ReplyDelete"That's part of the problem of how we end up with distorted and liberal biased textbooks is because that's who's writing them."
ReplyDelete-Texas Education board member, Terri Leo
First off, influence from political ideologies should be left out of education. Education should neither be taught in a scope that is too left or too right. An application of latter would result in individuals feeling wary that the public education system is attempting to influence students to partake in entrepreunurial politics, a type of politics that makes one group look bad to make another seem like the hero. In this case, Thomas Frank argues that the Texas State Board of Education is employing this same tactic in teaching it's students that a liberal ideology is the equivalent of a failed ideology. Texan students would be required to analyze any 'unintented consequences' of 1960s reforms (Great Society, affirmitave action, etc). The main issue Frank finds is that the guidelines of the Texan textbooks are rapidly becoming more conservative, and this newly approved measure is evident confirmation.
I understand how coming from a liberal point of view, Texas-born Frank is extremely concerned with this approval. However, Frank's argument and the conservative Texas Board of Educations' actions in influencing sudents to believe liberal policies appear like a hindrance to society I feel as though this is a neverending tug-of-war of entreuprenurial politics, with neither side ready to let go of the rope. As a result "There is little or no ideological balance in education" states letter writer, L.C. Grant, and how can there be when there are two competitng interests? Ideological influences should be left out of the classroom, we receive enough of that through the media.There needs to be an objective perspective that "1960s reforms" are presented through so students will be ale to discern how left, right, or middle they really are, without the schools systems' help.
The perspectives being presents in the articles are views from a liberal stand point and a conservative standpoint. When textbooks taught to students appear biased the views portrayed in the book often conflict with the other politcal standpoints in society. As stated by Grant in his letter,"There is little or no ideological balance in education," which I feel limits students ability to learn different perspectives. In regards to education, only one view should not be presented. The idea that conservatives are dominating the nation's textbooks with their views doesn't shed light on the benefits or negatives of other politcal views. This pushes a cerain mindset, when it comes to policies on students, since they have not been expose to other alternatives. Personally, I feel the liberals views should be expressed in nation's textbooks along with other views but this Gould be left to states discretion, because education is a matter of the states and not the national government. If Texas decides to expose one view to their students, then let them. It's up to the state legislatures in your state to make that decision and stdents also always have the ability to explore different perspectives when they feel something is not right.
ReplyDeleteI dont think Texas should be messed with. The perspective of these articles come from both a liberal and conservative standpoint, which explains why the arguments are the way they are.
ReplyDeleteThe ideal of students being taught with textbooks that have biased views are likely to go against those who look at the situation from a more politcal standpoint, which lack of alternatives force students to be limited to only whats presented to them. This ideal enables them to be given ample opportunity to learn different perspectives, as stated by L.C. Grant, "There is little or no ideological balance in education".
Unfortunately it does seem like the argument put forth is just to make things seem easier. By this I mean, Thomas Frank makes the assertion that the curricular changes made that made textbooks difficult was bad, which I disagree with because their available to teach you what you do not know, its not suppose to be something you already know, you are suppose to be taught.
Although the reqirements are a bit extreme, it is suppose to be for the better. I agree with my fellow classmates that analyzing the consequences wont fix the issue but will only shed light on the flaws of The Great Society and Affirmative Action and then again its their choice on how to educate. Although students arent given the opportunity, if they wish to learn they must take the initiative to learn outside of class.
As a liberal, I would enjoy for Texas to change their textbook views from bias to neutral, but as a California resident, I know I have no place in determining what goes in a textbook for Texas which is why I believe we shouldn't mess with Texas. Yes the textbooks in Texas can determine what the textbooks around the United States would be due to the huge population of Texas,but who are the liberals such as Thomas Frank to ask for an all out bias yet liberal history book in a state known as being conservative for many years. I don't agree with Thomas Frank also because if he's disagreeing with the textbooks being biased towards conservative views, why would he want to make the textbooks biased in liberal views. Isn't that basically what Thomas is fighting against with Texas Board of Education, the bias in the textbooks.His argument towards the Texas Board of Education in itself seems irrational.
ReplyDeleteIn order for students such as myself to get the full education and a better understanding of our government, I believe theres shouldn't be any bias or any political views put in textbooks. There shouldn't be any liberals or conservatives point of view in a textbook which is why is fully disagree with Thomas Frank's opinion on making the textbooks more on the liberal point of view instead of just being neutral.
I personally believe that we shouldn't tamper with the information that goes into Texas's textbooks. As a citizen of California, I believe that we should focus primarily on our own school structure and allow Texas to focus on their own. I don't agree with Thomas Frank in saying that books in Texas should only be biased towards liberal views because that is simply morally wrong. He can't have it both ways. The books can't be completely bias to either side, liberal or conservative. There should be some type of balance or equal distribution of either viewpoints in order to obtain all of the necessary information that students such as myself must learn. This is why I strongly disagree with Frank's opinion on how we should incorporate such an unfair listing of liberal views instead of both.
ReplyDelete-jaycarter
Textbooks should not be written with a biased towards any ideological group. Political bias should be left completely out of the equation, textbooks are just supposed to present straight facts. If you implement your own biased it results in students being swayed by the authors point of view, letting the book decide their viewpoints instead of actually learning and formulating their own position on issues.I disagree with both viewpoints on the issue. I believe that ideological influence should be taken out of textbooks all together.
ReplyDeleteThe line is especially crossed with the case of Texas, if they are blatantly biased towards books that they consider "liberal" to "balance" it out, the result will unsubtly lead to censorship. You will have conservatives who will not know where to draw the line, and instead of teaching the facts of history, they will teach an altered opinion driven chopped up version that glorifies some actions over others. The students will be the only ones who are negatively affected by this. The heavy influence will only tamper the students education, it will result in them having a limited view on history and place them at a disadvantage anywhere outside of the Texas school system. If you try and place predominantly liberal books into Texas to balance it out, it will leave students confused as to what the truth actually is. This is why their should be no biased once or ever.
-Joseph Fiddmont
I believe that political bias has no place in textbooks outside of the college arena. The reason I believe that bias is in effect, okay in the college arena is because the students are held to a higher standard of intellectual capabilities. Texas should become more neutral in their textbooks, so long as they are at the grade school level.
ReplyDelete-Talayne Gardiner
I believe that we should, indeed, "mess with Texas". By serving 4.7 million students and accounting for the largest percentage of textbook purchases in the country, a lot of the changes the Texas Board of Education are trying to make may make sweeping changes across the nation. I do not believe that they can rewrite history, since facts are incontrovertible. However, I do believe that the spectrum of what is taught is extremely limited in reference to all that has actually happened over the course of history. I do not feel that the Board should change the information currently being taught, but they should simply add information they suggest replace the current information. From a historical standpoint, there has been a lifetime of teaching certain information, and maybe that is all students need to know. However, I do not believe that there needs to be sweeping changes to what is actually taught in schools. History is history, why mess with it?
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ReplyDeleteThe point of textbooks is not to share your opinion on a topic. So why would this be okay? Of course there are those who may think it's not any persons business to get involved with Texas. But my opinion is why not? If you have a belief and being an American freedom of speech, then stand up for what you think should be done and try to change what's necessary to be changed. My classmate Saba Davis expresses my belief, of course in her own dandy way, in the beginning of her comment: Political ideologies aren't to be taught. Facts are what should be taught, when you're teaching what does not need an opinion. The intellectual disussion where students find their own opinions and are influenced by other students opinions (not the author of textbooks opinions) about the facts learned in textbooks should be guided by the teacher. As you can see I wouldn't mind "messing" with Texas because I know that it could only help make right what's wrong.
ReplyDeleteMajor Textbooks That are meant to be taught to a large and broad population of students should be focused on one thing and one thing only. The facts! The school board shouldn't have the right to saturate textbooks with opinions that hold no true backing in the world. It is the job of he textbook to present those things that have happened in the past and open them up for discussion by the students in the classroom, and Texas should not tamper with this way of learning. Yes, the Texas school board does have a lot of jurisdiction over what students are supposed to learn but they should not be given sich leeway in this situaution. The books that they choose to create will teach hundreds of millions of kids who need to be taught properly. Also because Texas is the largest purchaser of textbooks, they have a major say in what will be taught to children in other states, because book publishers will cater to the wants and needs of the state. Our view of history shouldn't be limited to what one state decides that they want to teach thier people. We shouldn't all have to suffer for their ignorance and in orde to stop them they need to be messed with. They need to be shown the correct way to handle this situation and ask for input from the surrounding states. They truly need to be brought down a few pegs.
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