As it stands today, the education standards and curricula
used in public schools across the state of Texas are set by what is known as
the State Board of Education. The board consists of fifteen elected
members, one from each of the fifteen districts in the state. Elections are
partisan. You might already see the problem here. Elected officials associated
with specific political parties making decisions about what our kids learn and
what they don’t? Even with no outside evidence, I’d say this sounds like a
recipe for disaster.
And indeed it is. According to the Texas Comptroller’swebsite*, Texas ranks 49th in the country in verbal SAT scores and 46th in math
scores. We’re 36th in high school graduation rates and 33rd in teacher
salaries. These are among a great many issues that Texas faces in the realm of
public education.
Moreover, the party connections in the board have led to some
very controversial decisions about what content is taught in Texas. Over the
past couple of years, the board has written Thomas Jefferson almost completely
out of history, stressed the Christian values of the founding fathers (despite
their documented secular influences), fought to remove evolution and questioned
the separation of church and state. All of this has arisen from voting along
party lines in what was a ten Republican, five Democrat board.
Decisions like this are doing nothing to help Texas students
while doing everything to disguise the truth. Evolution is observed to be true.
The historical contest of the founding fathers’ writings proves that they were
directly influenced by the scientific/secular revolution in Europe of the same
time period. These facts cannot reasonably be contested by a group which is in
charge of our children’s education.
Texas does not need science and history as taught by
politicians. Texas needs science and history as taught by scientists and historians.
I propose that the Board of Education be replaced by a panel of experts in the
fields of literature, mathematics, science, history, art, business, etc. who
would be better informed about what should and should not be taught in public
schools. Maybe then Texas would find itself on track to improve its national
education rankings.
*Combs, Susan. "Window on State Government." Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Accessed July 27, 2012.
In response to agrounds post on Texas Education system I want to say that I agree with some of your claims but not others. Texas is a great state with a large population so we must therefore have a great educational system to help the increasing number of young people in this state to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a 21st-century economy. Unfortunately, the educational system in Texas is not meeting this challenge. Texas ranks as one of the very worst states in the nation regarding education. However, I do not agree that these problems are rooted in the curriculum. I believe the author confuses several very different issues in this blog post. Our state’s dismal record on high school graduation rates or low SAT scores should not be attributed to whether evolution is taught in the science curriculum or how the founding fathers’ religious convictions are described. These are vital issues, of course, but they do not explain our most central educational problems. Rather, the performance of students in Texas is a result of socioeconomic factors and how well the state has managed the system and prioritized education. According to the supplemental reading, Texas on the Brink, Texas is 2nd in public school enrollment, but we rank 44th on state and local spending per pupil, 47th in state aid per pupil on daily attendance, and 38th in current expenditures per student. I see a trend here. We have a large number of needy children but we sadly do not devote the revenue necessary to keep these kids in school and engaged in their learning. The lack of attention given to each student and the poor school conditions is the downfall of Texas education. This lack of resources is why we are 50th in adults over 25 with high school diplomas and 45th in SAT scores. Put simply, many children in Texas are not receiving a decent education because we don’t spend enough money to make our schools better. I think that conflating issues with the curriculum and problems regarding student performance distracts us from our core challenges.
ReplyDeleteYou do bring up a great point that politicians should not be the ones controlling what is taught in the classroom. I am also bitter about the board limiting the status of our great founding father Thomas Jefferson. He is one of my favorite presidents. I especially like your claim that “the Board of Education be replaced by a panel of experts in the fields of literature, mathematics, science, history, art, business, etc. who would be better informed about what should and should not be taught in public schools.” This would be great for students all across Texas and increase the quality of our curriculum. However, we should not imagine that “getting the curriculum right” will truly increase the quality in Texas schools unless our state makes education a priority and backs it up with increased revenue.