Donna Garner
By Donna Garner
Alice Linahan’s Community Conversations — Women on the Wall Conference Call. We are taking on Common Core/ College and Career Ready, and Next Generation Learning Standards!
“Major changes to Texas high school graduation requirements because of HB 5 are about to alter the fundamentals of the public school system across the state.” WILL YOUR KIDS BE READY FOR THE REAL WORLD IF DEPRIVED OF BASIC KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS?
The truth is that the curriculum standards (TEKS) adopted by the Texas State Board of Education starting in 2008 through 2012 are rigorous and, if taught by teachers well, will get Texas students ready for college and/or careers.
By watering down the courses and allowing students to escape responsibility, the end result will be Texas producing high-school graduates who are not ready to take on the challenges of adulthood. For people to make good citizens of the United States, they all need to have a common set of foundational knowledge and skills.
Please plead with your local school officials to adopt a local requirement that all graduates must take TEKS-based English IV, Algebra II, World History, World Geography, and a fourth year of Science. Without these courses, students will not make knowledgeable employees nor capable voters with the abilities to reason and analyze well.
To read through the TEKS for each subject area, please go to this link and look under “Texas Knowledge and Skills by Chapter” — http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148