9.3.24 – Texas Eagle Forum
“Help Us Support and Improve the New Texas Curriculum and Reading/Language Arts”
From Cindi Castilla, President of Texas Eagle Forum
Excerpts from this article:
https://mailchi.mp/6121cc28341d/new-texas-curriculum-for-readinglanguage-arts?e=87963ff101
Our Texas State Board of Education will meet next week to hear public testimony on possibly life-changing and effective Reading Language Arts (RLA) Instructional Material (IM) for grades K-5.
(They will also hear testimony on the new Math OER which we will address later in this alert.)
You have likely seen many articles/texts/posts/emails referring to the Texas OER or Texas Instructional Materials. You may be wondering what this is all about. We hope this information will prepare you to make your voice heard.
HISTORY
In 2023, our Texas legislators passed HB 1605, which according to the Bill Analysis dated 5/8/23, is “to create a new State Board of Education (SBOE) process of vetting of instructional materials with additional funding for districts who use the SBOE approved materials. Overall, the bill seeks to increase access to high-quality instructional material for students, give necessary relief to teachers, and provide more transparency for parents."
We have thoroughly reviewed the OER [Open Education Resources] K-5 Reading Language Arts Curriculum that came from HB 1605.
We believe it will be a game changer for public school students in districts that choose to utilize the new curriculum.
It is a critical first step to taking back education from the Leftist elite who have dumbed down our nation en masse through their incursion into education over the last 70 years.
They currently use education to teach victim status and division, to teach children what to think and believe – not how to think and determine what they believe for themselves.
They have succeeded in growing an at-the-ready army of violent protesters who can’t even explain in a proper sentence what they stand for or why they are destroying property, blocking traffic, and making a huge trash mess while chanting the same mantra over and over. Most don’t understand basic biology or know our nation’s history. We thank God for strong families who have guided their children through this mess without losing them to the Left. Unless we change things, we are doomed.
POSITIVES
The Texas OER is designed to be PRINTED! This is healthier for young developing brains and learning.
✔ The Texas curriculum contains classical educational elements. Classical education is tried and true. It is how our founders were educated. While the curriculum isn’t purely classical it is a great step in that direction. The Texas curriculum teaches phonics from kindergarten through 3rd grade. This will ensure that children are no longer grade levels behind in reading. The curricula currently being used have left us with 26% of 3rd-8th grade public school students unable to read and another 21% who are up to two grade levels behind.
✔ The curriculum returns students to classical literature which includes beautiful illustrations and rich language. These books invoke a child’s imagination and contain no CRT, SEL, DEI or other politically woke ideas that do not need to distress young minds.
✔ Teachers will read classical books aloud that are at least a grade level above the student's reading ability. This will provide students with a stronger vocabulary and creative imagination, along with a love for reading that will help them enjoy becoming educated.
✔ Lessons that include history or scientific concepts are almost all balanced.
✔ As children move through the grammar stage of learning, they become prepared for logic and then rhetoric. They are being taught to think for themselves, which is important for self-determination when they are adults.
✔ NO THREE CUEING! This reading method is based on guessing and does not produce good readers. It is now thought to produce dyslexia in some children.
✔ The teacher’s guide is a very strong support tool for teachers, especially newer ones. Those who missed true history and Western civilization, or were taught Three Cueing instead of phonics, will learn along with their students – and be better for it.
✔ Cursive (which improves brain development) will be taught beginning in 2nd grade and used regularly once the children are proficient.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
QUESTION #1: Does this material teach the Bible?
NO – the Bible is used as an example of a person who exhibits a character trait. It is used as an example of metaphorical poetry. When studying Ancient Rome in grade 3, the teacher’s guide explains that "Students will learn about the pantheon of Roman gods and the significant impact of polytheistic Roman religious beliefs on early Roman culture. Later in the unit, students will learn about the early history of Christianity, with selections from the New Testament books of the Christian Bible providing context on beliefs about Jesus of Nazareth. Students will learn of Constantine the Great’s religious conversion and the cascade of changes this had on the empire. These readings are included to help students to build vocabulary and background knowledge relevant for ongoing studies of history and literature, as the religious transformation that occurred in Rome continues to have a significant impact today."
The Bible is used in a way that honors it as the best-selling and most-read piece of literature of all time and an important historical text in Western Civilization. We are a nation under God, founded through His guidance and grace, and we should never shy away from our foundation and biblical morality and principles.
QUESTION #2: Why is the word “technology” used 45 times in HB 1605 if this is designed to be printed?
In the past, there were separate funds for “Instructional Materials” and “Technology”. Now the funds have been combined to read “Instructional Material and Technology”. These revisions and deletions dramatically increased the word count of the word technology.
QUESTION #3: Is this the Amplify curriculum used during the COVID years? NO.
This curriculum uses mechanical pieces from the company named Amplify. The instructional material is mostly all new. It is wholesome, tried and true, and contains high-quality, interesting stories that students will be able to read because they will be taught phonics. This will provide our young Texans with all the advantages of being properly educated in the fashion of our grandparents – who usually exhibited advanced intelligence with much less schooling than students get these days.
QUESTION #4: Is this a tool of UNESCO? NO.
This is written in Texas for students in Texas. It is a response to terrible outcomes from the materials we are currently using in many of our Texas ISD’s. It is an effort to bring back printed materials and make sure our students can read. Twenty-six percent illiteracy is never acceptable. It is an OER in that content and structure are purchased for use in Texas. The state is the publisher and defers to the SBOE for approval of the material. The State of Texas, through the SBOE, has the right to alter the material, structure, etc. to meet our needs. The digital portion is available on a parent portal, so parents know what their child is learning, seeing, hearing, and practicing in class. Parents can learn alongside their children. They can help them keep up if they are ill or have left homework at school. This was not created to bring globalism to Texas – it is the opposite. It could stop that freight train.
QUESTION #5: Is this anti free market? NO.
The materials have been purchased – but not from the woke online textbook companies that have helped dumb down education. We purchase the right to use and alter (when necessary) the materials. Families who desire to homeschool but don’t think they can afford to can use the material for Reading/Language Arts but would have to pay for printing.
QUESTION #6: Are there any issues with the new curriculum? YES.
We have found some areas that could be improved. Most are minor, but we hope they are addressed.
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To view the few recommended changes by Texas Eagle Forum of the new curriculum: https://mailchi.mp/6121cc28341d/new-texas-curriculum-for-readinglanguage-arts?e=87963ff101
Other issues? The Unit assessments are rightly not available for public review, but we do want to be sure they will be administered on paper.
MATH OER
QUESTION #7: What about the Math OER?
WE DO NOT LIKE IT.
We don’t like any of the proposed math materials. The OER is probably the least bad. We believe it needs a re-do and therefore an extension.
ACTION
How you can help: You can encourage your SBOE Member to pass the RLA K-5 OER with minor changes. Please encourage them to retain the biblical content, classical literature, phonics, and the excellent teacher guides. You can insist they require paper assessments.
Optional Action: If you have time, we hope you will review the curriculum. You can ask the SBOE for specific changes and feel free to inform us of issues you see that we may have missed. Click here for review instructions. We found that using the attached chart helped us with the reviewing process.
MORE INFORMATION
9.2.24 -- “Reading the Bible Helps Instill Basic Values of Human Decency” -- By Audrey Young, Member of Texas State Board of Education (District 8) --
https://conta.cc/4e9oZKC
8.29.24 – “One State Could Lead the Way in Returning to Traditional Schooling” – by Carole Hornsby Haynes – World Net Daily -- https://www.wnd.com/2024/08/1-state-could-lead-the-way-in-returning-to-traditional-schooling/
5.29.24 – “Texas Leading the Way Toward Character-Building Textbooks” -- By Donna Garner -- https://donnagarner.org/5-29-24-texas-leading-the-way-toward-character-building-textbooks-by-donna-garner/
5.6.23 -- “HB 1605 -- The Best Piece of Education Legislation in Twelve Years” -- By Texas House Member Terri Leo-Wilson -- https://donnagarner.org/5-6-23-hb-1605-the-best-piece-of-education-legislation-in-12-yrs-by-tx-house-member-terri-leo-wilson/
6.6.24 -- “Position Paper – Teaching Biblical Literature As a Part of English/Language Arts/Reading” -- From a collaboration of English/Language Arts/Reading classroom teachers ー published on July 2, 2001 -- https://donnagarner.org/6-6-24-position-paper-teaching-biblical-literature-as-a-part-of-english-language-arts-reading/
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