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TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE--WEDNESDAY, JULY 8,
2009 More Folly Brought to You by the State Board of Education We're way beyond the point where news of ideological zealotry emanating from the extreme-right faction that dominates the State Board of Education can surprise us. Still, we have to acknowledge that the latest example is particularly dismaying. It seems that State Board members have appointed as "expert" reviewers of social-studies guidelines two individuals who want mention of Cesar Chavez, the great labor and civil-rights leader, to be eliminated from the state curriculum standards. These two ultra-rightists contend that Chavez "is hardly the kind of role model that ought to be held up to our children as someone worthy of emulation." In the opinion of these nincompoops, his unforgivable sin apparently was his connection with Saul Alinsky, whose ideas on community organizing and grass-roots democracy inspired the creation of a nationwide network of community groups, including many in Texas, that empower low-income and moderate-income citizens in the political arena. As Texas AFL-CIO communications director Ed Sills points out, these social-studies "experts" appointed by the State Board seem unaware that the Texas legislature, not exactly known for radical left-wing leanings, has named a state holiday in honor of Chavez. As the Texas Freedom Network has further noted, neither does their anti-Chavez initiative take into account other institutional evidence of high public esteem for Chavez, such as 44 schools (including eight in Texas) named after him. The attempt to toss Chavez down the Orwellian "memory hole" actually puts him in good company. The same "experts" who disdain Chavez also cannot abide mention of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on that body who earlier had distinguished himself as lead counsel in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case that broke the back of segregation in the public schools. Perhaps we Texans have become so used to the folly flowing from our State Board of Education that this new example will not be taken as seriously as it deserves to be. But maybe, just maybe, as Texas AFT President Linda Bridges put it today, this latest instance at last will be a wake-up call for those who care about public education. SBOE members are elected from 15 huge districts (ten times the size of a state representative's district) across the state, and most voters know very little about the candidates. With district lines drawn to maximize the chances of right-wingers, the zealots have seized their opportunity in these low-profile races. Next year, a number of them come up for re-election, including one--Cynthia Dunbar, representing a district that runs from Austin to Houston--who may well be Gov. Rick Perry's next pick to chair the State Board. So the 2010 primary and general elections will let voters decide if they want to join the governor in supporting more of the same at SBOE or if they're ready at last for a change. |
