Curriculum

Texas Textbooks: ‘Pro-Islamic’ Bias?

September 28, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Texas state board of education, which earlier this year stirred national controversy with its overhaul of social studies standards, is again drawing headlines—and fierce debate—over a resolution warning textbook publishers against infusing their materials with “pro-Islamic/anti-Christian distortions.”

The resolution, which was being debated by the board as of press time Sept. 24, declares that a “pro-Islamic/anti-Christian bias has tainted some past Texas social studies textbooks,” and says the board should reject any future textbooks that favor one religion over another. It cites one world history textbook that devoted “120 student text lines to Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings, but 248 ... to those of Islam.” It adds that the book highlights “Crusaders’ massacre of Muslims at Jerusalem in 1099,” but the resolution cites massacres by Muslims that were excluded.

But the Texas Freedom Network, an advocacy group frequently critical of the board’s conservatives, calls the resolution’s claims “superficial and grossly misleading.”

The Texas board, led by a bloc of social conservatives, has repeatedly found itself engaged in politically tinged debates, especially over the teaching of social studies and science. (“Standards Debate Puts Texas Board in Hot Seat ,” June 9, 2010.)

Don McLeroy, a Republican on the GOP-controlled board who backs the resolution, said he believes world history textbooks have long failed to adequately discuss Judaism and Christianity and their importance in history. “This is bringing some needed focus on” those books, he said.

Critics note that the resolution refers to textbooks that are no longer used in Texas, as they were replaced in 2003. But Mr. McLeroy said board rules prohibit a resolution on the current textbooks. And he believes the perceived bias is still present.

Jay A. Diskey, the executive director of the school division of the Association of American Publishers, said that publishers “go to great lengths to create accurate and unbiased books.”

He added, “However, textbooks have long been in the cross hairs in Americas cultural wars.”

A version of this article appeared in the September 29, 2010 edition of Education Week as Texas Textbooks: ‘Pro-Islamic’ Bias?

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Pave the Path to Excellence in Math
Empower your students' math journey with Sue O'Connell, author of “Math in Practice” and “Navigating Numeracy.”
Content provided by hand2mind
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Combatting Teacher Shortages: Strategies for Classroom Balance and Learning Success
Learn from leaders in education as they share insights and strategies to support teachers and students.
Content provided by DreamBox Learning
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum Reading Instruction and AI: New Strategies for the Big Education Challenges of Our Time
Join the conversation as experts in the field explore these instructional pain points and offer game-changing guidance for K-12 leaders and educators.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum Download DOWNLOADABLE: Choosing Grade School Books With Complex Representation of People and Topics
A new tool from The Education Trust helps educators think deeply about what complex representation of people, cultures, and topics means.
1 min read
Image of an open book, and a hand drawing a character of the content.
Canva
Curriculum Shakespeare Works Should Not Be Removed From Classrooms, Florida Education Department Says
Plans in a Florida district to reduce the works of Shakespeare to excerpts were met with derision by state education officials.
Jeffrey S. Solochek, Tampa Bay Times
3 min read
The shadow of the hand of a Sotheby's employee is cast over a 17th-century calf bound 1623 copy of the First Folio edition of William Shakespeare's plays at the auction house's offices in central London, on March 30, 2006.
The shadow of the hand of a Sotheby's employee is cast over a 17th-century calf bound 1623 copy of the First Folio edition of William Shakespeare's plays at the auction house's offices in central London, on March 30, 2006.
Matt Dunham/AP
Curriculum Schools in Florida Cut Back on Shakespeare, Citing New State Rules
English teachers in Hillsborough County are preparing lessons with only excerpts from Shakespeare’s works to avoid anything racy or sexual.
Marlene Sokol, Tampa Bay Times
3 min read
The shadow of the hand of a Sotheby's employee is cast over a 17th-century calf bound 1623 copy of the First Folio edition of William Shakespeare's plays at the auction house's offices in central London, on March 30, 2006.
The shadow of the hand of a Sotheby's employee is cast over a 17th-century calf bound 1623 copy of the First Folio edition of William Shakespeare's plays at the auction house's offices in central London, on March 30, 2006.
Matt Dunham/AP
Curriculum This District Sees Big Benefits in Computer Science for All
Coding lessons begin as early as prekindergarten in the Mineola school district outside of New York City.
1 min read
Students practice digital animation in Skyline High School’s Computer Science and Technology Pathway.
Students practice digital animation in Skyline High School’s Computer Science and Technology Pathway.
Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages