Re: “Texas sets out to balance education,” April 1 Mike Rosen column.
Had I not read this commentary on April Fools’ Day, I would have been offended. Apparently, Mike Rosen, like his heroes on the Texas Board of Education, has never actually looked at what has long been taught in Texas social studies classes.
Not only has the Judeo-Christian influences of our Founding Fathers been taught, but also the history of religious wars that kept Europe in chaos for so long. Suffice it to say that our Founding Fathers were bright enough to separate church and state in their new government.
The next time conservatives want to start a war, they should say it is to keep the world safe for constitutional republics, and see just how many young people rush to enlist. Defining our form of government as merely a constitutional republic is like defining a church as a rectangular building with a spire on top. It may be true, but it denies the very spirit of the thing. My dictionary defines a democracy as a government with the supreme power vested in the people, and exercised by them either directly or through a system of representation. Pretending the United States is not a democracy is foolish.
Yes, we do give instructions on the Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment and the part that says its purpose is to allow for a well-regulated militia.
Before we teach “American Exceptionalism,” we should teach our children not to lie. And we should teach them to respect our international neighbors. We may have to call on those neighbors one day to help us fight a war.
True, our students should know the value of money and the factors that erode it. But blind adherence to the gold standard suppressed trade and caused wide swings in the business cycle.
Government regulation measured by those being regulated is always excessive. That does not mean we should scrap the Food and Drug Administration.
Do we really need more names of economists added to the mountain of facts we require our students to learn? Be happy if the majority of them know the difference between Adam Smith and Karl Marx, let alone between John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman. Give the kids a break. Butt out, and don’t let the government interfere with teaching.
Cleon Roberts is a social studies teacher in Hereford, Texas.
