The Textbook Problem

A note from the Seattle Times on the attempt to warp the schools. There's more info from 365gay:

Talk about a civics lesson: A high-school senior has raised questions about political bias in a popular textbook on U.S. government, and legal scholars and top scientists say the teen's criticism is well-founded.

They say "American Government" by conservatives James Wilson and John Dilulio presents a skewed view of topics from global warming to separation of church and state. The publisher now says it will review the book, as will the College Board, which oversees college-level Advanced Placement courses used in high schools.

Student Matthew LaClair of Kearny, N.J., recently brought his concerns to the attention of the Center for Inquiry, an Amherst, N.Y., think tank that promotes science and which has issued a scathing report about the textbook.

"I just realized from my own knowledge that some of this stuff in the book is just plain wrong," said LaClair, who is using the book as part of an AP government class at Kearny High School.

I keep harping on the fact that the neo-theo-corpocons are all one person. They employ the same tactics (remember the ongoing efforts to browbeat science text publishers into downplaying evolution?), they have the same goals, and they are our worst enemies. And every time a story like this pops up, it makes it all that much clearer.

If the name Matthew LaClair rings a bell, it's because he blew the whistle a while back on a teacher who was proselytizing to his class.

It's not the first time LaClair has raised alarm bells over teaching at his school. A few years ago, he tape recorded a teacher making religious remarks to his students. Many people at the school were upset with LaClair for raising the issue.

"I'm not looking to cause a huge controversy, but I want the students to be taught correct information," LaClair said.

His mother, Debra, says she thinks her son is giving his peers another kind of civics lesson.

"When he sees something that is incorrect, he wants to fix it," she said. "That's him. That's what he does."

We need a lot more like Matthew.