Videos: Texas Parents Fix the Problem: Standing For Truth in Textbooks

Technically, Texas is not in Common Core. The state rejected the Common Core Initiative while most other states took the bait back in 2010. But Texas has not escaped. (see minute 12:40 to 13:25 on the linked clip.) National, Common Core standards-aligned books and software has taken over most of the United States educational sales market.

Texas parents are fighting back. They formed “The Truth in Texas Textbooks Coalition” (TTT) a textbook study coalition and studied the books their children were reading.

Then they spoke.

Lt. Col. Roy White, one of the members of TTT, has written and spoken about the big difference that TTT, the parent group, has made in restoring truth to textbooks used in Texas. White reported that the Texas State School Board did contact publishers about these errors, following parental testimonies (below) and publishers have agreed to make the requested changes.

White’s bullet point summary of textbook errors found by parents includes:

Publishers attempted to push the softer definition of “jihad” as the “struggle to become a better person.” TTT pointed to original Islamic sources, the Quran, Hadiths, and Mohammad’s biography describing jihad as a mandatory offensive war (including violence) to be waged by Muslims against all non-Muslims until all persons are followers of Allah. Attempts by publishers to re-define the term is “spin” and not based upon original Islamic sources.

“Conditions in Cuba are painted as highly beneficial for young people from a healthcare and education standpoint.” Misleading information and half-truths is how TTT characterized this description of life in Cuba with details of other reports and sources providing facts justifying TTT’s position.

“It’s easy to get depressed about Climate Change.” Telling a child what emotions to have on a topic is “agenda building.” Only one side of the issue was told. TTT urged both sides be presented on climate change, but publishers chose to pull the book as the solution.

Many publishers routinely referred to the U. S. form of government as a “democracy.” The word “democracy” is not found in the Constitution nor in any of the 50 state Constitutions. Our form of government is a constitutional republic. The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag is to the Republic for which it stands, not to the democracy for which it stands.

Publishers claimed in several instances that Muslims were the original inhabitants of the area known as Israel. TTT pointed out that Jews inhabited this area hundreds of years before Islam existed.

Multiple publishers left out the terms “Islamic jihadist” and “Muslim terrorists” even when the attackers used these terms in describing themselves. No mention was made that the Barbary pirates were Muslims and the 911 hijackers were Islamic jihadists. The word “Islamic” was absent when describing the terrorists in the 1983 Lebanon Marine Barrack attacks. If the terrorists/jihadists refer to themselves using these terms, then why won’t publishers use those same terms?

Gorbachav had more to do with the Berlin Wall falling than President Ronald Reagan according to one publisher; the deficiencies of Communism were downplayed while Western democracies were marginalized; TTT was able to get re-writes on these and many other distorted areas.

These parents’ testimonies must be heard.

Lt Col (ret) Roy White, TTT Chairman counters CAIR’s argument Islam was spread equally by missionary work, trade, and military conquest; answers SBOEs questions and discusses TTT