Who controls how we learn about the past?

A mock textbook cover? No.

The state of Texas is known for being big. In physical size, population, and larger-than-life characters, Texas appears more like a small nation. One aspect of Texas' influence, which comes with its massive size, is its ability to influence the material taught in schools nationwide. Our AIS discussions regarding textbook bias is manifested in a recent vote, in which the Texas Board of Education voted on new standards regarding American history and how it ought to be taught. 

Cesar Chavez: Not significant enough
for textbooks?

This topic was fresh in my mind because of a recent article which appeared in a magazine I was reading. The new standards contained ideas of America being a "Christian land governed by Christian principles," as one board member put it. As a liberal, I am morally disturbed by this claim; as an American, I am appalled. 
The reason this was such a landmark decision because Texas has the largest textbook market in the nation, and publishers are heavily influenced by what material must be included. While the article did say that other states nationally would be minimal, neighboring states would feel the pressure to purchase the sam textbooks as Texas, for cost and accuracy. This is a total miscarriage of the process of education, and I am personally in favor of a national governing body to dictate the content of textbooks. 


I'll conclude this discussion with a plug for a favorite magazine of mine: The Week. My aunt first sent me a gift subscription about two years ago, and since then I've been an avid fan of its unbiased view of national and world events. Instead of having staff writers, The Week has a team of editors who summarize the best articles from national and global news outlets, and extract phrases and sentences from those articles within the summary. The end result is usually a short, to the point three paragraph article, with a two polar voices and a moderate commentator's opinion. The format is genius, and I recommend this magazine to anyone with an interest in fairness and world events.

a recent copy of "The Week" magazine