Do you really think that the separation of church and state is not important?

And how come you didn’t answer my question about the budget?

On the other hand, Larry, why is it OK for the majority to deyermine what should be taught to our kids but not when it comes to passing a state budget?

See: Alliance for the Separation of School and State: http://www.schoolandstate.org/home.htm

— John Seiler

Take the Quiz: Texas, Textbooks and You

Take this six-question quiz to find out the facts about what the Texas State Board of Education is trying to include—and in some cases remove—from their curriculum and what the impact could mean for students around the country.

1: Should public school students be required to study why our Founding Fathers sought to bar the government from promoting religion?

Yes
No

Answer: The separation of church and state doesn’t seem to fit the personal beliefs of the Texas Board of Education’s majority. So, they want to remove from education standards a requirement that students learn about why America’s Founding Fathers thought the wall separating church and state was essential to American freedom.

2: How should public school teachers portray the historic extension of civil rights to African Americans, Latinos, and women?

As an advancement of civil rights and civil liberties so that all people have protection under the law
As an optional public policy choice

Answer: The Texas Board of Education wants to portray the historic efforts to extend rights to those who have been denied them as nothing more than a gift from the majority.

3: The Texas school board wants students to learn about which of the following organizations and figures from the conservative movement of the 1980s and 1990s?

Phyllis Schlafly
The Contract with America
The Heritage Foundation
The Moral Majority
All of the above

Answer: All of the above. The emphasis on conservative figures reveals the deep bias that drives these changes to the Texas curriculum.

4: Which figure was dropped from a list of significant Americans that students must learn about?

Billy Graham
Edward (“Ted”) Kennedy
Barry Goldwater

Answer: The Texas Board of Education voted down the inclusion of Edward Kennedy in their curriculum.

5: How many textbooks does Texas buy or distribute every year?

1 million
10 million
48 million

Answer: Texas’ public education system buys or distributes 48 million textbooks every year—and the standards the Texas Board of Education is about to adopt will stay in place for a decade. So, the Board of Education’s attempt to put their narrow personal beliefs ahead of the facts and the recommendations of expert educators will affect millions of Texas students for years to come.

5: Approximately how many states use the same textbooks based on the Texas curriculum?

7-10 states
20-23 states
45-47 states

Answer: Shockingly, between 45 and 47 states use the textbooks based on Texas’ curriculum. Because Texas purchases tens of millions of textbooks every year, it has outsized influence on the content of textbooks used all across the country. Indeed, textbook publishers frequently rely on the big Texas market to define the content of textbooks used all across the country.

“And, so, I’m not going to evoke religion on the side of one party and one candidacy,” which he just did; “but I certainly draw on the wealth of experience and teaching and inspiration that I’ve received, not only in going to catholic schools, but also in spending time in the seminary and also later in life spending a great deal of time with various theologians and spiritual leaders.”

This is a politician who has been pro-abortion his whole life, violating everything he was taught in the Catholic seminary and what was taught by “spiritual leaders” such as Mother Teresa, with whom me spent “a great deal of time.” What a fraud and hypocrite Jerry is.

— John Seiler