Gates questions and answers

A reader asked me to put the Gates grant out there for all of you. I understand there are concerns and I would like to address them.

Please post your questions and I will answer them. I want this to be an honest productive conversation. If we keep it on that level this should turn out to be a very interesting thread.

Is Texas re-writing history?

The Texas State Board of Education stirred up controversy again by dictating which history can or cannot be included included in history and social studies textbooks.

According to Carol Jones, the field director of the Texas chapter of Citizens for a Sound Economy ''The bottom line is that Texas and California are the biggest buyers of textbooks in the country, and what we adopt in Texas is what the rest of the country gets''. That is a pretty bold statement considering Florida has 3 of the largest school districts in the nation.

I'm not saying that they don't have influence. Publishers are quietly withdrawing their textbooks. But I have to note that after serving on the state instructional materials selection committee. I know that we rejected quite a few publishers who were trying to pass national standards, not our sunshine state standards, through our committee.

It is important that we stay committed to including all relevant history and not cherry picking based on our own personal bias what we teach our students.

Read this article and share your thoughts.