Inaccuracies in school textbooks make Gadfly cringe. So does bias. Too many widely-used textbooks are sloppy and error-filled, not to mention banal. Many are also slanted, mainly to the left. Howard Zinn, for example, has peddled his anti-American stuff far and wide and received much acclaim for his trouble. Gary Nash, too. Don't look for investigative reporting to unmask these kinds of textbook flaws. But now that a few contentious assertions have been unearthed in a book written by right-leaning James Q. Wilson and John Dilulio, the Associated Press is beside itself to report the supposed scandal. High-school student Matthew LaClair, who first fingered the folio in question, American Government (a widely-used and generally acclaimed civics text), after perceiving it was "biased," said, "all the statements for the most part were...not giving a fair account of everything." It seems, though, that "all the statements" really means a few short sentences about climate change and church-state relations. Wilson and Dilulio, widely respected scholars both, had no comment. LaClair, who several years ago tape recorded a teacher making a religious remark in class, did have a comment: he's "not looking to cause a huge controversy." Neither is the AP, we're sure.
"Widely used government textbook under fire after high school student raises concerns," by Nancy Zuckerbrod, Associated Press, April 9, 2008