VICTORY IN TEXAS

Well, I guess some would differ on calling it a victory....that is the content of a headline and article I read the other day:

TEXAS BOARD ADOPTS NEW SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM

An excerpt from it that tries to sum up the changes requested is:

During the monthslong process of creating the guidelines, conservatives successfully strengthened the requirements on teaching the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers and attempted to water down rationale for the separation of church and state. The standards will refer to the U.S. government as a "constitutional republic," rather than "democratic," and students will be required to study the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar, including the abandonment of the gold standard.

Some of the critics may have a point when they say,

"Educators have blasted the proposed curriculum for politicizing education. Teachers also have said the document is too long and will force students to memorize lists of names rather than thinking critically."

but, overall I think it's a victory for the direction of American History Standards. While this change in text books may be "political", there is no question that every time a text book is adopted there is an agenda. After all, education does shape the ideas and framework of our children. History, especially, has an impact on the way our future generations view the world, and America's place in it.

For me, the victory is seeing that the people are rising up and want to get back to the founding principals of this nation, and get away from the revisionist history that has been developing in the last couple of generations. Text books are generally reviewed every 7 years. The changes are a great way to view the psyche of those with the power to have a say. Or perhaps a better way to say it is that it reveals the population that cares enough to exercise their power in determining the curriculum. Every parent has the opportunity to have their say, if they pursue it. It has to be a proactive statement; otherwise the committee will decide it for you.

I sense change. I sense hope and change - but not the type the political elites have been trying to sell us over the past many years. As the sleeping giant of middle America and other more conservative minded people wakes up to the reality that America is changing before their eyes, we must pray that the direction the country goes is steered by God and not by a different type of elite group. There is a good feeling in my heart about the energy being put forth that is pushing a change back to our founding principals, but it could get off track and worldly just as quickly b/c we know that power can be a destructive force. Pray with me that the grass roots that are applying the power of the people would not lose focus on the change they're looking for and that they don't get drunk on the new power that they're feeling, as elections and other influential decisions go their way. Amen.