Dan Branch Presses for Western Civ Curriculum

April 12, 2010

Wick Allison
FrontBurner Blog

Despite opposition from academics and administrators, the Dallas state rep and chair of the House Higher Education Committee will be holding hearings on April 20 to consider requiring Texas colleges and universities to offer a broad survey of Western civilization. The charge from Speaker Joe Straus:

Study the feasibility of offering an optional curriculum that emphasizes ethics, Western civilization, and American traditions to satisfy portions of the Texas Core Curriculum.

University courses have become little more than a hodgepodge of professors’ particular scholarly interests.  A true education is a broad education.

I love a good fight, and there’s no fight like an academic fight.  Straus and Branch have the intellect to match the academics head-to-head. When’s the last time you could say that about the Texas Legislature?