Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, November 30, 2009

'FOX News Reporting: Do You Know What Textbooks Your Children Are Really Reading?' - Specials - FOXNews.com


'FOX News Reporting: Do You Know What Textbooks Your Children Are Really Reading?' - Specials - FOXNews.com:

"FOX News Reporting investigated the $10 billion dollar-a-year textbook industry and how the drive to be politically correct might be taking over American schools.
Host Tucker Carlson, asked experts, teachers, publishers and parents the same question: 'Do you know what is inside your children's textbooks?' From kindergarten through college, we found staggering errors and omissions which may be pushing agendas, hidden and otherwise."

We spoke to the author of “The Language Police,” education historian Diane Ravitch, who said textbook publishers censor images or words they deem to be controversial in children’s textbooks. She told us that publishers pander to special interest groups, and assemble bias and sensitivity review committees. These committees decide what words to ban or redefine, and even what images are deemed offensive.

And we examined some college textbooks both in print and in digital forms. We found a glaring mistake in an expensive history book written by Alan Brinkley, Provost at New York’s Columbia University.

And in Fairfax County Virginia, questions remain about what textbooks are used in the private Islamic Saudi Academy. The ISA teaches about 1000 students each year pre-K — 12. Questions have been raised about its textbooks at least since 2006.