Heroic Alamo Defenders and Moses Pass another Hurdle

Austin, Texas – The State Board of Education (SBOE) voted on a second reading today to keep important history standards in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards (TEKS). Texas Values was pleased to see many aspects were kept in, including the “heroism” of the defenders of the Alamo, Moses and mentions of our Judeo-Christian heritage.

Nicole Hudgens, Policy Analyst for Texas Values said “We applaud the State Board of Education for keeping these important elements of history in the standards for the next generation of Texans.”

A final vote on all changes is expected on Friday. Some of the important items Texas Values testified in favor of and worked to save include:

• Elementary
  • 1st Grade 2 (A) “Sam Houston” as a historical figure to identify
  • 3rd Grade 7 (B) “Declaration of Independence” to identify the text students needed to learn
  • 3rd Grade 12(B) “Todd Beamer” as a contemporary hero
  • 5th Grade 3 (B) “Founding Fathers” to describe James Madison and George Mason
• Middle School
  • 7th Grade 3 (C) “heroism” in reference to the defenders of the Alamo
  • 7th Grade 3 (C ) “William Travis’ Letter to the People of Texas and All Americans in the World”
  • 8th Grade 2 (B) “religious” as a reason for the establishment of the 13 colonies
  • 8th Grade 3 (C) “describe how religion and virtue contributed to the growth of representative government in the American colonies”
  • 8th Grade 7 (D) “John Quincy Adams” as a person who had a role prior to the Civil War
  • 8th Grade 25 (B) “describe religious influences on social movements, including the impact on the first and second Great Awakening”
  • 8th Grade 26 (A) “Battle Hymn of the Republic” as an example of unique music in American culture
• High School: U.S. History
  • 6 (A) “Eugenics” as a significant social issue of the 1920s
  • 21 (A) “Alexis De Tocqueville” as the person who introduced the concept of American exceptionalism
• High School: World History
  • 12 (C) “including the German invasion of Poland and the Soviet Union, the Holocaust…the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Normandy landings, and the dropping of the atomic bombs” As major events in WWII
  • 19 (A) “Judeo Christian legal tradition” as a factor in the development of democratic-republican government
  • 21 (B) “from sources including the Judeo Christian legal tradition and in Greece and Rome” as the origins of ‘trial by jury,’ ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ and ‘equality under the law’
• High School: U.S. Government
  • 1 (B) “Judeo Christian (especially biblical law)” as one of the intellectual, philosophical, and religious tradition that formed the American founding.
  • 1 (C) “Moses” as one of the individuals whose principles of law and government informed the American founding
  • 11 (A) “compare the U.S. constitutional republic” as a form of government to compare to others
  • 12 (D) “examine the reasons the Founding Fathers protected religious freedom in America and guaranteed its free exercise by saying that ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ and compare this to the phrase ‘separation of church and state.’” To understand the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

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