# Texas textbooks are inaccurate, biased and politicized **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2015, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696 "2015-10-06T08:05:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![katpohl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@katpohl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katpohl)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/21 "2015-10-07T08:50:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Texas Textbook Describes African Slaves as ‘Workers’ > > the company said in a post Friday. “To communicate these facts more clearly, we will update this caption to describe the arrival of African slaves in the US as a forced migration and emphasize that their work was done as slave labor.” > > since the textbook in question is new, the next print run likely won’t happen any time in the next decade. > [Texas Textbook Describes African Slaves as 'Workers'](http://www.newser.com/story/213947/texas-textbook-describes-african-slaves-as-workers.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=united&utm_campaign=rss_home) > [@](#): > > How Texas Inflicts Bad Textbooks on Us > > No matter where you live, if your children go to public schools, the textbooks they use were very possibly written under Texas influence. > > [How Texas Inflicts Bad Textbooks on Us | Gail Collins | The New York Review of Books](http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/jun/21/how-texas-inflicts-bad-textbooks-on-us/) > [@](#): > > 2001 Science Textbooks > Among the objections made by TPPF were discussions of the causes of global warming and the advantages of the Endangered Species Act. TPPF also objected to positive references to Native American culture and the consequences and causes of deforestation. > > 2002 Social Studies Textbooks > > For example, they switched the date of the Ice Age from “millions of years ago” to “in the distant past” after two Christian conservative activists protested that the original text conflicted with Biblical timelines > > 2004 Health Textbooks > > they insisted that publishers delete “embarrassing” illustrations of breast and testicular self-exams for cancer detection. The SBOE and other critics also wanted information on birth control and the prevention of STDs stripped from the books. [http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issues\_public\_schools\_textbook\_censorship](http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issues_public_schools_textbook_censorship) > [@](#): > > Don McLeroy, the board chairman who had opined that “evolution is hooey,” , > “The way I evaluate history textbooks is first I see how they cover Christianity and Israel,” McLeroy told Washington Monthly. “Then I see how they treat Ronald Reagan—he needs to get credit for saving the world from communism and for the good economy over the last twenty years because he lowered taxes.” Geez , Texas needs to rewrite the way they run their school board elections . :eek: Get these :rolleyes: conservative Christians :rolleyes: the hell away from anything concerning the education of school children . ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/22 "2015-10-07T13:09:50Z")
More sane Texans need to get out & vote for their State Board Of Education rep. The office comes near the end of a very long ballot; many people don’t bother to go that far. Or just don’t bother to get out & vote. The public-school-hating, Bible-thumping, Battle-Flag-waving, science-denying candidates tend to be Republican. (Big surprise.) As usual, the Texas Freedom Network has gone into the subject. [In detail.](http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issues_sboe_whatis) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/23 "2015-10-07T15:20:15Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Does this Texas mother complaining about the caption know what the word “slave” means? Hint: it doesn’t have anything to do with “voluntary”. > > Regards, > Shodan Good point. By the nit-picker’s own admission, the textbook mentions “slave” at least once. What does she expect for that minor incident in U.S. history? A whole paragraph?? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/24 "2015-10-07T15:29:42Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Not true for California. [Cite](http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/imfrpfaq1.asp). Confirmed. Every cycle we get inundated with free sample texts from publishers eager to make a sale to our district. Last cycle I had, let’s see…9 different books to choose from for AP Euro. At least that many for American Government. The books all have to be aligned with the State Curriculum Standards, but that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/25 "2015-10-07T16:04:31Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > Proof that we all need to have federal government set education in schools, not local governments. Here we have states that think they have a right to their own version of history. Texas is ranked 39th in education, they should be 50 out of 50. If you go to the [Nation’s Report card](http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/science_2009/g8_state.aspx?subtab_id=Tab_9&tab_id=tab1#) site and look at the scores for the states form 2009. You will find that Texas’s relatively poor showing is because of Simpson’s paradox. Texas students for all races do better than the national average for those races. Once you adjust for race and income status Texas has one of the best school systems in the country. The biggest problem with the graphic in the OP is not the “workers” thing, since any worker brought by the slave trade would obviously be a slave, but that it is an order of magnitude off. Only about 388,000 thousands slaves were shipped from Africa to North America, not millions. ---
**Author:** ![tafowler87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@tafowler87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tafowler87)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/26 "2015-10-07T16:19:20Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Texas is the second-largest state. It has approximately 27 million people, about 12 million fewer than California, the largest state. 1. Thank you! Regardless the size of the state your issue is “misrepresentation”. 2. Are you saying these text books are providing flaw details concerning historical events, people, and places or are you saying these books contain completely fabricated tales of things they never happened. Sometimes mistakes can relay minute details. A writers notes can be misread and wrong information given; sometimes the writer’s memory is relied on and slightly altered information is recorded; or even another writer’s mistake can contribute to printed errors. I have had to correct a few publishers on misrepresentations. Also, different writers provide different perceptions on events (for example I have three U.S. history books. The first two are very similar. They are the view point of american politicians and white American breed, ivy league doctors in historical studies. However, the last one is a shorter World History book (focusing on United States war and foreign relationships beginning with two known accounts of the great flood and ending with September 11, 200). 3. School boards do not write nor publish the books distributed in the classroom. Up through high school state committees vote on acceptable literatures and provide choice to individual school districts for what they feel is sufficient. They know as well as others that some things in history are wishy washy because documentation gets lost and records are ruined stolen or fabricated. Here you have to compare sources and deduct yourself whats right and whats wrong, but this is according to you. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/27 "2015-10-07T17:10:50Z")
> [@tafowler87](#): > > 1. Thank you! Regardless the size of the state your issue is “misrepresentation”. > > 2. Are you saying these text books are providing flaw details concerning historical events, people, and places or are you saying these books contain completely fabricated tales of things they never happened. Sometimes mistakes can relay minute details. A writers notes can be misread and wrong information given; sometimes the writer’s memory is relied on and slightly altered information is recorded; or even another writer’s mistake can contribute to printed errors. I have had to correct a few publishers on misrepresentations. Also, different writers provide different perceptions on events (for example I have three U.S. history books. The first two are very similar. They are the view point of american politicians and white American breed, ivy league doctors in historical studies. However, the last one is a shorter World History book (focusing on United States war and foreign relationships beginning with two known accounts of the great flood and ending with September 11, 200). > > 3. School boards do not write nor publish the books distributed in the classroom. Up through high school state committees vote on acceptable literatures and provide choice to individual school districts for what they feel is sufficient. They know as well as others that some things in history are wishy washy because documentation gets lost and records are ruined stolen or fabricated. Here you have to compare sources and deduct yourself whats right and whats wrong, but this is according to you. _In Texas_, the SBOE sets “guidelines” for curricula & textbooks and then reviews the results; the School Board _is_ the “committee” you mention. The Republicans have a slight majority; David Barton was among the "experts"consulted when setting history standards. [Here are the Texas Freedom Network’s problems with those standards.](http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issues_sboe_social_studies) [ul] [li]A revised standard that downplays the central role that the issue of slavery played in causing the Civil War[/li][li]A new requirement that students contrast the ideas in Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s inaugural address (which didn’t even mention slavery) with speeches by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln[/li][li]Downplaying the significance of Enlightenment ideas on political revolutions from the 1750s to the present[/li][li]Revised standards that exaggerate religious influences on the Founders and the founding documents[/li][li]A new standard requiring that students learn about the political positions of conservative leaders and icons, such as Phyllis Schlafly and Moral Majority[/li][li]A revised standard suggesting that witch hunts by Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee in the1950s were justified[/li][li]Removing the concept of “responsibility for the common good,” which one board member criticized as too communistic[/li][/ul] If you’re interested, read the “conservative” Thomas B Fordham Institute’s view of the standards. ([Here’s the pdf.](http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2011/20110216_SOSHS/SOSS_USHistory_Texas.pdf)) A small excerpt: > [@](#): > > …While such social studies doctrine is usually associated with the relativist and diversity-obsessed educational left, the right-dominated Texas Board of Education made no effort to replace traditional social studies dogma with substantive historical content. Instead, it seems to have grafted on its own conservative talking points. The lists of “historically significant” names, for example, incorporate all the familiar politically correct group categories (women and minorities are systematically included in all such lists, regardless of their relative historical significance). At the same time, however, the document distorts or suppresses less triumphal or more nuanced aspects of our past that the Board found politically unacceptable (slavery and segregation are all but ignored, while religious influences are grossly exaggerated). The resulting fusion is a confusing, unteachable hodgepodge, blending the worst of two educational dogmas. > > Complex historical issues are obscured with blatant politicizing throughout the document. Biblical influences on America’s founding are exaggerated, if not invented. The complicated but undeniable history of separation between church and state is flatly dismissed. From the earliest grades, students are pressed to uncritically celebrate the “free enterprise system and its benefits.” “Minimal government intrusion” is hailed as key to the early nineteenth-century commercial boom—ignoring the critical role of the state and federal governments in internal improvements and economic expansion. Native peoples are missing until brief references to nineteenth-century events. Slavery, too, is largely missing. Sectionalism and states’ rights are listed before slavery as causes of the Civil War, while the issue of slavery in the territories—the actual trigger for the sectional crisis—is never mentioned at all. During and after Reconstruction, there is no mention of the Black Codes, the Ku Klux Klan, or sharecropping; the term “Jim Crow” never appears. Incredibly, racial segregation is only mentioned in a passing reference to the 1948 integration of the armed forces. Hmmm–“the relativist and diversity-obsessed educational left”–sounds conservative to me. But they aren’t nuts; they gave Texas a D. The textbooks resulting from these guidelines weren’t as bad as they could have been. (Again, _there is much more information at TFN; they’ve been watcing these guys for years._) But problems remain. And, since Texas buys so many textbooks, other states will have to deal with them. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/28 "2015-10-07T17:42:13Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Good point. By the nit-picker’s own admission, the textbook mentions “slave” at least once. What does she expect for that minor incident in U.S. history? A whole paragraph?? :eek: I’m not sure of your point. I believe the textbook in question has several chapters on slavery. The brouhaha is over the fact that a caption on one of the charts says that the Atlantic slave trade brought Africans over as agricultural workers. So the book mentioned in that caption that they were slaves at least as often as it mentioned that they were workers. Elsewhere in the book, AFAIK the topic of slavery was covered in greater detail. I wonder if conversations about ancestral history are a little uncomfortable in that Texas mom’s family - African-American Child: “Grampa, how did our family come to America?” African-American Grampa: “The slave traders brought us over here to work the fields.” African-American Child: “Grampa, you’re a racist!” Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/29 "2015-10-07T19:48:56Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > As usual, the Texas Freedom Network has gone into the subject. [In detail.](http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issues_sboe_whatis) I think the Texas Freedom Network needs to change its name. The far-right tea-party-ish conservative wing has largely co-opted the otherwise-admirable word “Freedom” for just about everything in their ideology – everything from Religious Freedom Restoration Acts to Freedom Fries, etc. When I see an organization with “Freedom” in its name, my knee-jerk reaction is to think it some far-right-wing group. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/30 "2015-10-07T21:31:41Z")
Why is no one mad at the publisher??? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/31 "2015-10-07T21:39:32Z")
They are. They are also mad at Texas for [del]accepting[/del] requiring such a textbook. But publishers go where the money is, and Texas has a big wallet. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/32 "2015-10-07T21:58:57Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > They are. They are also mad at Texas for [del]accepting[/del] requiring such a textbook. But publishers go where the money is, and Texas has a big wallet. Well, they don’t seem to be mad at the publisher. Did I miss something on this thread??? ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/33 "2015-10-07T22:08:19Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Well, they don’t seem to be mad at the publisher. Did I miss something on this thread??? I think it’s that generally people don’t _expect_ any better of any business than to try to make money and not break the law, sad as that is. There are higher expectations of those choosing the textbooks for the children of their state. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/34 "2015-10-07T23:29:48Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I think the Texas Freedom Network needs to change its name. The far-right tea-party-ish conservative wing has largely co-opted the otherwise-admirable word “Freedom” for just about everything in their ideology – everything from Religious Freedom Restoration Acts to Freedom Fries, etc. > > When I see an organization with “Freedom” in its name, my knee-jerk reaction is to think it some far-right-wing group. Anyone who spends a minute at the TFN site realizes they are _not_ Rightwingers. There’s nothing wrong with the word “Freedom.” Kneejerk reactions are, by definition, useless. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/35 "2015-10-08T01:49:50Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I’m not sure of your point. I believe the textbook in question has several chapters on slavery… > > Regards, > Shodan You could have stated that the textbook had those chapters; that would have been more relevant to your point than the little snark about whether someone knows what “slave” means. That you didn’t, and still couldn’t guess my point, baffles me. I’ll take your side in this sub-debate if you have a cite for your claim about “several chapters on slavery.” Without evidence, I’m sure you’ll understand why I’ll treat that claim skeptically. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/36 "2015-10-08T02:02:03Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > So California is not as monolithic, which is a problem in preventing textbook publishes from giving in to Texas. The big factor is that most states allow each school district to choose its own textbooks. In Texas, school districts have to buy textbooks from a list that’s issued by the State Board of Education in order to receive state funds. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/37 "2015-10-08T04:32:47Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > You could have stated that the textbook had those chapters He can’t state that because he doesn’t know. He “believes” that a geography textbook has several chapters on slavery? Or maybe he more likely believes liberals are probably whining over nothing yet again. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/38 "2015-10-08T05:06:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The big factor is that most states allow each school district to choose its own textbooks. In Texas, school districts have to buy textbooks from a list that’s issued by the State Board of Education in order to receive state funds. Yeah, the complaints about Texas are correct. I was saying California is not like that. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/39 "2015-10-08T13:13:17Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > He can’t state that because he doesn’t know. He “believes” that a geography textbook has several chapters on slavery? Or maybe he more likely believes liberals are probably whining over nothing yet again. I don’t have a link to the textbook itself, which is why I didn’t say I knew it, but the publisher says - > [@](#): > > This week, we became aware of a concern regarding a caption reference to slavery on a map in one of our world geography programs. This program addresses slavery in the world in several lessons and meets the learning objectives of the course. [Cite](https://www.facebook.com/McGrawHillEducation/posts/1056963857671901). I believe it - it is the sort of thing that would be easily disproven, and there is enough RO that I expect someone would check. But you are correct that liberals are whining over nothing. > [@septimus](#): > > You could have stated that the textbook had those chapters; that would have been more relevant to your point than the little snark about whether someone knows what “slave” means. That you didn’t, and still couldn’t guess my point, baffles me. The chapters were irrelevant to my point, which was that the caption mentions that they were slaves just as much as it mentions that they were workers. I didn’t get your point because you seemed to be asserting that the caption was the only mention of slavery in the textbook. Since it isn’t, I didn’t understand why you would be arguing based on such a point. My apologies - I assumed you knew the relevant facts on a topic on which you were expressing an opinion. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696/40 "2015-10-08T14:41:40Z")
“Addresses slavery in several lessons” does not equal several chapters on slavery. In fact, the section under discussion is part of a chapter on immigration that addresses slavery in one bubble caption. Eta: The Houston paper today contradicts what some are saying here. It says school districts are not required to use material aproved by the State board but rather many do rather than go through an approval process themselves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized/733696.md?page=3)