Just the facts, please
The Los Angeles Times Sunday editorial titled “Textbook Cases” raises an important point: that textbooks need to be inclusive, unlike earlier versions that depicted white middle-class people almost exclusively.
OK, I’m with you there. It continues: “But when attempts to push one viewpoint or another distort the curriculum and reduce its accuracy, all students are harmed.” Still with you.
The editorial viewpoint is clear, that school book content must not be left to interest groups, as in proposed textbook revisions by a conservative faction of the Texas Board of Education.
And why should we care if Texas children are taught revisionist history? Because, like Texas, California is among the two dozen or so states that adopt textbooks statewide. The largest problem with this seems to be that decisions are made by politicians and appointed school board members (often influenced by interest groups), instead of scholars and historians. Good point.
I also agree that textbook information should be compiled by scholars and written by talented storytellers. In my view, that simply isn’t happening. History can and should be interesting enough so that children can stay awake reading it, or discussing it in class.
Unfortunately, at least in my day, history was all about memorizing battles, dates and generals.
I never appreciated history until I read “Truman,” David McCullough’s biography of the vice president, who assumed the presidency after FDR’s death. I learned that he shouldered a burden he never wished for and that he had never sought power. That he was deemed by Congress to be incapable of leading the country and was pressured to resign.
I learned about the Berlin Airlift and the Marshall Plan, how sometimes unpopular decisions could change millions of lives for the better.
I thought of these things again a few days ago when our current president pushed for something unpopular in many quarters but that he believed essential for the wellbeing of most Americans. Sorry, I digress.
The Times editorial states: “Textbooks should awaken children not just to the diversity of people but the diversity of opinions in our nation.” But then it acknowledges that part of the problem is statewide textbook adoption. And here is where our opinions diverge.
“If school districts were empowered to pick their own books, allowing a more competitive textbook market to thrive, there would be less opportunity for lobbyists of any stripe to have undue influence over the process.” Whoa! Now we’re in unchartered territory.
A few years back, I covered a story from Central California where a very small school district ordered Christian-based textbooks that played fast and loose with the facts. Then (I sense a Darwin Award here) they billed the state for the books. Someone in Sacramento was paying attention and the ensuing flap made headlines all throughout California. The state had the power not only to withhold payment, but also to demand the books be withdrawn.
In the district where two of my grandchildren are schooled, the wife of a local minister was teaching creationism in a high school science class. Philosophy, maybe. Science, I don’t think so.
Many longtime teachers have told me local control is where most school troubles start. They say that while “No Child Left Behind” created more problems than it solved, the idea of national standards is a valid one. If English, math and history (and with any luck geography and science) were taught as part of a fact-based curriculum, the result would be fewer students ill prepared for work or higher learning.
To get a different age perspective, I asked my daughter what she remembered from her middle and high school history classes. Nothing, she said. The battles, dates and generals thing just didn’t work for her. Also, certain events were covered once, out of context, then never reviewed, almost guaranteeing they’d be forgotten.
Then she came up with a great idea: In first-grade classrooms, there should be a U.S. History time line high on the wall. It should include the major events of a decade or so and a picture of each president with his name. Whatever each grade is required to cover could be posted below that. Just the facts. Every elementary classroom would have the same timeline on the wall with the important events of each period.
In case educators haven’t noticed, children always read what’s on the wall, rarely what’s in textbooks.
English classes should concentrate on useful methods of communication, with literature as a separate subject, she thinks. “You had to teach me how to write a resume, a business letter and reports,” she said, adding she never had occasion to write an essay.
Wow. What a concept. Teach children useful things that they’ll remember.
It’s been my experience that the ethical and moral values school board members push to include in textbooks are more appropriately learned at home.
Children do tend to imitate their parents’ behavior. Nothing in a textbook ever taught a child how to please a parent or how to deal with difficult people or situations. For better or worse, they acquire these skills on their own.
In a world that is increasingly global, schools need to teach to consistent standards. Children who grow up feeling they know what is right develop confidence and have a greater chance for success. As they grow, they can learn what is appropriate in different cultures and that beliefs will vary. All the textbooks need to teach are the facts.