I was an eighth grade American History teacher to over two hundred kids in the early 1980\u2019s. We didn\u2019t have \u201cclass size\u201d in our teaching contract, and our community was quickly going from rural to suburban. All those eighth graders needed history, and they were crammed, thirty-five to forty at a time, in my pie shaped classroom with heavy-duty \u201celectric\u201d curtains for walls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We had the \u201cstandard\u201d American History book, copyrighted in the late 1970\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0The civil rights movement did change some things in textbooks.\u00a0\u00a0There were a few more Black people mentioned beyond George Washington Carver and Booker T Washington.\u00a0\u00a0But, as usual, the textbook reflected the \u201cvalues\u201d of the current era.\u00a0\u00a0There were almost ten pages in our book about the Texas War of Independence.\u00a0\u00a0That chapter was all about the \u201cfreedom-loving\u201d Americans rebelling against the Mexican Government led by General Santa Anna, who dared to try to control what the \u201cTexicans\u201d could do.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was the glory of the Alamo, the last stand cemented in American legend by John Wayne\u2019s movie.\u00a0\u00a0It featured the famous \u201cline in the sand\u201d; those who would stay and fight, and those who would abandon the mission and leave.\u00a0\u00a0The bedridden Jim Bowie yelled to be carried across on his cot.\u00a0\u00a0Then there was the glory of the final attack, where the Texicans went down fighting, Jim Bowie using his self-named knife to the last.\u00a0\u00a0And the final surprise Texican victory at San Jacinto a few weeks later, where the Mexican Army was \u201cout-foxed\u201d, caught asleep in their tents.\u00a0\u00a0The Texans waded out in the river, shooting the fleeing Mexican soldiers in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, the textbook had more pages on Texas than World War I, arguably a more important event on American and world history. And it wasn\u2019t mentioned that the Texicans were rebelling because the revolutionary government of Mexico banned slavery. The Americans came to Texas to grow cotton; they needed slaves to get the job done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t until a Masters of Education class, that I learned why there was so much \u201cTexas\u201d in our textbook.\u00a0\u00a0The State of Texas bought a single book for every eighth grader.\u00a0\u00a0It was the biggest textbook sale a company could make.\u00a0\u00a0So a national American History text was written to appeal to that Texas Department of Education.\u00a0\u00a0Texas loomed large, because Texas was the \u201cbig money\u201d in textbook sales.\u00a0\u00a0And we in the little Southwest Licking Local Schools in Ohio bought that book too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Textbooks still exist today, though the \u201csupplementary materials\u201d now include websites and interactive games. But most schools still have use for the archaic tool of 1600\u2019s education \u2013 books. And those books, like in the 1970\u2019s, reflect the values of our current era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas and Florida, and several other states passed laws restricting what could be taught in classrooms.\u00a0\u00a0Ohio is considering such a bill, House Bill 616.\u00a0\u00a0These are the \u201cCritical Race Theory\u201d and \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d bills that we hear so much about.\u00a0\u00a0And once those bills are placed \u201cin law\u201d, they will require textbooks that reflect those values.\u00a0\u00a0And that\u2019s the dirty little secret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas still buys textbooks statewide.\u00a0\u00a0And while other states may allow some options in text selection, the new laws restrict what can be taught, and the textbook must reflect those restrictions. And it\u2019s not just history texts.\u00a0\u00a0Math textbooks use real life examples, and try to be relevant. \u00a0Now, “story problem” questions and examples try to reflect what\u2019s in our kids environment.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0\u00a0In Florida there is only one publisher \u201cacceptable\u201d by Governor DeSantis\u2019s administration for math books, kindergarten thru fifth grade.\u00a0\u00a0The Accelerated Learning\u00a0\u00a0Company of Houston, Texas, publishes the only math book that doesn\u2019t violate DeSantis\u2019s \u201cCritical Race Theory\u201d standards that were included in the \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d bill.\u00a0\u00a0So every school in Florida is required to buy from Accelerated Learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the new Governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, is pushing the same kind of legislation for his state. For those looking for conspiratorial connections: before he was Governor, Youngkin was the CEO of the Carlyle global investment group. And what is one of Carlyle\u2019s big investments? They acquired Accelerated Learning in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The polarization of America grows worse, so that even what eighth graders learn in history class depends whether they live in a \u201cRed\u201d or \u201cBlue\u201d state. So keep one other factor in mind. There\u2019s big money in education, and when states make \u201cbig\u201d changes, like Ohio House Bill 616, there\u2019s going to be big money spent to \u201crevise\u201d the educational standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here in Ohio, one former member of the state legislature got $60 million in bribes from an energy company.\u00a0And there\u2019s still plenty of money \u201cfloating\u201d around the State House. So, if HB616 passes, keep an eye on who gets all the new textbook money.\u00a0\u00a0That could be the next \u201cdirty little secret\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"