Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction Message Board

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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction

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To: Oeconomicus who wrote (78185)	3/9/2010 3:41:20 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) of 90947

Who Writes Your Kids’ Textbooks? by: Shannon Bream March 9, 2010 - 12:04 PM As the Texas textbook debate begins in earnest, odds are most American parents likely have no idea how their children's books are actually crafted. The 15 members of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) will make key decisions about curriculum - what's in, what's out - and textbook publishers will write books to match those standards. That's because Texas is one of the largest textbook buyers in the world. Dr. Frank Wang, one-time president of Saxon Publishing, says the process of producing a textbook has changed a great deal over the years. Historians and authors are increasingly being replaced by a collage of freelance writers, hoping to quickly churn out a project that will match up with curriculum standards. "The process has evolved from art to engineering," Wang says. He adds that it's become more of an "assembly line" system, rather than a carefully crafted "work of art." Gilbert T. Sewall, Director of the American Textbook Council, believes textbooks that end up in classrooms around the country have been steadily getting worse. "There's no doubt that identity politics have contributed to the decline of textbook quality over the last twenty years," says Sewall. He warns that vocal groups from gender activists to nutritionists have "demanded" their way into curriculum, simply by being the most vocal. Sewall says an editor at a top publishing company told him years ago that the squeaky wheel gets the attention and, "What was true then is even more true today." In Sewall's estimation what he calls "the Christian right" has been most persuasive in recent battles in Texas. liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com

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