Students should be taught American Exceptionalism

The Texas elected State Board of Education (SBOE) are responsible for creating the essential knowledge & skills public school students K-12 in Texas with input from educators, citizens, parents, business leaders and industry representatives.

The SBOE is currently reviewing new social studies textbook standards as part of the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) curriculum update and is scheduled to hear more public comments today prior to adopting the final standards in March 2010.

Around 150 citizens have signed up to testify today on social study standards. While many will advocate teaching the truth, some on the Left are lining up to suggest the term American Exceptionalism is a myth or a theory.

Last year, while attending the UK summit of the Group of 20 major economic countries, the president was asked if he believed in American Exceptionalism and he reportedly said, "I believe in American Exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British Exceptionalism, and the Greeks believe in Greek Exceptionalism."

Perhaps he was speaking to an international audience, or he was again dissing the US abroad, but those views are in stark contrast to most Americans.

American Exceptionalism is grounded in the founding of the United States upon an idea, a concept that America would be a nation of laws, built on the concept of individual liberty and equal justice before the law, with freedoms ranging from speech to worship, and rights from gun ownership to assembly.

The Founding Fathers institutionalized these freedoms so we would be safe from a too-powerful government. Our government works for us, not the other way around.
America was founded as the land of opportunity.

Liberty provides that opportunity, which is why in just over 200 years; America is the greatest democracy in the world, the most productive engine of economic growth, the most influential culture and the most far-reaching inventions and innovations.

Even in extremely difficult times, American Exceptionalism has survived. Faced with the civil and foreign wars; recessions and economic depression; lackluster leadership at home or aggressive, hostile leadership abroad; the American people have benefited from the uniqueness of our democratic experiment. America’s Exceptionalism.

The following guidelines should be employed when reviewing the curriculum standards:

• The United States occupies an exceptional position in world history as a representative democracy. Students should learn how our government was designed to operate by our Founding Fathers to maximize individual liberties, religious freedom and economic prosperity.

• The United States was founded on the principles of freedom, both religious & economic. Texas students should learn factual, balanced and unbiased accounts of the events and individuals that represent these traditional American values.

• Our education system should provide students a positive view of their heritage as Americans that includes accounts of leadership and innovation in science, medicine, literature, economics, arts, religion, agriculture and technology.

• Additionally, our free market economy, outstanding leadership, and unique freedoms have all contributed to making the United States the most prosperous nation in the world.

Students deserve to know how exceptional America is.

Benjamin Franklin, when asked what type of Government they had established responded, "We have given you a Republic madam - if you can keep it."

We are here today fighting to keep it.
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Peggy Venable spoke at a press conference at the Texas Education Agency building at a State Board of Eduation meeting and public hearing on social studies curriculum standards.