"Fox Network...repeatedly broadcast highly inaccurate information"

[robphelan]

I'm not surprised anymore. I could swear Faux News has people sitting around thinking of ways to twist information so the sheeple/dittoheads can express faux outrage.

Just received an email from our School District's Communication Office:

"The Texas Education Agency reports that the broadcasts made by the Fox Network on the Fox and Friends show about the Texas State Board of Education’s efforts to adopt new social studies curriculum standards is inaccurate. Attached is the TEA’s news release correcting the inaccuracies made on the show."

Fox inaccurately reporting State Board of Education action
AUSTIN – The Fox Network in recent days has repeatedly broadcast highly inaccurate information about the State Board of Education’s efforts to adopt the new social studies curriculum standards.

Here are the facts. The direct quotes come from the March 10 broadcast of Fox & Friends.
Fox: “Texas board of education begins hearings today on proposed changes to textbooks…”
The truth: The State Board of Education today is expected to take a preliminary vote on updated social studies curriculum standards. The standards detail what teachers are to teach in each class. New social studies textbooks are not scheduled to be selected until 2011.

Fox: “So one of the proposed changes is to start history class in the year 1877.”
The truth: Texas has and always will teach U.S. History from the beginning until present day. U.S. History through Reconstruction is taught in the eighth grade and those standards can be found in the middle school standards, which are called Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Here is a link to the middle school standards: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks/social/MS_TEKS_amended.pdf . U.S. History since 1877 is taught in 11th grade.

Fox: Abraham Lincoln and George Washington have been removed from the textbooks.
The truth: The standards, not textbook, are before the board this week. Lincoln is required to be included in the first and eighth grade history classes, as well as in the U.S. government class. Washington is required to be taught in kindergarten, first grade, fifth grade and eighth grade. Here is a link to a document detailing those historical figures, including Lincoln and Washington, who are required to be taught as part of the standards http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks/social/AlphabetizedList_including.pdf . There is another list of individuals who are suggested for inclusion and it can be found here http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks/social/AlphabetizedList_such_as.pdf. Additional modifications are still possible to both lists as the board debates the standards during its March and May meeting.

Fox: Independence Day and Veteran’s Day are being deleted from the textbooks.
The truth: Again, the new history textbooks have not been written yet but they will be based on the curriculum standards adopted by the board. The standards currently under consideration cover Independence Day in kindergarten, second and fifth grades. Veteran’s Day is included in kindergarten, first, second and fifth grades.

Fox: References to Christmas have been deleted.
The truth: A TEKS review committee briefly recommended removing Christmas from a list that mentioned one major holiday for each of the world’s religions. The committee recommended leaving Easter in the document. The State Board immediately rejected this idea and a reference to Christmas was restored in the standards months ago and can be found in sixth grade in standard 19(b).

Fox: Textbooks adopted in Texas will be used classrooms across the country.
The truth: Each state has its own textbook selection process. Publishers may offer other states the Texas edition of a book but they are not required to select it.
Citizens can read the standards for themselves at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=3643. A live webcast of the meeting, which begins at 11 a.m. today, can be viewed at http://www.texasadmin.com/cgi-bin/tea.cgi.

The pdf can be found here -http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index.aspx?id=3429&menu_id=692&menu_id2=796

 

[boomerang]

OMG!!!!!! Yawn.

 

[theeedude]

I don't think anyone with a brain watches Fox for accurate information, more like to get an idea of what your average paranoid teabagger is thinking.

 

[her209]

I'm surprised they didn't mislabel Eric Massa as a Republican.

 

[DonaldC]

Shades of Dan Rather.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

As with all news sources
"Caveat Emptor"

Taking anything at face value is generally unwise.

 

[Tab]

OMG!!!!!! Yawn.

lol typical republican response lol

 

[cubby1223]

So what you're saying is, a couple sentences long recap is not enough information to accurately represent all the details of an issue?

Wow, thanks so much for that enlightening revelation!

Not to mention the full context is *always* required, pretty much all news outlets use sensationalized blurbs to draw attention to viewers, then later provide more details.


Oh, wait, scratch that...

Fox News is the devil!!!!!!!

 

[jackschmittusa]

Since when has anybody actually thought that Fox has any interest presenting accurate information? They don't seem to think it's bad to lie and distort either. This sounds as bad as their reporting on those "foreign" car companies getting "grants" to build cars overseas instead of employing Americans.

 

[ElFenix]

not sure why antebellum history is in junior high and then post reconstruction is years later in high school. wasn't that way when i was there.

 

[DrPizza]

Fox: Textbooks adopted in Texas will be used classrooms across the country.
The truth: Each state has its own textbook selection process. Publishers may offer other states the Texas edition of a book but they are not required to select it.

Actually, Fox got that one correct. And, not all states have textbook adoption processes. In NY, schools are welcome to adopt any textbook they want (or no textbook.) There are zero state recommendations.

As far as textbooks, publishers aim to hit the standards of multiple states - they don't necessarily make one different textbook for each state. The largest states have the biggest influence on the content in the textbooks. That's why many of them are a mile wide and an inch deep in concepts.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Psssst.

News Flash to Fox News

States across the country are discussing adoption of new social studies curriculum standards.


(Thought you might want to know, being that you are an opinion/entertainment/news organization)





--

 

[Zorba]

not sure why antebellum history is in junior high and then post reconstruction is years later in high school. wasn't that way when i was there.

When I was in school it always felt like we started at the beginning and then made it to about the civil war. I think the proposed structure makes sense.

 

[Lanyap]

I stopped reading at "Fox & Friends". They are full of douchebaggery. Can't stand Doocy. Here's a video of the segment. It gave me a good laugh.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4093522/teacher-to-testify-on-textbooks