#  >> K-12 >> K-12 Basics

List of Changes in Texas Curriculum

In 2010 the Texas School Board proposed and passed over 100 amendments to the Texas school curriculum for elementary, middle and high school. These changes, while controversial in the national media, may affect the curriculum for schools across the country once the changes have been made in textbooks. Since Texas is one of the largest purchasers of textbooks, so many companies make books based on their curriculum. While the majority of changes have been made in social studies and American history, notable ones have also appeared in subjects including sociology, economics and world history.
  1. Terminology

    • In all social studies courses discussing economic systems, especially in reference to the U.S., the terms "capitalist" and "capitalism" will no longer be used. Those terms will be replaced by "free enterprise." The term "democratic" will also be changed when dealing with the U.S. Instead, references to the U.S. government will include the phrase "constitutional republic."

    Revolutionary Periods and Figures

    • The Enlightenment period of history will be downplayed as will the important figures of the period including Thomas Jefferson. He will be replaced with studies on Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. Reform leaders and "muckrakers" such as Upton Sinclair and W.E.B. Dubois will now be contrasted against immigrants such as Jean Pierre Godet (as told in Thomas Kinkade's "Spirit of America").

    Separation of Church and State

    • Over a dozen changes will be made to courses dealing with the founding of the U.S. to create a contrast between the intent of the founders and the wording of the First Amendment establishment clause and free exercise clause, as it pertains to the term "separation of Church and State." Focus will also be placed on the secular nature of the American Revolution and the Judeo-Christian influences of the founding fathers, without putting emphasis on the rationale behind the separation of church and state.

    Sociology and Economics

    • Milton Friedman and Freidrich von Hayek, two champions of free market economic theory, will be added to the list of important people to be studied in economics. Students will also be required to learn about the decline of the U.S. dollar and the abandonment of the gold standard.

      In sociology, emphasis will be on the concept of personal responsibility, especially as it pertains to drug use, dating violence, suicide, sexuality, and eating disorders. However, the concept of sex and gender as social constructs and the evidence of institutional racism in American society will be removed from the curriculum altogether.

    American History and Politics

    • The study of U.S. political scandals will include not only Teapot Dome and Watergate, but also the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Emphasis will be placed McCarthyism, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the threat of Soviet agent infiltration in the U.S. government as confirmed by the Venona Papers. Studies of the Heritage Foundation, Moral Majority, and NRA (National Rifle Association) will give more understanding of the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, while more emphasis will be placed on the the violent aspects as well as the nonviolent aspects of the civil rights movement by including the Black Panthers as well as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

    World Affairs

    • Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir will be added to the list of required learning, as will course work on the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its effect on global politics. This will include studies on why the Arab rejection of the State of Israel led to ongoing conflict.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved