Curriculum materials taken for granted in thousands of school districts throughout the United States are being banned from the public schools of Kanawha County, West Virginia, on grounds that these materials are "filthy" and "blasphemous." (Author)

AS A RESULT OF A REQUEST BY TEXTBOOK PUBLISHERS FOR A LIST OF SUGGESTED INSTRUCTION MATERIALS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF YOUTH IN LARGE URBAN CENTERS, THE COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS HAS DEVELOPED ILLUSTRATIVE GUIDELINES FOR THE SELECTION OF CONTENT FOR BOTH ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY URBAN SCHOOL TEXTS. ONE MAJOR CONSIDERATION WAS THE NEED FOR…

In the area of textbook selection, a school board should (1) establish a policy based on the feelings of the community, the law, and the board's views; (2) determine whether administrative guidelines reflect board policy; (3) check whether textbook choices are based on those guidelines; and (4) consider appeals in book complaint cases. Everyone…

Guidelines for judging English methods-course textbooks need to be developed and applied to the increasing quantities of texts being published. Objective data for evaluation may be obtained through several approaches: (1) key word in context, in which the frequency of a word is accepted as representative of the importance of a concept; (2)…

This pamphlet presents guidelines for the improvement of the image of women in textbooks. General guidelines for the text and illustrations of textbooks are: (1) the actions and achievements of women should be recognized; (2) women and girls should be given the same respect as men and boys; and (3) abilities, traits, interests, and activities…

Argues that many new books for schools are simply more colorful versions of earlier texts which inculcate racist and imperialist ideas in children. (Editor)

Presents a fictionalized account illustrating the process by which willful states, misguided experts, cunning marketeers, and overworked teachers and administrators produce textbooks that are ill-written, confusing, misleading, and boring. (BJV)

Provides brief review of results of a study of junior and senior high school United States history textbooks conducted by a panel of six educators and historians. In general, panel found that books ranged from strong to adequate in their content coverage. Coverage of pluralistic background, religion, and painful aspects of our history were areas…

Three favorable reactions to an 11th-grade textbook chapter dealing with the history surrounding the writing of the U.S. Constitution that was written by experts as an example of an ideal textbook are presented. The evaluators thought that the chapter is in many ways exemplary and is a good initial attempt at writing an ideal text. (RM)

The purpose of this report is: (1) To point out the features of a number of manipulative supplemental resources for history and social studies teachers; and (2) to show how similarly manipulative professional development workshops propagate the distorted content and recommended teaching practices of such materials to teachers and their…

The creation/evolution controversy has gained renewed popularity in the last few years. This has resulted in serious implications for science teachers. All classroom teachers need to protect themselves by learning the distinctions between scientific law and theory and to acquire knowledge of the various theories of evolution. (JN)

Reviews the results of a study of the quality of basal reading textbooks and a survey of primary and secondary school teachers' perceptions of their quality. Considers the ways in which the textbook adoption process affects content and urges teachers to become more involved in this process. (DMM)

First published in 1969 in "Journal of Geography," this article suggested an introductory geography course provided an introduction to field of geography and provided useful image of world. Claimed that these objectives were viewed as incompatible, and suggested a geography course that served both purposes. Described early textbooks and the…

Six "silver bullets" that could raise student achievement are (1) set national standards;(2) make sure all students can read; (3) improve the quality of teaching; (4) demand from vendors better textbooks and teaching materials; (5) encourage charter schools; and (6) collaborate, coordinate, and redefine resources. (MLF)

Examines the evolution of Spanish textbooks qualitatively using computerized pedagogical data. Results show distinct generational text style trends from 1860 to 1998 which chronicle a common engine of change and conflict in standardization movements and the production of generational text styles. Summarizes 20th-century textbook generations and…