History Teaches Parents a Lesson

If there’s one class we took in school that we were sure wouldn’t get “outdated” it was history class, right? Well, apparently not so! Recently, the Texas Board of Education voted to approve a new social studies curriculum that’s been accused of “rewriting” history to be more biased to Republican and conservative ideals. How does this affect your child’s education? Well since, Texas is the largest buyer of textbooks, their Board has an enormous influence on what is printed in those texts. That means books delivered to your child’s school district will likely contain these admittedly more conservative views.

From questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to separation of church and state, to attempting to replace the term “Slave Trade” with “Atlantic Triangular Trade” (though this latter revision was not approved), the Texas Board of Education wields the power to change the trajectory of our nation as we now know it by telling future generations a different story than the one we learned. But do they really?

Well, no…because that’s where we as parents come in, and frankly, that’s OUR power to wield. Despite what your own ideological views may be, and despite whether or not you’re in favor of these measures, it calls into question the accuracy and totality of any education our children receive from any institution. Inevitably there will be biases, omissions, and discrepancies in lessons our children are taught. But we need not feel despair, instead we should feel empowered.

This is a great opportunity to take ownership of our children’s education. We don’t necessarily need to sit in the class room with them and make sure each textbook includes a particular subject discussed in a particular way. But what we do need to do is to teach our children how be judicious and discerning, to instill in them the habit of self-seeking information, and to train them to distinguish fact from opinion for the sake of formulating their own opinions. These are life lessons that, if we successfully impart, will ensure that no textbook, teacher, or institution can limit or define their knowledge.

It’s quite unwise to assume any educational system is sufficient enough a pillar on which to place the weight of our children’s learning. History textbooks have and will continue to be rewritten time and time again, but knowledge can never be destroyed. Let’s teach our children how to seek, uncover, and accumulate it.