After public outcry, Texas unlikely to ax references to 'heroism' of Alamo defenders from history curriculum
AUSTIN, Texas _ Every year, a group of elected education officials discusses and debates new classroom standards for Texas' 5.4 million schoolchildren. And almost every year, there's a huge controversy.
This time, the fight centered around the state's most iconic battle. Last week, Texas Monthly reported that the Texas State Board of Education would discuss removing a reference to the Alamo's defenders as "heroic" from the state's middle school social studies curriculum requirements. Multiple outlets picked up the story _ including The Dallas Morning News _ and nearly every one of the state's top elected officials sounded off.
Land Commissioner George P. Bush called the proposed revision "politically correct nonsense," and Gov. Greg Abbott urged the board not to delete the word "heroic." Board members received dozens, then hundreds, of calls and emails. Suffice to say, the argument has reflected the ferocity of the famous battle itself.
But on Tuesday, when the board discussed the hundreds of proposed changes to the state's K-12 social studies curriculum standards, they were told the media and politicians had gotten the story wrong.
"I stand before you today as a member of one of your volunteer workgroups maligned by some of our state's highest elected officials and respected media outlets," Stephen Cure, the former director of education with the Texas State Historical Association, told the board. "Let's set the record straight."
The 15 members of the Texas State Board of Education are elected to four-year terms. Each year, the board nominates a volunteer corps of teachers, parents and business representatives to review and update textbooks and curriculum standards for science, social studies, math and more.
The process has always garnered attention _ and often controversy. Five years ago, they clashed over whether science books should have to teach an alternative to evolution. And earlier this year, a new Mexican-American studies course was the subject of the latest culture war.
_The Dallas Morning News
