CREDO: Texas Schoolbooks

Credo is one of those organizations that I love to read up on. Most of the time I don't agree with them. And, when I need to look at an issue, the odds are they are already there with an opinion I inevitably oppose.

They sent me an email about the Texas fix on textbooks and offered me a shot at an email to the authorities. I freely admit that after reading up on the issue, I used the "suggested" letter as a launching point.

Here is my letter:

I am writing to support the proposed amendments to the Texas essential knowledge and skills (TEKS) for social studies.

Historians, college professors, and teachers have expressed concerns about the accuracy and balance of the new TEKS standards. And I am similarly concerned that students in Texas public schools who rely on these textbooks will be improperly educated and ill-prepared for higher studies.

I am also convinced that the concerns expressed are more politically oriented than by academic standards.

Texans' trust in the State Board of Education's decision-making process should not be misplaced. Nor should the board add content at the expense of factual information in the books already.

So long as the changes are factual, then add them while leaving the rest of it as well. Texas and America deserve a social studies and history text that provides a three-hundred-sixty degree coverage of the issues that shaped our great State and Nation.

The inclusion of fact based commentary from all areas of the political spectrum can only serve to elevate the bar. Since Texas leads the nation in so many areas; Why not this as well?

Do not bow to political pressure from anyone, on any side.

In fairness, here is Credo's site on the issue http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/texas_textbooks/?rc=tw
FTFGIMAD
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