The Language Police

This book started slow and I skimmed quite a bit of it at first but I really liked the last three chapters, particularly the chapter on English literature and the one on history. Just confirms my beliefs that most textbooks are crap and only likely to get worse. The book is over 10 years old now so some of the current issues are different but many are still the same, or just come in different guises.

Does this sound familiar to any student, teacher or parent? “Today's literature textbooks are a pot pourri of fiction, nonfiction, social commentary, graphics, special features, and pedagogical aids. Even when the selections are good, the texts are almost painful to read because of their visual clutter and sensory overload”. It certainly describes the new reading book and the science book adopted by Seminole County Public Schools for their elementary schools.

A few other great quotes:

“Great literature is not ‘relevant' because it echoes the students' race, gender, or social circumstances, but because it speaks directly to the reader across time and across cultures”.

“The soul of historical research is debate, but that sense of uncertainty and contingency seldom find its way into text books”.

and finally “Intelligence and reason cannot be achieved merely by skill building and immersion in new technologies; elites have always known this and have always insisted on more for their children”. Are you listening our political masters? You are insisting that public school systems teach one way whilst ensuring that your own children are taught a better way. No, silly me, of course you are not listening.