A Textbook Case of Misinformation and Bias

[Boult]

Full article from A Textbook Case of Misinformation and Bias

Last week, the Center for Inquiry, a Hudson, NY think tank, announced that "a civics textbook used in many secondary schools around the country contains inaccurate and misleading statements, in particular in its analysis of certain constitutional law issues, including school prayer, and global warming." The Center had been notified by Matthew LaClair of Kearny, NJ, a high school senior whose Advanced Placement (AP) Government class uses American Government, written by James Q. Wilson and John DiIulio, Jr. The Center's critique is forcing the book's publisher, Houghton Mifflin, and the College Board (which runs the AP program) to review the book, now in its 11th edition. According to President Bush, Wilson "may be the most influential political scientist in America" and DiIulio is "one of the most influential social entrepreneurs in America." Wilson is the Ronald Reagan Professor for Public Policy at Pepperdine University and the chairman of the Council of Academic Advisors of the conservative American Enterprise Institute. DiIulio, a University of Pennsylvania professor, was the first head of Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives but later became disillusioned with the "Mayberry Machiavellis" inside the White House. By co-authorizing this textbook, DiIulio threatens to jeopardize his impressive academic record on criminal justice and American public life.

 

[Boult]

Last week, my city's newspaper had a article on that;

HS student draws major attention to text's political bias | www.azstarnet.com ®

 

[VamPyroX]

This reminds me of the myth that the Great Wall of China could be seen from space. That was published in a lot of school books for years until it was corrected later.

 

[Chase]

Just focusing on one item, I find it strange that attempts to show another side of the current politically motivated liberal panic hype about global warming is called politically motivated. I wonder if this was one of the items the high school senior could see was wrong with his own eyes.

Not that history books aren't muddled. There's one in use in a local junior high lumping Puritans and Pilgrims into one group fomenting trouble with the native dwellers in the 1600s. What total tripe. I wonder if it was because both names began with the letter P?

 

[VamPyroX]

Just focusing on one item, I find it strange that attempts to show another side of the current politically motivated liberal panic hype about global warming is called politically motivated. I wonder if this was one of the items the high school senior could see was wrong with his own eyes.

Not that history books aren't muddled. There's one in use in a local junior high lumping Puritans and Pilgrims into one group fomenting trouble with the native dwellers in the 1600s. What total tripe. I wonder if it was because both names began with the letter P?

Hahaha... it could be anything.

One common goal that every country has when developing reading materials is to convince their readers that they are a superior country.

Like I mentioned with the Great Wall of China thing... China was trying to prove that they had a superior landmark by stating that it could be seen from space. After that myth was debunked, some people still argue that it's still visible. "Oh, the astronauts couldn't see it at that time cuz it was cloudy that day!"

 

[dreamchaser]

Hahaha... it could be anything.

One common goal that every country has when developing reading materials is to convince their readers that they are a superior country.

Like I mentioned with the Great Wall of China thing... China was trying to prove that they had a superior landmark by stating that it could be seen from space. After that myth was debunked, some people still argue that it's still visible. "Oh, the astronauts couldn't see it at that time cuz it was cloudy that day!"

Hey Vamp,,, I haven't been in school,(besides college) for years, so I don't really know what books they are using now,,, But, I never remembering reading anything about Deaf history or Deaf President Now movement or anything about the dark ages when ASL was taken out of Deaf schools and such... Is that not part of American history? Are the latter books offering of this histrory? I have been thinkin not, but don't know... Thought you might correct me if I am wrong.

 

[VamPyroX]

Hey Vamp,,, I haven't been in school,(besides college) for years, so I don't really know what books they are using now,,, But, I never remembering reading anything about Deaf history or Deaf President Now movement or anything about the dark ages when ASL was taken out of Deaf schools and such... Is that not part of American history? Are the latter books offering of this histrory? I have been thinkin not, but don't know... Thought you might correct me if I am wrong.

Deaf history is like other handicapped history... not often mentioned.

It's rare to find something about a guy who was in a wheelchair that accomplished something or a woman who was blind that accomplished something. Those kinds of stories are usually mentioned as "side stories" that I think should be included in all history classes at some point in school.

 

[Chase]

One common goal that every country has when developing reading materials is to convince their readers that they are a superior country.

That's so true, Vampy. Most history/geography books go like this:

Made up fourth grade text: Hidden Montana (Hoot & Miff 'Em Publishing, 2009)

Montana is the largest state in the United States, despite false claims of other jealous states.

Factoid: Alaska is not largest, because when its ice and snow melts (caused by Al Gore and his global warming) Alaska will be no larger than Rhode Island, not even visible from space.

Factoid: Texas is not larger, because if Montana's majestic mountains were flattened, Montana has 4.62% more usable space than Texas.

Factoid: California is not larger, because everyone knows it is two states: Southern California, all land south of a line from downtown Sacramento to San Jose (sand joe-see). Northern California is north of the line to Washington or Oregon, whichever comes first.

 

[jillio]

Hey Vamp,,, I haven't been in school,(besides college) for years, so I don't really know what books they are using now,,, But, I never remembering reading anything about Deaf history or Deaf President Now movement or anything about the dark ages when ASL was taken out of Deaf schools and such... Is that not part of American history? Are the latter books offering of this histrory? I have been thinkin not, but don't know... Thought you might correct me if I am wrong.

African American history is also a part of American history, but how much of that is accurately portrayed in public school texts?

 

[jillio]

Deaf history is like other handicapped history... not often mentioned.

It's rare to find something about a guy who was in a wheelchair that accomplished something or a woman who was blind that accomplished something. Those kinds of stories are usually mentioned as "side stories" that I think should be included in all history classes at some point in school.

**nodding agreement**

 

[dreamchaser]

**nodding agreement**

Is it a necessary evil to just accept this, or should it be addressed. Parents have been very influential in having things banned from school libraries,,, can't they be influential in insisting that a more comprehensible story is taught.

History will keep repeating itself if the lessons from the past atrocities are not learned or at least acknowledged. I realize that the Deaf population is not big enough to tackle the world, and their voice is rarely heard by all, unless you have a revolt, but geez, why aren't people ticked off about this and yelling! collective voices are heard better.

Am I dreaming again to think that it is not too late to change things through a lot of education?

 

[dreamchaser]

Is it a necessary evil to just accept this, or should it be addressed. Parents have been very influential in having things banned from school libraries,,, can't they be influential in insisting that a more comprehensible story is taught.

History will keep repeating itself if the lessons from the past atrocities are not learned or at least acknowledged. I realize that the Deaf population is not big enough to tackle the world, and their voice is rarely heard by all, unless you have a revolt, but geez, why aren't people ticked off about this and yelling! collective voices are heard better.

Am I dreaming again to think that it is not too late to change things through a lot of education?

Extra thought: I for one, am insulted that text book writers have ommitted so much of American history from my own education. Had I been taught about the oppression of minorities earlier in life, I may have worked harder to change it. Maybe teaching our children about these things would plant the seeds for the new generations to come, so they would decide not to allow the atrocities to return. All disabilities seem to be like a subject that is suppose to stay a mystery or something,,, I mean, how many accounts are there about how wheelchair bound people feel, or any other number of things, like education on how Blind people navigate the world, etc... Lots of us are curious and want to understand things, but we don't usually do a hunt for that kind of information unless we are researching for school or something. If it were simply included in school curriuculum, everybody might have a little more insight into the struggles of minorities. It is like the stories about the native americans, and how they are represented.

It is hard for a person to walk up to a person who is blind or Deaf and ask them about their experiences.

 

[dreamchaser]

Is it a necessary evil to just accept this, or should it be addressed. Parents have been very influential in having things banned from school libraries,,, can't they be influential in insisting that a more comprehensible story is taught.

History will keep repeating itself if the lessons from the past atrocities are not learned or at least acknowledged. I realize that the Deaf population is not big enough to tackle the world, and their voice is rarely heard by all, unless you have a revolt, but geez, why aren't people ticked off about this and yelling! collective voices are heard better.

Am I dreaming again to think that it is not too late to change things through a lot of education?

Extra thought: I for one, am insulted that text book writers have ommitted so much of American history from my own education. Had I been taught about the oppression of minorities earlier in life, I may have worked harder to change it. Maybe teaching our children about these things would plant the seeds for the new generations to come, so they would decide not to allow the atrocities to return. All disabilities seem to be like a subject that is suppose to stay a mystery or something,,, I mean, how many accounts are there about how wheelchair bound people feel, or any other number of things, like education on how Blind people navigate the world, etc... Lots of us are curious and want to understand things, but we don't usually do a hunt for that kind of information unless we are researching for school or something. If it were simply included in school curriuculum, everybody might have a little more insight into the struggles of minorities. It is like the stories about the native americans, and how they are represented.

It is hard for a person to walk up to a person who is blind or Deaf and ask them about their experiences. It would be recieved as rudeness probably. So how do you give people insight enough that they may start to care?

 

[VamPyroX]

Is it a necessary evil to just accept this, or should it be addressed. Parents have been very influential in having things banned from school libraries,,, can't they be influential in insisting that a more comprehensible story is taught.

History will keep repeating itself if the lessons from the past atrocities are not learned or at least acknowledged. I realize that the Deaf population is not big enough to tackle the world, and their voice is rarely heard by all, unless you have a revolt, but geez, why aren't people ticked off about this and yelling! collective voices are heard better.

Am I dreaming again to think that it is not too late to change things through a lot of education?

There will always be problems.

Some say that schools should not teach evolution and some should. Some say that schools should not have the Pledge of Allegiance and some should. So, who is right?

 

[dreamchaser]

There will always be problems.

Some say that schools should not teach evolution and some should. Some say that schools should not have the Pledge of Allegiance and some should. So, who is right?

Yes, and that because of the separation of church and state. These are real circumstances that face real Americans. Learning about the Deaf President Now movement would not cross any religious lines. But very few hearies, (depending on age of course) have ever even heard of that revolt and why it was necessary. When the general public got aware of the unfairness at Gallaudet, they got behind the Deaf community and did what they could to help.. Boom, it took less than a week for things to change. Our Deaf school here in Oregon, is always having to deal with stupid hearing administrators cutting the programs they feel are most valuable, and hiring staff that they dislike and they fired one of the very best directors the school ever had for absolutely no reason other than the fact that they wanted to instill a director who would be willing to merge the Deaf and the Blind school so that the Blind school could be sold to developers for a huge profit.. none of which would be promised to go back into improving the Deaf school or accomodating the Blind kids. It was going into the general fund.! But most folks here didn't even know it was happening. Thank God we were able to raise enough of a stink that we got it postponed, but they will try again next year and again.... I just think that educating hearies about Deaf issues is the best way to gain support from them, because they are mostly in the dark about stuff.

 

[dreamchaser]

Yes, and that because of the separation of church and state. These are real circumstances that face real Americans. Learning about the Deaf President Now movement would not cross any religious lines. But very few hearies, (depending on age of course) have ever even heard of that revolt and why it was necessary. When the general public got aware of the unfairness at Gallaudet, they got behind the Deaf community and did what they could to help.. Boom, it took less than a week for things to change. Our Deaf school here in Oregon, is always having to deal with stupid hearing administrators cutting the programs they feel are most valuable, and hiring staff that they dislike and they fired one of the very best directors the school ever had for absolutely no reason other than the fact that they wanted to instill a director who would be willing to merge the Deaf and the Blind school so that the Blind school could be sold to developers for a huge profit.. none of which would be promised to go back into improving the Deaf school or accomodating the Blind kids. It was going into the general fund.! But most folks here didn't even know it was happening. Thank God we were able to raise enough of a stink that we got it postponed, but they will try again next year and again.... I just think that educating hearies about Deaf issues is the best way to gain support from them, because they are mostly in the dark about stuff.

You can read a little bit about those struggles at Deaf Schools United, or the Statesman Journal newspaper on line, from Salem Ore. It doesn't give very good coverage, but it might give you a feel for what was up. They really didn't represent the Deaf opinions very much.

 

[VamPyroX]

Yes, and that because of the separation of church and state. These are real circumstances that face real Americans. Learning about the Deaf President Now movement would not cross any religious lines. But very few hearies, (depending on age of course) have ever even heard of that revolt and why it was necessary. When the general public got aware of the unfairness at Gallaudet, they got behind the Deaf community and did what they could to help.. Boom, it took less than a week for things to change. Our Deaf school here in Oregon, is always having to deal with stupid hearing administrators cutting the programs they feel are most valuable, and hiring staff that they dislike and they fired one of the very best directors the school ever had for absolutely no reason other than the fact that they wanted to instill a director who would be willing to merge the Deaf and the Blind school so that the Blind school could be sold to developers for a huge profit.. none of which would be promised to go back into improving the Deaf school or accomodating the Blind kids. It was going into the general fund.! But most folks here didn't even know it was happening. Thank God we were able to raise enough of a stink that we got it postponed, but they will try again next year and again.... I just think that educating hearies about Deaf issues is the best way to gain support from them, because they are mostly in the dark about stuff.

Yes. I think that history classes (government classes too) should take the time to teach things related to handicap. In history, they could have one part where they talk about handicapped people in the past. Sports? Wheelchair Olympics. Special Olympics. Jobs? Deafness in the workplace. Famous people? Helen Keller. What about government class? That's a good time to talk about ADA, how jobs and companies are dealing with these issues... etc.

 

[dreamchaser]

Yes. I think that history classes (government classes too) should take the time to teach things related to handicap. In history, they could have one part where they talk about handicapped people in the past. Sports? Wheelchair Olympics. Special Olympics. Jobs? Deafness in the workplace. Famous people? Helen Keller. What about government class? That's a good time to talk about ADA, how jobs and companies are dealing with these issues... etc.

You are very right about governnment class. Our future leaders need to be informed if they are gonna serve all the people. So, how do we make that a reality? Any ideas?

Hey Vamp, would you give me some feedback on the story I posted, Castle in my MInd? I want all the opinions I can get. YOu are a smart guy... Would love your input if you have time. even if you hate it,, I would like to know. TY J

 

[VamPyroX]

You are very right about governnment class. Our future leaders need to be informed if they are gonna serve all the people. So, how do we make that a reality? Any ideas?

Hey Vamp, would you give me some feedback on the story I posted, Castle in my MInd? I want all the opinions I can get. YOu are a smart guy... Would love your input if you have time. even if you hate it,, I would like to know. TY J

Done.

 

[Buffalo]

All disabilities seem to be like a subject that is suppose to stay a mystery or something,,, I mean, how many accounts are there about how wheelchair bound people feel, or any other number of things, like education on how Blind people navigate the world, etc... Lots of us are curious and want to understand things, but we don't usually do a hunt for that kind of information unless we are researching for school or something. If it were simply included in school curriuculum, everybody might have a little more insight into the struggles of minorities. It is like the stories about the native americans, and how they are represented.

It is hard for a person to walk up to a person who is blind or Deaf and ask them about their experiences. It would be recieved as rudeness probably. So how do you give people insight enough that they may start to care?

For now, we can use Y? Forum Intro to ask those questions. We can also put out our own answers about Deaf culture there.