Textbooks should be inclusive, not exclusive

North of the Rio Grande, Juan Cortina is portrayed as a bandit who wreaked havoc on 19th century Tejanos’ efforts to settle the borderlands. Across the river he's celebrated as a hero, who led a resistance against Tejanos who claimed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which transferred Texas from Mexican to U.S. control, also voided the private property rights of Mexican citizens who already lived there.

Clearly, the same set of facts can be interpreted in different ways, and even described differently.

That is the crux of the constant battle over the content of textbooks that are used in Texas public schools.

The State Board of Education this month week approved history and social studies textbooks that will be adopted for the next school year. It ended a contentious process that began with publishers’ submissions during the summer.

It's safe to assume, however, that the debate over their content isn’t over.

That debate has heated up since conservative Republicans gained majorities in Texas political bodies, including the board of education, and started demanding changes to textbooks that increased the influence of religious and conservative leaders on state and national history, at the expense of more liberal-minded figures.

Such issues support the assertions by Michel Foucault and many others that victors of social struggles tend to revise history to highlight their own contributions and downplay those of their defeated adversaries.

And it's just as likely that the state's previous Democratic Party leaders skewed official texts to their own advantage.

The issue has national importance. With some 5 million students, Texas is a huge market for textbook publishers, and many publishers are more willing to appease Texas officials than those in states that don't buy as many materials. Dozens of them offered hundreds of changes in the past months to try to win the state's contract.

Versions of textbooks that cater to the demands of Texas officials then end up in classrooms throughout the country, whether those states' officials agree with them or not.

It's worth noting that one of the nation's largest textbook publishers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, recently withdrew a package of materials from Texas consideration, saying they preferred to meet national standards.

The debate offers a reminder that even history, which presumably is based on facts, can be interpreted subjectively.

The best materials are inclusive, rather than exclusive, of various points of view. Any new material can augment the standardized texts, and perhaps add insights into the official materials.

Most importantly, contrasting materials could show students they shouldn't take anything — even historical events — at face value, and they should see the value of open minds and independent research

— The Brownsville (Texas) Herald