SBOE Testimony

Ladies and Gentlemen of the State Board of Education, I want to thank you for your service to our children and families of the state of Texas. I believe each of you serve with the best of intentions to provide the best education to our students. I also believe that the current system of electing citizens to guide the curriculum and direction is in the best interest of our citizenry.

I am testifying today for the first time. My husband and I have three daughters who graduated from public schools in Texas. We have been ‘hands on parents’ volunteering in all the schools our daughters attended. I also hold a Ph.D. from a pubic school. As a concerned citizen, I want to express my dismay about the ruckus over the revision of the social studies standards to simply provide some balance to the curriculum.

1. Many of the statements against the revisions have simply been false…here are two examples: “The State Board of Education is making decisions on its own and not listening to educators.”
FACT: Numerous educators urged the State Board of Education to teach students accurately about our country’s religious heritage and the uniqueness of our nation: AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM.

2. And “The State Board of Education doesn’t believe students should learn about the separation of church and state or First Amendment Rights”
FACT: Students in elementary grades, middle school and high school will learn about the important freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution, as the Bill of Rights is outlined in Grade 5,8 and again in US Government.

As I mentioned, I earned a Ph.D. as well as M. Ed. all from public schools in education and psychology. I only recently read in depth about The ‘Father of Modern American Education’ John Dewey. He traveled to Russia in 1928 to help implement a Marxist system of education and then returned to teach at Columbia University as the head of the university’s education department. Dewey supported the Socialist Society in America while being honorary president of the National Education Association. He promoted Secular Humanism in his book, A Common Faith. One of Dewey’s most famous quotes highlights his philosophy:
“There is no God and no soul. Hence there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable (unchangeable) truth is dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or permanent moral absolutes”

~John Dewey, The New Republic, Dec. 5, 1928

Now to our liberal board members, this message may not concern you, but from the perspective of one who has had over two decades of ‘education’ under the Father of Modern Education, learning about Dewey’s framework for education was a life changing discovery for me.

Our modern educational system has been under the strong influence of a man, held in high regard in educational circles who was an Atheist and a Communist. For me this was a chilling discovery from my many years of study under the influence of John Dewey.

I believe the erosion of the founding principles of our great nation have been slowly changing for decades the nature of education. The small changes that this courageous board is undertaking to bring balance to the social studies curriculum for our families in Texas is not only good, but necessary.

I urge you to move ahead with a vote on the standards. This is the fifth hearing within a review process that started in early 2009. Please do not delay the vote. The children and families of the state of Texas deserve action on these balance standards.

Thank you for your time. Thank you for your service.

Dr. Rosemary Edwards

Austin, Texas