ABC Nightline video: "Are America's Textbooks Too Liberal?" -- See the Texas Bd of Ed reply.

[Bozita]

Are America's Textbooks Too Liberal?
March 11, 2010 11:51 PM


Tonight, we introduced you to Don McLeroy, pictured above, a Texas dentist, self-described "Christian fundamentalist" and elected Board of Education member.

He is pushing for more focus on conservative leaders and issues -- and less of what he calls liberal bias in school textbooks.

No doubt some in the educational establishment will criticize the efforts, but that won't necessarily keep those lessons from textbooks that will be taught at schools across the country.

So tonight, we ask: Do you think America's textbooks are too liberal? Or is this wrongly politicizing the classroom?

Tell us what you think.

video: http://blogs.abcnews.com/nightlinedailyline/2010/03/are-americas-textbooks-too-liberal.html

Don't miss the comments located below the video.

[mediaman007]

1. Truth has a liberal bias.

[damntexdem]

15. Well, after all, facts are a liberal plot.

And scientific facts are a Satanic plot.

;-)

[louis-t]

2. This is crazy conservatives wanting to insert their "opinions"

into history. Maybe Glenn Beck should write their textbooks. Jeez.

[WCGreen]

4. His changed passed 11-4 today...

They are going in the books...

[maxsolomon]

3. is Zinn's People's History of the US the textbook?

then no. this shit has got to stop.

[Echo In Light]

5. +1 ... the way ABC frames the question is sooooo M$M

[EFerrari]

8. They're not very subtle, are they? n/t

[Dappleganger]

14. It is in our son's AP American History class.

He has an amazing teacher who actually encourages thinking!

[maxsolomon]

19. public school?

my kids read it in their american history class, too. but it was private school.

[Dappleganger]

20. Yes!

He'd always had RW teachers up until this year, but we are incredibly fortunate to have this one who actually values and encourages thinking against the norm.

[gratuitous]

6. McLeroy just lost in the primary

So I'm not sure why he would be consulted as some kind of expert on textbooks. And, just out of curiosity, when was the first, last or anytime in between that ABC or any other popular media outlet asked if something was "too conservative"? For all the damage wrought on our nation and the world in the past 30 years by conservatives and their demented ideas, why don't the news departments look into the notion of "too conservative"?

[EFerrari]

7. Does anyone remember who the big textbook publishers are?

I read an article 5 years ago that said they were BushCo cronies and can't find it.

[Solly Mack]

9. K&R

shakes head

Over the last several years


2002

Textbook Publishers Learn: Avoid Messing With Texas

2003

They ban textbooks, don't they?

2004

Textbook debate in Texas over sex education


2007

Trouble In Texas: School Board Chairman Seeks Religion In Science Class

[Zoeisright]

10. No. They're too conservative. I.E. tell too many lies.

Just like repukes. Who lie constantly.

[donco6]

11. Too depressing.

All convinced they're "too liberal" and not one comment on what any of them actually are "too liberal" about.

[zbdent]

12. and they wonder why "publicly educated kids" tend to be stupid?

edited to add: (in their estimation)

Maybe they're getting bad grades because the Teacher's Editions are screwed up.

"Miss Johnson! Miss Johnson! I just made a project on evolution!"

Miss J: "I'm sorry, but the textbook says that evolution isn't proven ... sorry, you fail."

[slay]

13. Columbus Day! No wait - it was Native American Genocide day

whatever conservative assfucks! :mad:

[Confusious]

16. This country's going to shit and it's texas's fault. n/t

[fascisthunter]

17. politically and culturally brainwashed by the right wing elite

if it's called liberal, it has to be bad... how fucking ignorant and narrow-minded. No wonder these people fall for charlatans and cults.

[knitter4democracy]

18. I've worked with many textbooks as a teacher. It's the opposite.

Just look at most US History textbooks--leaving out the fact that the Founding Fathers (and Mothers--who are often left out) were Deists, leaving out union history entirely (or, if mentioned, only talking about busting the unions), barely mentioning the Progressive movement at all, and on and on. World history textbooks tend to be ever worse.

Literature books often are just plain crap. Some are getting better, but honestly, I wish I could pitch mine with great force out the window and get class sets of books for us to read instead.

[Bjorn Against]

21. Screw Nightline. They just ran a smear job on a close friend of mine.

They ambushed my friend in an interview and then ran a story that compared her to the Pentagon shooter for no other reason than that they both questioned the official 9/11 story. My friend is not even one of the "9/11 truth" people, she questions the official story because she actually has inside knowledge of what was going on at the FBI before 9/11 as she was a former agent who worked on the Zacharias Moussaui case and blew the whistle on the government's mishandling of the case. The facts she presented have never been seriously challenged by anyone, yet ABC ran a story suggesting that people like her had something in common with the Pentagon shooter. After the way they treated her I will never watch their sorry excuse for "news" ever again, they are as bad as FOX.