By Brian Russell SBOE Candidate Dist. 10
During this 2010 election cycle voters will select eight of the 15 members of the State Board of Education (SBOE) which sets statewide public education policy for grades K-12. To further the progress made by the seven conservative Republican members currently serving on the SBOE we must return strong conservative Republican leaders to the SBOE.
There are clear cut differences between the systematic knowledge-based educational approach consistently championed by the conservative members of the SBOE and the competing liberal approach advocated by the education-political lobby.
For example Texas 4th grade students ranked 32nd out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) by the U.S. Department of Education. This mediocre performance was due in part to the crippling of Texas students ability to read for many years by the liberal whole language" approach to reading rather than the use of phonics.
Thanks to the leadership of conservatives on the SBOE however Texas stude
nts are now being systematically instructed in phonics equipping students with the ability to decode even unfamiliar words and therefore succeed in reading.
In 4th grade mathematics Texas similarly ranked in the middle of the pack (27th) in the 2007 NAEP.
That same year the SBOE was on the brink of adopting a so-called fuzzy math" textbook called Everyday Math" which only expected 3rd grade students to learn multiplication tables for the easy numbers of 0 1 2 5 and 10 and use strategies" (a.k.a. calculators) for the remaining numbers.
Clearly this type of textbook would do nothing to improve the achievement of Texas students.
Therefore conservatives on the SBOE again took a courageous stand and rejected this substandard textbook outraging the education-political lobby and thrilling parents of elementary school students.
During its upcoming term the SBOE will develop curriculum standards for subjects including math science and health. It will adopt
instructional materials for subjects including math science and American history/social studies.
In each case conservative leadership that is reflective of Texas citizens is needed to ensure adoption of curricula and textbooks that reflect a time-tested knowledge-based approach.
Texans want the best possible education for their children rather than the liberal experimental approach favored by the education-political lobby. Time and again it is the conservatives on the SBOE that deliver.
Brian Russell is a Republican candidate for State Board of Education District 10 which includes all of Austin Bastrop Burleson Colorado DeWitt Fayette Gonzales Lavaca Lee Milam Waller Washington & Williamson counties as well as portions of Brazoria Fort Bend & Travis counties.
