"When you're publishing a book, if there's something that's controversial, it's better to take it out."
--Holt, Reinhart, and Winston Representative
"One person's point of view is another's ax to grind, so textbooks end up without axes or points of view."
– Loewen, 314
In this penultimate chapter, Loewen asks the question, "Why is history taught like this?" He enlightens his readers regarding outside influences on the book publishers. Publishers write for several audiences: students, historians, professors of education, teachers, parents, and textbook adoption boards. Though books are intended for the first on this list, in practice, they are written for the last. It's obvious when considered, textbook publishers are in business to make a profit, the more books they sell the greater the profit. How can they sell more books? by being adopted in the states as the official classroom textbook. The two biggest markets for textbook adoption are California and Texas, the choice is obvious, given the choice to appease let's say Texas or Rhode Island, the publishers will acquiesce to the demands of Texas' adoption board. So, in answer to the opening question–history is taught like this because of money.
I can understand the publishers wanting to make a profit. I can empathize with parents and teachers having specific things they desire in a text. What perplexed me was finding out that there are historians who rent out their names to publishers for royalties! How can a professional lower him/herself to this standard?! Not only is this unethical, it seems illegal. In college, if I write a paper and my colleague submits it to the professor with his name on it, that is considered criminal. This brings up another point, that of plagiarism.
Loewen has documented and shown examples of text in competing textbooks that are nearly identical. How did they end up with the same material? Did one copy another, or did they both copy from another source? As well, why have there been no lawsuits? This issue of plagiarism is concerning and needs to be addressed.
Big Question: If our school textbooks are plagiarizing and our textbook adoption boards are allowing it, how can we hold our students to the highest ethical levels in their work?
Link: http://www.texastextbooks.org/
Website for the Texas curriculum
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