https://www.utahsrepublic.org

Today’s Red Meat Radio update contains the following topics:
Red-Meat-Radio-Republic 3-20-2010
-ASD School Board races
-Recap on the Motto controversy
-Utah State Office of Education’s “Bias and Sensitivity” committee
-1986 USOE’s unanimous decision to accept “The Making of America” as an approved textbook

Election Signups

With the filings for election races now complete, we ended on a great note this week in Alpine. Thanks everyone for your support in signing up or helping encourage others to do so. The work now begins. Here’s a list of candidates for the ASD school board.

https://www.utahcountyonline.org/Dept/ClerkAud/Elections/Candidates.asp

A1-Donna Barnes, 5 competitors

A2-Chrissy Hannemann, 4 competitors

A3-Tim Osborn, 2 competitors one of which is a former ASD administrator (I fully support Tim)

A5-JoDee Sundberg, 2 competitors

State Office Emails

Here is the text of the email exchange with the State Office.

If you missed last weeks’ update that contained the first set of letters exchanged with the state office, check them out here (USOE letters)

Note this letter was also sent to Larry Shumway the State Superintendent and other State Office of Education members.

Oak,

“The Making of America” and “The 5,000 Year Leap” would need to be submitted by publishers to the textbook review committee.  However, I doubt either book would be approved for classroom instruction, although they are excellent reference materials.  The books have some religious overtones and terms that would not pass the Bias and Sensitivity Committee.  The books were not written to serve primarily as public school textbooks and therefore fail to provide teacher support for differentiation, readability, assessment and etc.  Again, I would agree the materials are very informative.

I would invite you to provide us with a list of individuals with backgrounds in the field of education for consideration to serve on our advisory or steering committees, as we move forward with core curricula revisions in the area of US History.  Please send us your list of individuals, noting their educational background, as soon as possible.  I look forward to your e-mail of nominations.

Lynne Greenwood

My reply:

Lynne,

Thank you for responding so quickly. I want to note that although the 5,000 Year Leap was not written as a textbook, “The Making of America” was and was very close to being adopted by *California* as a textbook a couple decades ago. I will have the publisher send you a copy for your review if you will send me your address. Also, if for some reason the USOE rejects the book, I would like a detailed reason why. There is no “religious” overtone to the book. It is a disection of the constitution and the arguments and statements made by our Founding Fathers at the time it was created as to why they phrased the constitution the way they did. It is more than a resource, it is an exposition on the original intent of our Founding Fathers in preserving our freedom.

I will also work to get a list together quickly of qualified candidates to assist with the standards review and curriculum writing.

Sincerely,

Oak Norton

I then followed this email up with this one which contains a clear direction for the state office to approve the textbook “The Making of America” SINCE THEY’VE ALREADY APPROVED IT!

Hi Lynne,
Will you please check the current approved book list and see if “The Making of America” is already on the list? In speaking with the publisher yesterday, I was told it was approved unanimously by the committee back in 1986. The publisher sent me this email below as the text from the approval letter by then Superintendent Moss. Please let me know.  If it’s not on the list, I guess it ought to be since it was already approved. Zeldon also sent me the attached fax page of endorsements for the book which includes this letter from the former State Superintendent.
Thanks,
Oak Norton

The Making of America”

The text was recommended to the resource material by the Social Studies Curriculum Advisory Committee.  This committee works under the jurisdiction of the State Textbook Commission.  The recommendation of the committee was then acted on by the Commission on November 13, 1986.  The Commission at that time voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the committee.  Therefore, it will be suggested to Utah schools that the book be used as resource material for teachers and student use.
James R. Moss
State Superintendent
Of Public Instruction

Zeldon Nelson—CEO
National Center for Constitutional Studies

Here are the Making of America reviews Zeldon sent me which I attached in my email to Lynne and the other state office employees and Superintendent. If you don’t have this wonderful book, order it today at www.nccs.net. It is a powerful textbook and when we are at the razor’s edge of losing the Constitution, this is the book that explains the constitution in its original glory.

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