State official: classroom materials may exclude minorities

BROWNSVILLE - Mary Helen Berlanga expects to clash with other Texas education board members this year as they work on updating the state's classroom lesson guidelines.

She anticipates debating with conservative members on issues like whether to include intelligent design in science textbooks and whether history books include enough information about minorities.

Berlanga, the state board's senior member, spoke to students and faculty at the University of Texas-Brownsville and Texas Southmost College on Tuesday.

She asked her constituents to travel to Austin next week to speak out against proposed amendments outside consultants are pushing for that she says exclude Hispanics and other minorities from classroom instruction.

Intelligent design is the school of thought that says there are parts of nature too complex to be dismissed as random chance and that evolution must have been guided by a higher power. In previous interviews, Berlanga said schools should stick to teaching evolution because intelligent design too close to teaching religion in school.

The guidelines are laid out in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum- which establishes what students need to know at every grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade - earlier this year.

It is the first time the board has sought to update the TEKS since 1997.

What concerns Berlanga, in particular, is a list of books that private education consultants are touting as suggested reading for children.

She says no books written by or about minority groups are included on the list.

Though the consultants say the books listed are just examples, Berlanga said she fears they would become the required reading.

"I've been on the state board long enough to know what happens when you give examples. It becomes the law, it becomes the bible," said Berlanga, who has served on the board since 1983.

By listing specific books it would deprive teachers of their ability to choose books to which their students would better relate. Not offering books written by or about Hispanics and Latinos, she says, would alienate the state's largest student population.

There are more than 2.1 million Hispanic students in the state, making them the largest ethnic group the public education system serves.

"Folks, we're going back in time instead of forward," Berlanga said. "I don't think anybody should be put on the back burner."

Professors and students said they were glad Berlanga came down to talk to them about the TEKS proposed updates and were disappointed to learn that Hispanics and Latinos don't appear to have a say in the updates.

"It's clear (that this is) a deliberate attempt to exclude us from History, ELA and all areas of teaching," said Julio Noboa, a professor of curriculum and instruction at UTB who specializes in history and social studies.

He said he and other Hispanic educators have had to fight to ensure minorities are represented in school subjects.

The board of education plans to hold a public hearing about the amendments on March 26.

Berlanga said she is working with UTB faculty and others to charter a bus to take people to that hearing.

The final vote is expected in May.

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Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.