Jefferson not considered "a writer influential in our intellectual origins"?

[Phishfan]

According to this article

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts1253

- Thomas Jefferson no longer included among writers influencing the nation’s intellectual origins. Jefferson, a deist who helped pioneer the legal theory of the separation of church and state, is not a model founder in the board’s judgment. Among the intellectual forerunners to be highlighted in Jefferson’s place: medieval Catholic philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas, Puritan theologian John Calvin and conservative British law scholar William Blackstone. Heavy emphasis is also to be placed on the founding fathers having been guided by strict Christian beliefs.

Earlier in the article it mentions that Texas is overhauling their textbook standards. Since Texas is so large their textbook decisions create requirements for 80% of textbooks requirements across the country (because they have to print so many for them that is bleeds across).

Anyone else have issue with this or an I overreacting?

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Anyone else have issue with this or an I overreacting?

No you are not overreacting.  They are rewriting history to fit their narrow view of the world. 

[Spider-Dan]

They have also required that history textbooks have a minimum requirement of content spent on discussing:

- Ronald Reagan
- Phyllis Schafly
- the conservative resurgence in the '90s

Unstated is how much content the textbooks are required to have discussing Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King, etc.

[TonyB0D]

Yeah. they took out Jefferson because he wasn't really that religious (he was a deist), and they have also removed most of the curriculumn surrounding the separation of church and state (because the far right don't believe in it), as well as adding a lot more discussion about the 2nd amendment (go figure, it's texas). 

this is a further blatant example of our government being hijacked by the far right and them attempting to force everyone else to go along with their beliefs.  Soon we're going to be teaching that the Earth is 6,000 years old in high school geology. 

Has anyone seen the movie Idiocracy?  That's where we're headed...

[Dave Gray]

This is not the first time this has happened.  It will be a continuous struggle between evidence based hypotheses and faith based ones forever.

I want to be outraged by this, but it's not even surprising anymore.  People are idiots and religious zealots rule about half of this country.

[bsmooth]

This is just the fruition of a policy started a decade or so ago. They would rather have control of the state schoolboards to control how students are taught for generations as opposed to just having the White House.

[JVides]

Yeah, I have a major problem with this.  Major.  The good news is that teachers with spine will tell students "what the textbook doesn't say is..."

I'm all for "balance" in history, but highlighting U.S. economic policy as only positive isn't balanced, it's lying.  Students should know what imperialism means, if only so they can defend themselves when accosted while abroad.  I don't like it.

Do these buffoons actually think they can raise a generation of future Republicans through tweaks to textbooks?  This is reason for 1,677 why I'm a registered independent...

[Dolphster]

As a conservative Texan, these morons are an embarassment.  Thomas Jefferson was arguably the greatest of our founding fathers and a man who was ahead of his time.  Unfortunately, the Board that makes these decisions are an archaic bunch of Jesus freaks who speak for about 5% of the actual population of Texas.

[Sunstroke]

Unfortunately, the Board that makes these decisions are an archaic bunch of Jesus freaks who speak for about 5% of the actual population of Texas.

If it was only 5%, I'm pretty sure the board members would have long ago been removed from office or been forced to change their policy regarding dogmatically-based revisionist history.

[TonyB0D]

If it was only 5%, I'm pretty sure the board members would have long ago been removed from office or been forced to change their policy regarding dogmatically-based revisionist history.

it probably is only 5-10%, but then you have the 50% who are normal christian conservatives, but when it comes going against their hardcore cousins (the 5%), or the socialist athiest extremist liberals, who do you think they're going to support?

[Dolphster]

it probably is only 5-10%, but then you have the 50% who are normal christian conservatives, but when it comes going against their hardcore cousins (the 5%), or the socialist athiest extremist liberals, who do you think they're going to support?

That's exactly it.  The "moderate" conservatives decide that it is better to have a religious kook who at least shares some of their philosophies instead of "them there god hating liberals" on the board.