Ravitch, Diane. The language police; how pressure groups restrict what students learn.RAVITCH, Diane Ravitch, Diane (b. Silvers) (1938– ) educator, historian; born in Houston, Texas. An educational historian at Teachers College, Columbia (1975), she was appointed Assistant Secretary of Education (1991). . The language police; how pressure groups restrict what students learn. Random House, Vintage. 271p. notes. bibliog. index. c2003. 1-4000-3064-1. $13.00. SA Ravitch exposes bias among textbook publishers. This "huge scandal in American education" comes about in part because publishers do not want to offend states such as Florida, California, Texas, and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , using the services of committees that search texts for biases of all kinds. As a result, texts have been expurgated ex·pur·gate tr.v. ex·pur·gat·ed, ex·pur·gat·ing, ex·pur·gates To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication. of references to: sexual innuendo innuendo n. from Latin innuere, "to nod toward." In law it means "an indirect hint." "Innuendo" is used in lawsuits for defamation (libel or slander), usually to show that the party suing was the person about whom the nasty statements were made or why the comments , the disabled, junk food junk food n. Any of various prepackaged snack foods high in calories but low in nutritional value. junk food , stereotyping of women (by showing them cooking, for example), scantily scant·y adj. scant·i·er, scant·i·est 1. Barely sufficient or adequate. 2. Insufficient, as in extent or degree. scant clad people, rainbows (gay agenda), age groups, religions, racial or ethnic groups, Satanism, rock and roll music, serious car accidents. parents quarreling, masks (tainted by association with Halloween), life on other planets (if the implication of evolution can be made), blizzards, hunting, gangs, ghosts, junk bonds, Christmas (or other religious holiday celebrations), abortion. farms, expensive gifts, bacon, alcoholic drinks, slaves, lying, divorce. Chief Sitting Bull (banned as a relic of colonialism; replaced with Totanka Iotanka), and corn chips. The list goes on. And it's not just textbooks that are being gutted. Tests are also carefully crafted to be inoffensive and unexciting. What to do? "When bias and sensitivity reviewers know that they can no longer censor and expurgate ex·pur·gate tr.v. ex·pur·gat·ed, ex·pur·gat·ing, ex·pur·gates To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication. behind closed doors; when publishers must expect to sell their books to millions of individual teachers, not two or three powerful state school boards; when state school officials lose their power over the content of textbooks; when the public is informed about threats to intellectual freedom that is when the reign of the language police will end." Ravitch's book should be on the shelf of every public and school library in the country. S--Recommended for senior high school students. A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries. Janet Julian, Grafton, MA |
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