Quote:AUSTIN — History curriculum in Texas remembers the Alamo, but could soon forget Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller.

As part of an effort to "streamline" the social studies curriculum in Texas, the State Board of Education voted on Friday to change what students in every grade are required to learn in the classroom. They approved the removal of several historical figures, including Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller.

The board also voted to add back into the curriculum a reference to the "heroism" of the defenders of the Alamo, which had been recommended for elimination, as well as Moses' influence on the writing of the 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.


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

High schoolers have been required to learn about Clinton, who was the first woman to win a major political party's presidential nomination, in history class. She was included in the curriculum under a section about citizenship, where students were required to "evaluate the contributions of significant political and social leaders in the United States," including Andrew Carnegie, Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day O'Connor.

Barry Goldwater was also removed from this teaching requirement. A work group tasked with the streamlining recommended axing American evangelist and Baptist pastor Billy Graham, but the state board added him back this week.

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

Removing figures like these from the curriculum doesn't mean teachers are forbidden from teaching them, but they're no longer be required to do so. Any changes to the curriculum also won't affect textbooks and 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 who sat on a group of board-nominated volunteers that made the recommendations, which the board can accept or reject. Both said the state requires students to learn too many historical figures, so the kids fall back on rote memorization of dates and names instead of real learning.

That 15-member volunteer work group came up with a rubric for grading every historical figure to find of who is "essential" to learn and who wasn't. They asked questions like, Did the person trigger a watershed change? Was the person from an underrepresented group? Will their impact stand the test of time?

Out of 20 points, Keller scored a 7. Out of 21 points, 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 (who are taught in fourth grade) 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.

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I would vote to keep Keller.

Teaching kids that Moses contributed to the constitution is absurd. If you’re going to go down this track, then Socrates, Plato and Aristotle should be included. The British empiricist philosophers too.

Why is Billy Graham in the curriculum? Are they going to mention his anti Semitism?

(09-15-2018 09:26 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I would vote to keep Keller.

As we move on there is more. And good parts of the past get left out.

Obviously, Billy Graham is a significant player in the culture of the 60s and 70s. Tom would probably want to eliminate the 1st and 2nd Great Awakenings from the history books.