Re: Texas dumps math textbook because holyrollers complain -- no wonder the US is scoring worse and worse in internation science and math comparisons

In article <9378f371-6670-4a53-a66d-db70c125d5c0
@n20g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>, PopUlist349@xxxxxxxxxxx says...
The Texas State Board of Education (TBOE) has taken the unprecedented
step of rejecting an elementary school math textbook already in use in
Dallas and 70 other Texas school districts. The book, entitled,
Everyday Mathematics was written around the philosophy that:
Mathematics is more meaningful when it is rooted in real life contexts
and situations. As a result of this rejection school districts may not
use state money to purchase this book, effectively halting use of the
book in almost all school districts in Texas.

This would make sense if the book was flawed, but it isn't:

"There was not one thing wrong with that book," said Ms. Miller, a
former board president. "That is what is so frustrating..."

In fact school districts who have chosen to use the textbook have
noticed a trend of improving math scores on standardized tests after
using the book:

In Dallas, officials rolled out Everyday Mathematics books in
kindergarten through sixth grade at 19 schools with low math scores
during the 2000-01 school year. By the end of the year, only two of
those schools still had low scores; a year later, none of them did,
said Camille Malone, DISD's director of mathematics.

So why did they decide not to approve it? And more importantly, why
should you care?

Andy Ternay's diary :: ::
Texas is high stakes when it comes to controlling education. The state
of Texas buys more elementary school textbooks than any other state
except California. If Texas decides not to carry a book, the publisher
often discontinues the textbook. So whoever decides what books Texas
students learn from indirectly impacts what books students in
Massachusetts, Kansas, Colorado, etc. will learn from. As
TeacherMagazine notes:

Texas is one of many states that compose lists of approved textbooks
for districts. Decisions made in Texas and California traditionally
have had a strong influence on publishers, who tend to write texts to
meet the demands of those big markets.

Wingnuts and Fundamentalists have packed the TBOE with true believers.
Our friends at the Burnt Orange report have somewhat of an overview
here. But you already know the drill, abstinence only health
textbooks, intelligent design... same old story.

But still, why a math textbook? What harm can numbers do? Well,
numbers don't pose a threat to authoritarians on their own but
critical thinking does. Apparently the major objection to this book is
that it teaches critical thinking over rote memorization of

Sure, no wonder... and you don't think the educational system as
run by liberals for the last 30 years has ANYTHING to do with it? Puh-
LEEZE!
"Teaching math in Calfornia...

~ The 1980s ~

A logger's total expenditure for getting $100.00 of his product to
market is $80.00. His profit margin is $20.00. Your assignment:
Underline the number 20..."
.

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