In regards to the Sunday front page article, “NISD board weighs in on social studies curriculum”, there were specific references to “the most controversial requirements added to the history curriculum”. First of all, if there was a recommendation to delete any mention of Hispanics who shared the struggle in the War for Texas Independence, then it would be misleading and illogical as well as insulting. This is the only objection that made any sense.
All the other so-called controversial examples are accurate depictions of history. The United States is still a constitutional republic, though the liberals who make up the majority of the NISD may wish it were not so. Do the NISD members object to the term free enterprise system or the reality of it?
Since the 1960’s, many public schools in Texas have failed miserably to teach a balanced view of the struggles that culminated in the War Between the States. Evidently, there was approval from the NISD when my granddaughter was told two weeks ago that the South (Confederate States of America) was wrong and her ancestors instigated and fought a war over the issue of slavery. Yet when the State Board of Education recommends a publication of Jeff Davis’s inaugural speech alongside Abe Lincoln’s speech, then we have a problem worthy of your news print. How about teaching the facts of history without 21st Century judgment and a political agenda?
My personal view is the N---- ISD is influenced by political correctness to such a degree that it is not possible to accommodate a fair and balanced teaching of history here. And if I were to use a racially charged pejorative equivalent to “whitewashing”, as did the “long-serving” member of the SBOE, then I would be called out for it---and rightfully so. There is a very good reason that so many residents of (this school district) send their children to private schools. If there was more affordable competition, NISD would cease to exist.