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Once again, parents Showed up and Showed Out!!
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 The TN State Textbook Commission held its meeting yesterday to hear from parents/activists and publishers.
First, there are eight members of the Commission:
Dr. Brian Tate, Chair; Mr. Kevin Huffman, Secretary, Dr. Jason Robinson, Mr. Bobby Cox, Ms, Edith Williams, Dr. Craig Hammond, Mr. Lewis Moorer, Mr. Dan Lawson.
Only THREE commissioners showed up: Tate, Moorer and Lawson. Also in attendance were representatives of each group of the official teacher review teams.
Twelve parents and activists including the Jewish Federation 'showed up and showed out'. Each speaker was given three minutes, but the Chairman was somewhat generous with that time limit. The audience could tell that a lot of work had been done as the presentations were excellent: definitive, specific and very pointed. I honestly don't know how ANYONE could listen to the bias, errors, and omissions that were pointed out in these books, and still vote to add a single one of them to the approved list. The meeting was recorded on audio and Morgan Branch was asked if that would be made public. He said that he would check into that.
In the afternoon representatives from Publishers Legacy, Cengage, McGraw Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Pearson appeared before Mr. Branch, Commission member Lewis Moorer, and the teacher reviewers to explain that they had made the changes that some of the teacher reviewers had suggested.
A lot of parent/activists' written comments were filed with Mr. Branch. He assured the audience that they had been sent both to the Commission members and to the publishers. Of course the 'question of the day' was: Will these comments make a difference now?
The honest answer to that question is that 'We don't know.' But I want everyone to know that long term the citizen involvement in this process will make a HUGE difference. Because the re-authorization of the State Text Book Commission coincided with the the adoption of the Social Study textbooks and the incredible number of people who sacrificed time, effort, energy (and money for gas to drive long distances to get to the books) lawmakers are now paying attention.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all who invested in this process!!
Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Dolores Gresham, has committed to holding hearings on the textbook adoption process in October (so, parents, keep those testimonies handy!) In addition, I have already been working with a state senator on a piece of legislation that will completely revamp the entire process.
Be encouraged, this battle is not even close to being over and you ARE making a difference.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 |
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TN parents say possible new textbooks too racy, anti-American
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Every K-12 public school in Tennessee is slated to get new social studies textbooks next year, but a group of parents say the books school districts are about to buy up are anti-American and inappropriate.
Now, they are taking their concerns to state commissioners, seeking to raise awareness about the books' content and their perceived bias.
"In dozens of instances, these books are filled with liberal agenda and propaganda," said parent Becky Keurig.
Another mom says students taking Advanced Placement courses may read a book that is too mature for a high school student.
"It cites a 40-year-old study on masturbation in which students are told 20 percent of women actively fantasize about being raped. I have yet to meet these women," said parent Julie West.
The state textbook commissioner responded.
"I think the best question is, 'Is that excusable in an AP-level class?' Personally, I have a real problem with that content, when were talking about a K-12 environment," said Tennessee Textbook Commissioner Dr. Dan Lawson.
Next month, the commission will put out a list of books it recommends to school districts, which will then be used for the next six years.
As for the parents' concerns, commissioners promised they will be heard.
Source here. |
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"On Eagles' Wings" State Conference
October 5, 2013
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Education or Indoctrination?
A couple of years ago, ACT for America commissioned a study to examine the treatment of Islam in 6th through 12th grade American textbooks. You can find that study HERE.
Many of the comments we heard yesterday paralleled what was found in this study.
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