Donna Garner Senior Education Policy Advisor EducationNews.org

9.14.10 - Donna Garner - The Texas State Board of Education members will take an up-or-down vote on 9.24.10 on the Resolution: Balanced Treatment of Religious Groups (a.k.a., Rives Resolution).

This Resolution will send a clear signal to textbook publishers when they offer new World History books and instructional materials for Texas ’ approval (2013 or 2014).   Their materials will be carefully scrutinized to see how they treat Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

Because Texas represents a huge market for textbooks, the decisions made in Texas can influence the content of textbooks that publishers offer in other states. 

To write to the Texas State Board of Education members and encourage them to vote for this Resolution, please send an e-mail to the following address sboesupport@tea.state.tx.us.  In the subject line, you will need to write, “To All Texas State Board of Education Members.” 

To show your support for this resolution, please join our facebook page "Pro-American Values In Textbooks."

Following is the Resolution to be presented for a vote by the SBOE on  9.24.10:

BALANCED TEACHING OF RELIGIOUS GROUPS

(a.k.a., RIVES RESOLUTION)

TEXAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

R E S O L U T I O N

9.24.10

WHEREAS pro-Islamic/anti-Christian bias has tainted some past Texas Social Studies textbooks, such as:

• In one instance, devoting 120 student text lines to Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings but 248 (more than twice as many) to those of Islam; and dwelling for 27 student text lines on Crusaders' massacre of Muslims at Jerusalem in 1099 yet censoring Muslims' massacres of Christians there in 1244 and at Antioch in 1268, implying that Christian brutality and Muslim loss of life are significant but Islamic cruelty and Christian deaths are not (see documentation in Appendix I-A);

• In another instance, allotting 82 student text lines to Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings but 159 (almost twice as many) to those of Islam; describing Crusaders' massacres of European Jews yet ignoring the Muslim Tamerlane's massacre of perhaps 90,000 co-religionists at Baghdad in 1401, and of perhaps 100,000 Indian POWs at Delhi in 1398; thrice charging medieval Christians with sexism; and saying the Church "laid the foundations for anti-Semitism" (see documentation in Appendix I-B);

• In a third instance, spending 139 student text lines on Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings but 176 on those of Islam; claiming Islam "brought untold wealth to thousands and a better life to millions," while "because of [Europeans' Christian] religious zeal … many peoples died and many civilizations were destroyed;" and contrasting "the Muslim concern for cleanliness" with Swedes in Russia who were "the filthiest of God's creatures" (see documentation in Appendix I-C); and,

WHEREAS pro-Islamic/anti-Christian half-truths, selective disinformation, and false editorial stereotypes still roil some Social Studies textbooks nationwide, evidenced by:

• Patterns of pejoratives towards Christians and superlatives toward Muslims, calling Crusaders aggressors, "violent attackers," or "invaders" while euphemizing Muslim conquest of Christian lands as "migrations" by "empire builders" (see documentation in Appendix II);

• Politically-correct whitewashes of Islamic culture and stigmas on Christian civilization, indicting Christianity for the same practices (e.g., sexism, slavery, persecution of out-groups) that they treat non-judgmentally, minimize, sugarcoat, or censor in Islam (see documentation in Appendix II);

• Sanitized definitions of "jihad" that exclude religious intolerance or military aggression against non-Muslims – even though Islamic sources often include these among proper meanings of the term – which undergirds worldwide Muslim terrorism (see documentation in Appendix II); and,

WHEREAS more such discriminatory treatment of religion may occur as Middle Easterners buy into the U.S. public school textbook oligopoly, as they are now doing (see documentation in Appendix III); and

WHEREAS Texas ' elected State Board of Education (SBOE) is a principal democratic check and balance on otherwise often-unresponsive editors and -unaccountable authors, making the SBOE the premiere venue for Texans' effective exercise of the constitutional right of petition to redress curricular grievances; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the SBOE, that diverse reviewers have repeatedly documented gross pro-Islamic/anti-Christian distortions in Social Studies texts; that Social Studies TEKS cannot provide relief, because they tell what a course should cover, not all it should avoid; that under Texas Education Code §28.002(h) and (i), the SBOE must enforce "the basic democratic values of our state and national heritage;" that chronic partiality to one of the world's great religions, and animus against another, flout democratic values and the letter and spirit of this rule; and that Texas Administrative Code §66.66(c)(4) provides, "[N]o instructional material may be adopted that contains content that clearly conflicts with the stated purpose of the Texas Education Code, §28.002(h)" (emphasis added); and be it further

RESOLVED, That the SBOE will look to reject future prejudicial Social Studies submissions that continue to offend Texas law with respect to treatment of the world's major religious groups by significant inequalities of coverage space-wise and/or by demonizing or lionizing one or more of them over others, as in the above-cited instances.

Appendix II

Gilbert Sewall's Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us (American Textbook Council, 2008)

identifies these problems in ten 2005-07 copyright middle and high school Social Studies textbooks.  William Bennetta finds some of the same defects in the high school textbook World Cultures: A Global Mosaic (Prentice, 2001). Mr. Sewall chairs the American Textbook Council in New York City . Mr. Bennetta, a Californian, is president of The Textbook League and edits The Textbook Letter.

Appendix III

Independent.ie reported on July 28, 2009 that the Dubai royal family, through its investment vehicle Istithmar World Capital, was becoming "a major shareholder" in the Education Media and Publishing Group (EMPG), which controls Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Istithmar's website states:

EMPG is a combination of Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep and Harcourt Education, two of the most

successful and established educational book publishers in the United States , together forming the

largest player in the K-12 publishing segment. Istithmar World made its first investment in the

senior equity raised for the transaction that combined Houghton Mifflin and Riverdeep Group in

December 2006, followed by an equity investment one year later for acquisition of Harcourt Education.

In 2008, Istithmar World partnered with EMPG to create EMPGI, a JV [joint venture] to pursue

education opportunities in emerging markets. EMPGI aims to leverage on Istithmar World’s

knowledge and relationships in emerging markets.

AOL's Daily Finance added on November 30, 2009, that "EMPG … partnered in 2008 with Istithmar World Capital, a subsidiary of investment company DubaiWorld. The resulting $125 million joint venture, EMPG International, was intended 'to bring the education publishing group's products to developing markets.'  Istithmar ended up a major shareholder in EMPG last July … taking a 45% stake in the company in tandem with several other holding companies."

===============================================================

Q's & A's on the Rives Resolution

Q:  Protesters from Florida to California have objected without ultimate success to chronic pro-Muslim/anti-Christian Social Studies textbook bias.  Why will the Rives Resolution be any more effective?

A:  Because unlike them, the Rives Resolution coordinates with a big state's textbook adoption cycle whose market clout seriously impacts publishers' sales.  Also unlike Texas , California has never state-approved high school textbooks, plus it has now suspended all textbook approvals until 2016 and says it may not resume them for "close to a generation," making Texas the de facto national principal voice of public school textbook
purchasers.

Q:  Why is this Resolution not out of order?  It reopens Social Studies course standards (the TEKS) just after the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) settled new Social Studies TEKS in May 2010.

A:  The Rives Resolution differs from TEKS revisions.  The TEKS are specific and tell what courses must include.  This Resolution is general and tells what courses must avoid.  The passage of the Rives Resolution immediately after approving the TEKS is logical and proper.  It prohibits any pro-Muslim/anti-Christian bias without vainly trying to enumerate all its possible forms, sidestepping dangers in the technical legal principle Exclusio unius inclusio alterius ("Exclusion of one is inclusion of the other"), i.e., whatever is not explicitly forbidden is implicitly permitted. 

Q:  Why pass this Resolution now, when SBOE membership will differ when it votes on new Social Studies books?

A:  All SBOE members swear to uphold Texas law.  The same Texas Education Code (TEC) that binds them today will probably still apply then.  Approving the Rives Resolution now gives editors early warning of the SBOE's duty on this issue.

Q:  How can the SBOE reject textbooks for undemocratic content?  Texas Education Code (TEC) section 31.023(a) and (b) mentions only failure to cover at least half of course standards (the TEKS), failure to meet "applicable physical specifications," and failure to correct factual errors, as lawful grounds for rejection.

A:  Texas Education Code (TEC) section 31.023(a) and (b) does not exhaustively enumerate all the reasons why the SBOE must reject a textbook.  It is a mistake to misinterpret this partial list of reasons for rejection as the definitive complete list, in isolation from the rest of the TEC.  In fact the TEC elsewhere includes one other lawful cause for SBOE rejection of a textbook, namely, violation of TEC section 28.002(h) and (i), which states in pertinent part:

(h) ... A primary purpose of the public school curriculum is to
prepare thoughtful, active citizens ... with appreciation for the
basic democratic values of our state and national heritage.

(i) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the
implementation of this subchapter. ...

This passage specifies a fourth reason for SBOE rejection of textbooks.  It requires the SBOE to promote "basic democratic values," and thus to reject textbooks which blatantly violate that mandate.  The Rives Resolution documents multiple indisputable patterns of undemocratic, discriminatory, prejudicial pro-Muslim/anti-Christian defiant mockery of that rule in Texas World History books' treatment of the world's great religions.  The Rives Resolution warns publishers that in the future the SBOE will enforce the whole TEC, not just section 31.023(a) and (b).

Q:  Why does the Rives Resolution cite no pro-Muslim/anti-Christian bias in current Texas Social Studies books?

A:  Because it obeys SBOE Operating Rule §2.9(c)(2), which says:

Board action relative to textbook resolutions must take place within 90 days of adoption of the specific textbooks ….

Thus the Rives Resolution cannot address Social Studies books under current Texas adoption for over 90 days (in this case since 2003).  Instead, the Resolution’s first "Whereas" refers to 1999 editions of Social Studies books previously under Texas adoption (though most of the same books' 2003 editions are now under current Texas adoption), and the Resolution’s second "Whereas" confirms that pro-Muslim/anti-Christian bias still vexes current Social Studies books generally nationwide, establishing probable cause in Texas.

Q:  Apart from this Resolution, does pro-Muslim/anti-Christian bias taint current Texas Social Studies books?

A:  Yes.  Like its previously-adopted 1999 Texas edition, the currently-adopted 2003 Texas edition of McDougal Littell's World History: Patterns of Interaction devotes 27 student text lines on page 347 to Crusaders' massacre of Muslims at Jerusalem in 1099, and 10 student text lines on page 345 to Crusaders' massacre of 3,000 Muslims at Acre in 1191, but censors Muslim massacres of Christians at Jerusalem in 1244 and at Antioch in 1268. 

       Also, the currently-adopted 2003 Texas edition of Prentice Hall's World History: Connections to Today refers on page 217 (par. 2, lines 3-4) to Crusaders' massacre of some European Jews but nowhere mentions the Muslim Tamerlane's massacre of perhaps 90,000 fellow Muslims at Baghdad in 1401, and of perhaps 100,000 Indian POWs at Delhi in 1398. 

To verify these persistent pro-Muslim/anti-Christian biases, anyone can check the 2003 editions of these texts on file at the Texas Education Agency in Austin , Texas .

Contact Information for Randy Rives  -- #3 Warwick , Odessa , Texas 79765 -- phone 432/362-7799

==================================================================

Appendix II

Gilbert Sewall's Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us (American Textbook Council, 2008)

identifies these problems in ten 2005-07 copyright middle and high school Social Studies textbooks.  William Bennetta finds some of the same defects in the high school textbook World Cultures: A Global Mosaic (Prentice, 2001). Mr. Sewall chairs the American Textbook Council in New York City . Mr. Bennetta, a Californian, is president of The Textbook League and edits The Textbook Letter.

Appendix III

Independent.ie reported on July 28, 2009 that the Dubai royal family, through its investment vehicle Istithmar World Capital, was becoming "a major shareholder" in the Education Media and Publishing Group (EMPG), which controls Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Istithmar's website states:

EMPG is a combination of Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep and Harcourt Education, two of the most

successful and established educational book publishers in the United States , together forming the

largest player in the K-12 publishing segment. Istithmar World made its first investment in the

senior equity raised for the transaction that combined Houghton Mifflin and Riverdeep Group in

December 2006, followed by an equity investment one year later for acquisition of Harcourt Education.

In 2008, Istithmar World partnered with EMPG to create EMPGI, a JV [joint venture] to pursue

education opportunities in emerging markets. EMPGI aims to leverage on Istithmar World’s

knowledge and relationships in emerging markets.

AOL's Daily Finance added on November 30, 2009, that "EMPG … partnered in 2008 with Istithmar World Capital, a subsidiary of investment company DubaiWorld. The resulting $125 million joint venture, EMPG International, was intended 'to bring the education publishing group's products to developing markets.'  Istithmar ended up a major shareholder in EMPG last July … taking a 45% stake in the company in tandem with several other holding companies."