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Feb. 14th, 2010
In the News
Feb. 14th, 2010 11:05 amHorrible though the Alabama academic shooting case is, I couldn't help but laugh at the Chronicle of Higher Education's coverage of it, which included a link to "Advice on Being Denied Tenure." I imagine the first piece of advice is "Don't do *this!*"
The case is weird and sad. It seems the Chair she shot had actually supported her tenure case. And now we've learned that the shooter had fatally shot her brother 24 years ago" & that the police apparently had pressure put on them from above to drop the case. *That's* going to be an interesting investigation.
The case is weird and sad. It seems the Chair she shot had actually supported her tenure case. And now we've learned that the shooter had fatally shot her brother 24 years ago" & that the police apparently had pressure put on them from above to drop the case. *That's* going to be an interesting investigation.
In the news
Feb. 14th, 2010 11:18 amA long essay on the Texas State Board of Education's revision of American history textbooks: How Christian Were the Founders?
...the members of what is the most influential state board of education in the country, and one of the most politically conservative, submitted their own proposed changes to the new social-studies curriculum guidelines, whose adoption was the subject of all the attention — guidelines that will affect students around the country, from kindergarten to 12th grade, for the next 10 years...
...The state’s $22 billion education fund is among the largest educational endowments in the country. Texas uses some of that money to buy or distribute a staggering 48 million textbooks annually — which rather strongly inclines educational publishers to tailor their products to fit the standards dictated by the Lone Star State. California is the largest textbook market, but besides being bankrupt, it tends to be so specific about what kinds of information its students should learn that few other states follow its lead. ...
McLeroy ... went on to explain how his Christian perspective both governs his work on the state board and guides him in the current effort to adjust American-history textbooks to highlight the role of Christianity. “Textbooks are mostly the product of the liberal establishment, and they’re written with the idea that our religion and our liberty are in conflict,” he said. “But Christianity has had a deep impact on our system. The men who wrote the Constitution were Christians who knew the Bible. Our idea of individual rights comes from the Bible. The Western development of the free-market system owes a lot to biblical principles.”
...the members of what is the most influential state board of education in the country, and one of the most politically conservative, submitted their own proposed changes to the new social-studies curriculum guidelines, whose adoption was the subject of all the attention — guidelines that will affect students around the country, from kindergarten to 12th grade, for the next 10 years...
...The state’s $22 billion education fund is among the largest educational endowments in the country. Texas uses some of that money to buy or distribute a staggering 48 million textbooks annually — which rather strongly inclines educational publishers to tailor their products to fit the standards dictated by the Lone Star State. California is the largest textbook market, but besides being bankrupt, it tends to be so specific about what kinds of information its students should learn that few other states follow its lead. ...
McLeroy ... went on to explain how his Christian perspective both governs his work on the state board and guides him in the current effort to adjust American-history textbooks to highlight the role of Christianity. “Textbooks are mostly the product of the liberal establishment, and they’re written with the idea that our religion and our liberty are in conflict,” he said. “But Christianity has had a deep impact on our system. The men who wrote the Constitution were Christians who knew the Bible. Our idea of individual rights comes from the Bible. The Western development of the free-market system owes a lot to biblical principles.”