Texas textbook review: ‘I’d like a Biblical check on that’ - The Washington Post

The Texas Education Agency held a special meeting this week at which members asked publishers to respond to criticisms of proposed textbooks in social studies, fine arts and mathematics in advance of next month’s vote on approval of next texts. Earlier this year after publishers submitted textbooks for adoption next month, critics pored over them and found what they said were numerous inaccurate, distorted and biased material in history, geography, government, religion and other subjects.

For example, ideas promoted in different books include the notion that American democracy was inspired by Moses and Solomon, that Jews views Jesus Christ as an important prophet, that in the era of segregation only “sometimes” were schools for black children “lower in quality” and that the U.S. economic systems run without significant government involvement. Some of the books also said that evolution should be taught to students as if it were not fact but simply a scientific theory, and that global warming is not a very serious problem confronting the world. Some critics pointed out simple factual errors, such as the number of Sikhs who live around the world.

At their September meeting, agency members heard complaints from dozens of people about the textbooks and that testimony was sent to the publishers, who provided written detailed responses which you can see here on the agency Web site. On Monday,members held a meeting to review the responses and further consider the textbooks. What happened at that meeting?

Here to tell us is Josh Rosenau, programs and policy director of National Center for Science Education, a non-profit organization providing resources to schools, parents and anybody else working to defend good science education and keep evolution and climate science in the science curriculum of public schools. It has some 5,000 members, including scientists, teachers and members of the clergy. Rosenau listened to the proceedings and below is his report.

Rosenau became personally involved in the fight over evolution education when he was a graduate student at the University of Kansas in 2005 and creationist members of the Kansas Board of Education passed anti-evolution standards. He then worked with grassroots groups to improve public understanding of the issue and the board later reversed its position.

Texas textbook review: ‘I’d like a Biblical check on that’ - The Washington Post