| P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n : o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . |
| Commentary - Texas State Board of Education - Social Studies (TEKS) Curriculum Revision - May 18-20, 2010 |
| From grandstanding liberal politicians to hundreds of public testifiers to the final vote on Friday, May 20: Conservative victory in the Texas SBOE's fully participatory, fully transparent social studies curriculum process |
| SBOE testifier recommending delaying SBOE vote (Ronald Wetherington, SMU anthropology prof) with Texas Freedom Network's Dan Quinn after testimony |
Highlights from first
testifiers on May 19, 2010
1. Rev. Stephen Broden
A return to our judeo-christian
heritage and founding
principles; Ben Franklin:
"Only a virtuous people are
capable of freedom."
testifiers on May 19, 2010
1. Rev. Stephen Broden
A return to our judeo-christian
heritage and founding
principles; Ben Franklin:
"Only a virtuous people are
capable of freedom."
For the first several hours on
Wednesday, May 19, in a remarkable
display of good manners, conservative
SBOE chair Gail Lowe allowed liberal
Texas lawmakers almost unlimited solo
time at the microphone -- even though
many had dropped in unannounced --
thereby setting back the timetable for
members of the public wanting several
hours to testify on the day set aside for
them. As one example, Rep. Trey
Martinez Fischer of San Antonio spoke
for almost an hour, whereas members of
the public who had called the week
before to sign up for a slot were limited
to three minutes.
As testifier Adryana Boyne of pointed
out, "The liberal politicians were
disrespectful of the many people who
had traveled to Austin at their own
expense and had spent hours waiting,
some of them missing work." For
Adryana, the married mother of two,
testifying meant spending 9 hours in the
car for the round trip from her home
in the Dallas area -- all for the
opportunity to speak for her three
minutes after a 10 1/2 hour wait, even
though her number (36) theoretically
should have put her testimony in the
second hour. Boyne endorsed the
inclusion of minorities in the new TEKS
standards and the SBOE's protection of
America's religious heritage. More about
her outreach group, VOCESAction, here.
Wednesday, May 19, in a remarkable
display of good manners, conservative
SBOE chair Gail Lowe allowed liberal
Texas lawmakers almost unlimited solo
time at the microphone -- even though
many had dropped in unannounced --
thereby setting back the timetable for
members of the public wanting several
hours to testify on the day set aside for
them. As one example, Rep. Trey
Martinez Fischer of San Antonio spoke
for almost an hour, whereas members of
the public who had called the week
before to sign up for a slot were limited
to three minutes.
As testifier Adryana Boyne of pointed
out, "The liberal politicians were
disrespectful of the many people who
had traveled to Austin at their own
expense and had spent hours waiting,
some of them missing work." For
Adryana, the married mother of two,
testifying meant spending 9 hours in the
car for the round trip from her home
in the Dallas area -- all for the
opportunity to speak for her three
minutes after a 10 1/2 hour wait, even
though her number (36) theoretically
should have put her testimony in the
second hour. Boyne endorsed the
inclusion of minorities in the new TEKS
standards and the SBOE's protection of
America's religious heritage. More about
her outreach group, VOCESAction, here.
Rick Agosto/SBOE: "We're
building the Ten
Commandments of standards."
building the Ten
Commandments of standards."
2. Former USDE secretary
Rod Paige
(23 minutes into meeting)
Laurence Allen: I want to
thank you for hiring me and
my family.
(42 minutes into meeting)
Advocated delaying vote.
Rod Paige
(23 minutes into meeting)
Laurence Allen: I want to
thank you for hiring me and
my family.
(42 minutes into meeting)
Advocated delaying vote.
3. Dan Flynn & Wayne
Christian
(44 minutesinto meeting)
Advocated not postponing
vote.
(45 minutes into mtg. cited
Rob Eissler)
Wayne Christian: I thank
God that we don't all agree,
that we don't cut off people's
hands if we don't agree with
them. In Texas we have a
diversity of opinion.
(1:01 minutes into mtg.)
Bob Craig: Did Dr. Paige's
points what he raised concern
you?
(1:15 minutes into mtg:
Don McLeroy: We've only
had two people testify. Let's
get going. . . . This roomful
of people deserve to be heard.
4. Ronald Wetherington,
Southern Methodist University
1:48 minutes into mtg.
Ken Mercer: The state
editorial board lied about
Thomas Jefferson, and it
went national.
Christian
(44 minutesinto meeting)
Advocated not postponing
vote.
(45 minutes into mtg. cited
Rob Eissler)
Wayne Christian: I thank
God that we don't all agree,
that we don't cut off people's
hands if we don't agree with
them. In Texas we have a
diversity of opinion.
(1:01 minutes into mtg.)
Bob Craig: Did Dr. Paige's
points what he raised concern
you?
(1:15 minutes into mtg:
Don McLeroy: We've only
had two people testify. Let's
get going. . . . This roomful
of people deserve to be heard.
4. Ronald Wetherington,
Southern Methodist University
1:48 minutes into mtg.
Ken Mercer: The state
editorial board lied about
Thomas Jefferson, and it
went national.
| What's this fellow identifying himself as being with LULAC doing front and center of the conservative rally -- carrying this "A vote delayed is a vote denied" poster? |
| Where else would former US Education Secretary Rod Paige be just another face in the crowd? That's him in the red tie at left, on the first row. |
| Wouldn't it have been helpful for NBC to have added this qualifier to their statement about our Texas SBOE's social studies curriculum process: "[Political appointee, Democrat] Education Secretary Arne Duncan said school officials 'should keep politics out' of curriculum debates." |
Aside from
flat-out
ideological
disputes, the
two skirmishes
have been
attempts by the
libs to hold the
"experts'" input
sacrosanct and
attempts by the
libs to delay the
vote until
January when
we'll have
more RINOs
on board.
add DG's chron
flat-out
ideological
disputes, the
two skirmishes
have been
attempts by the
libs to hold the
"experts'" input
sacrosanct and
attempts by the
libs to delay the
vote until
January when
we'll have
more RINOs
on board.
add DG's chron