Dive Brief:
- The Texas Board of Education delayed a Tuesday vote on the approval of new social studies textbooks and e-books meant to replace books over a decade old.
- The decision to delay action was spurred by the fact that many publishers are in the midst of making board-requested revisions, and the board doesn't want to vote until it sees the final product.
- The board asked the publishers to make these revisions after critics on both sides pushed against the current options.
Dive Insight:
Being a publisher of social studies books in Texas sounds like a hard task — and decisions there ultimately impact other states because of the sheer size of the Lone Star State's education market. The latest debate has those on both sides of the aisle slamming the content. Academics on the left believe it over-emphasizes the effect of Christian values on the founding fathers, and conservatives on the right believe certain chapters perpetuate a liberal bias. There is also talk about how Muslims are portrayed, as well as global warming.
Roy White of the Truth in Texas Textbook Coalition, for example, told the Associated Press, “Five million Texas schoolchildren will not learn the facts about Islam with these books. The over 500 battles fought [in history] to promote Islam, the killing of Jews, the lopping off of heads. None of that is talked about.” On the other hand, people are arguing that the current textbooks unfairly paint Islam in a far more negative light than any other religion.
In terms of global warming, many have criticized the publishers for not sufficiently presenting the commonly accepted and scientifically supported view that humans are contributing to global warming — as was confirmed last week by a United Nations panel of climate science experts. Yet, as people push against the lack of scientific fact, there are still some who say there are too many. “I implore you to teach our children both sides of the climate change debate instead of teaching them only unproven theories as facts. I don’t believe human activity is causing global warming, and I think it is wrong to teach our children something that has not been proven scientifically,” Merry Lynn Gerstenschlager, vice president of the conservative Texas Eagle Forum, told the Associated Press.