Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Texas textbooks and Title IX

The recent changes to social studies curriculum in Texas will result in textbooks that talk about the "unintended consequences" of Title IX (and the Great Society, and affirmative action). The issue, of course, is that changes in Texas are likely to mean changes to textbooks used all over the country because of the large number of textbooks the state purchases. Textbook publishers have to go before the Texas Board of Education, which approved 100 amendments (including the above) to the social studies curriculum, to show them drafts of their textbooks.
I am sure there are many happy anti-IXers since the news about the Texas conservatives efforts at reeducation broke a couple of weeks ago.
The possible good news is that in this digital age, there is the possibility of textbook companies customizing textbooks. But this would require, at the least, diligence on the part of school committees and state education boards in examining the materials. No word on whether these customized texts would cost more.