Five Ponds Press

Publisher Of Inaccurate VA Textbooks Will Replace Them For Free

David Taintor | January 12, 2011, 2:02PM

The publisher of textbooks in which historians found major errors has said it will correct and replace the books at no cost to the Virginia schools they were used in, the Washington Post reports.

Five Ponds Press, a small publisher in Connecticut, is responsible for the books in question, which -- among other errors -- claimed that African Americans fought in large numbers for the south during the Civil War.

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Virginia

Historians Find Myriad Errors In VA History Textbooks

David Taintor | December 30, 2010, 8:30AM

Surprise, surprise, historians have found glaring errors in a textbook claiming that African Americans fought in large numbers for the South during the Civil War.

A number of additional errors have been found in other textbooks being used in some Virginia classrooms, since the state ordered a review of the books, the Washington Post reports.

Among the textbooks' errors are claims that the Confederacy included 12 states and the U.S. entered World War I in 1916. Five professional scholars reviewed the books, with three of them finding "disturbing" results. State officials are scheduled to meet January 10 to review the results.

"I absolutely could not believe the number of mistakes -- wrong dates and wrong facts everywhere. How in the world did these books get approved?" said Ronald Heinemann, a former history professor at Hampden-Sydney College who reviewed "Our Virginia: Past and Present." The other book mentioned in the report was "Our America: To 1865."

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Texas Textbook Hearings

Texas Board Approves Warning Textbook Makers Against 'Pro-Islamic, Anti-Christian Distortions'

Rachel Slajda | September 24, 2010, 3:03PM

David Bradley, of the Texas Education Agency

The Texas State Board of Education today passed a resolution warning textbook publishers to scrub their books of "gross pro-Islamic, anti-Christian" bias. The vote was 7 to 6.

The board passed the nonbinding resolution after more than three hours of debate.

Proponents of the measure, including board members and witnesses, argued that world history textbooks spend too much space discussing Islam, and in too positive a light, when compared with Christianity.

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Texas Textbook Hearings

Texas Board Of Ed Approves Right-Wing History Textbook Standards (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 21, 2010, 6:36PM

Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly

After months of debate and national controversy, the Texas State Board of Education Friday afternoon passed new high school textbook standards that recast U.S. history from the point of view of a movement conservative.

The AP reports on the 9-5 vote by the Republican-dominated board:

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Arne Duncan

Duncan: Texas Textbook Standards Won't Affect Rest Of U.S.

Eric Lach | May 20, 2010, 5:38PM

Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told CNN he doesn't believe the new U.S. history textbook standards being proposed by the Texas Board of Education will impact classrooms across the country.

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Texas Textbook Hearings

What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been: TX Textbooks Rules Set For Final Vote

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 12:51PM

Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly

This week should determine Texas' nationally influential U.S. history textbook standards, as the conservative-dominated State Board of Education prepares to vote on the new standards Friday amid intense interest from activists on both sides.

These are the standards that publishers seeking to sell textbooks in Texas will have to use as a guide. TPMmuckraker started covering the story back in September, and it has since attracted national attention for what critics see as the board's outlandish right-wing recasting of U.S. history. Given the makeup of the board, look for a big win for conservatives Friday.

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Textbooks

TX Textbooks Proposal: Students Must Discuss Gutting Social Security, Explain How U.N. Undermines U.S.

Justin Elliott | May 17, 2010, 9:00AM

Don McLeroy

With the long-running Texas history textbooks standards fight scheduled to end with a final vote by the State Board of Education Friday, arch-conservative board member Don McLeroy is proposing a new set of changes that read like a tea party manifesto.

The new amendment (.pdf), which is expected to get a vote on Thursday, would require high school history students to "discuss alternatives regarding long term entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, given the decreasing worker to retiree ratio" and also "evaluate efforts by global organizations to undermine U. S. sovereignty."

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Texas

Conservative Bloc Prevails In Latest TX Textbooks Standards Vote

Justin Elliott | March 12, 2010, 5:48PM

Protesters outside the State Board of Education meeting in Austin this week

Another vote, another win for the conservative majority on Texas' State Board of Education.

The 11-4 vote today on the latest draft of Texas' high school history standards comes as the story has blown up, attracting intense media coverage from national outlets including the New York Times and Fox News, which reported live from Austin all week.

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Don McLeroy

Creationist-Cum-McCarthy-Booster Incumbent Rejected By Texas Republicans

Justin Elliott | March 8, 2010, 6:38PM

Don McLeroy

The top conservative activist on the powerful Texas Board of Education, who rejects evolution and has pushed for a revisionist right-wing U.S. history curriculum, is on the way out, after a moderate candidate defeated him in a tight primary last week.

For months now, TPMmuckraker has been covering Don McLeroy as a major player in the battle over the drafting of nationally influential history textbook standards by the Texas board.

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Texas Textbook Hearings

Conservative Vision Ascendant In Latest TX History Textbooks Draft; Gingrich, Schlafly Back In

Justin Elliott | January 18, 2010, 11:17AM

Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly

The conservative bloc on the Texas State Board of Education won a string of victories Friday, obtaining approval for an amendment requiring high school U.S. history students to know about Phyllis Schlafly and the Contract with America as well as inserting a clause that aims to justify McCarthyism.

Outspoken conservative board member Don McLeroy, who reportedly spent over three hours personally proposing changes to the textbook standards, even wanted to cut "hip-hop" in favor of "country" in a section about the impact of cultural movements. That amendment failed.

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Texas Textbook Hearings

The Rehabilitation Of Joseph McCarthy? Texas Textbooks Process Grinds On

Justin Elliott | January 14, 2010, 1:55PM

Joseph McCarthy

When we last checked in on the U.S. history textbooks standards setting process down in Texas, the conservative-dominated State Board of Education was mulling one-sided requirements to teach high school students about Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly, and the Moral Majority.

Now, in the home stretch of a process that will set the state's nationally influential standards, a liberal watchdog group is worried that the State Board of Education will try to push through changes to claim that communist-hunting Sen. Joseph McCarthy has been vindicated by history, among other right-wing pet issues.

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Texas Textbook Hearings

'Expert' Barton Brings Religio-Historical Road Show To TX Board Of Ed Hearing

Justin Elliott | September 17, 2009, 2:56PM

From display by David Barton, Texas board of education hearing room

David Barton, who critics call a "Christian nationalist history revisionist," comes off more as smooth-talking history buff than fiery evangelist.

Among the panel of experts appointed to guide the Texas textbook standards writing process, Barton is probably the most committed right-wing activist. He served as vice-chair of the Texas GOP for many years. He was responsible for the uproar over deletion of a reference to Christmas that the chair of the board of education tried to tamp down first thing this morning.

And when his turn to speak came at the hearing on new history textbook standards in Austin today, Barton was the only expert to bring along a slideshow.

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Texas Textbook Hearings

Evangelical Minister 'Expert' Spars With TX Board Of Ed Members About Inclusion Of Minorities

Justin Elliott | September 17, 2009, 1:34PM

Rev. Peter Marshall

The Rev. Peter Marshall is one of the "experts" appointed by the Texas State Board of Education who has come under fire for his lack of academic credentials and unapologetic right-wing Christian agenda.

Testifying today at the board of ed hearing on controversial new social studies standards, Marshall didn't disappoint. He got things started with a rousing 10-minute tour through a Christian-centric version of US history.

"It is obvious beyond contradiction that [the founders] structured American government on the natural rights of mankind, which they firmly believe were the gift of God," he said.

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Texas Textbook Hearings

Texas Education Board Chair Kicks Off Hearings: There Is No War On Christmas

Justin Elliott | September 17, 2009, 11:43AM

Board of Education Chair Gail Lowe

As we told you yesterday, the Texas State Board of Education is meeting in Austin today for the first public discussion of new history textbook standards, which include a controversial section that would require knowledge of Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly, et al.

Before the board turned to social studies, the hearing got to an odd start when an animated member of the public testifying about the importance of health education declared, "I'm 56 years old and I'm a virgin." The chair promptly warned her to stay on topic.

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Textbooks

Right-Wing Ideologue 'Experts' Weigh In On Texas History Standards; Hearing Tomorrow

Justin Elliott | September 16, 2009, 1:59PM

Rev. Peter Marshall and his book, "The Light and the Glory for Children"

The circus down in Texas surrounding new history textbook standards continues.

Now, a panel of experts appointed by the GOP-controlled State Board of Education has released reviews of the proposed curriculum, which, as we noted recently, would require students to be conversant in Reaganomics and the heroes of movement conservatism.

The group of six experts is "extremely influential" in the curriculum writing process, says Dan Quinn of the Texas Freedom Network, which closely tracks the activist board of education. And they can be broken into two groups: mainstream academics and right-wing ideologues.

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David Bradley

Texan Critic Of Obama's 'Indoctrination' Speech Backs Actual Indoctrination In Textbooks

Justin Elliott | September 7, 2009, 5:46PM

Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly

Conservatives have spent the last week whipping themselves into a frenzy over President Obama's speech tomorrow in which he will indoctrinate the nation's schoolchildren using the instruments of mass media.

As it turns out, Obama's speech will be pretty anodyne. But one vocal critic of Obama's plans, has long been involved in an effort to actually indoctrinate students -- through the state-sanctioned textbooks they study all year.

Meet David Bradley, Republican member of the Texas State Board of Education from Beaumont.

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Texas

Could Texas' Gingrich-Based High School History Curriculum Go National?

Justin Elliott | September 4, 2009, 9:02AM

Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly

While Republicans are busy gnashing their teeth over President Obama's imminent indoctrination of the nation's schoolchildren, there's an education story bubbling up in Texas that could have considerably more far-reaching consequences.

The GOP-controlled State Board of Education is working on a new set of statewide textbook standards for, among other subjects, U.S. History Studies Since Reconstruction. And it turns out what the board decides may end up having implications far beyond the Lone Star State.

The first draft of the standards, released at the end of July, is a doozy. It lays out a kind of Human Events version of U.S. history.

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