Author Diane Gonzales Bertrand Selected for Texas Textbook Inclusion

Textbook vote boots Cisneros

by Gary Scharrer, San Antonio Express-News

AUSTIN — Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul Gonzalez could earn a place in fourth-grade history books but efforts to keep former Mayor Henry Cisneros in those books failed in preliminary votes by the State Board of Education late Thursday.

The board started debate mid-afternoon and took early votes on historical figures to include or delete from textbooks for lower grades. The board was to continue debate into the night and today over new standards for social studies curriculum for 4.7 million Texas public school students. Final action will come in March.

SBOE members have engaged in contentious debate for months over the inclusion of historical figures. An eight-hour public hearing Thursday brought people from all over the state, some of whom had traveled hundreds of miles to appeal to the board to include more Hispanic historical figures for schoolchildren to study.

The board also voted to remove author Sandra Cisneros for seventh-grade students to study as an example of a Texan artist. Author Diane Gonzalez Bertrand of San Antonio was added instead. Gonzalez Bertrand is a writer-in-residence at St. Mary's University.

Gonzalez, a Democrat, served on the high court from 1984 to 1998 and was the first Hispanic to win a statewide election in Texas. The board voted unanimously to put him in the history textbooks.

Henry Cisneros, who in addition to being a former Alamo City mayor was secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration, didn't fare as well. Cisneros is in current fourth-grade textbooks but experts recommended his removal. Hispanic members of the board failed in their effort to keep him there.

“He was the head of housing. He played a significant role for Texas — both on the state and national levels,” said Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio.

But Pat Hardy, R-Fort Worth, argued that Cisneros “has not really done anything” in 10 years when the last social studies textbooks were published.

When reached Thursday, Cisneros said he hasn't been following the issue and it would be inappropriate for him to comment.

The board later voted unanimously to add José Bernardo, who led a Texas revolt against Spain in 1813 and is considered by some as the first president of an independent Texas republic, to seventh-grade history textbooks.

Board Republicans also removed United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta for proposed inclusion in third-grade textbooks as an example of someone who exemplified good citizenship.

Huerta is considered a civil-rights leader but Republican board members objected to her because of her past membership in the Democratic Socialists of America Party.

Helen Keller or Clara Barton would be better examples, said board member Geraldine “Tincy” Miller, R-Dallas.

The new textbook standards that the board will continue voting on today will become effective for the 2013 school year and last for at least a decade.

The board will take final action in March after a public hearing.

Diane Gonzales Bertrand is the author of numerous books for children and young adults. Her books for teens include Trino's Choice (Piñata Books, 199), which was named to the Texas Lone Star Reading List and winner of the Austin Writer's League Teddy Award, and Trino's Time (Piñata Books, 2001), which was named to The New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age 2002. Her picture books for children include We Are Cousins / Somos primos (Piñata Books, 2007), The Empanadas that Abuela Made / Los empanadas que hacía la abuela (Piñata Books, 2003), and The Party for Papá Luis / La fiesta para Papá Luis (Piñata Books, 2010). Her books for intermediate readers include The Ruiz Street Kids / Los muchacos de la calle Ruiz (Piñata Books, 2006) and Upside Down and Backwards / De cabeza y al revés (Piñata Books, 2005). A native of San Antonio, Texas, she teaches writing at St. Mary's University where she is Writer in Residence.