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CALIFORNIA
SUPERINTENDENT JACK O'CONNELL
TALKS TOUGH ABOUT TEXTBOOKS WITH FACTUAL ERRORS,
BUT FAILS TO ACT ON TEXTBOOK
THAT FALSELY CLAIMED 5 REVIEWERS
| California Superintendent of Public
Instruction Jack O'Connell has declared an admirable policy for textbooks with
factual errors. He wrote a letter of May 11, 2005, in response to a
complaint that the textbook Earth Science by Holt, Rinehart and
Winston had listed five academic reviewers and chapter writers who did not
work on the book. O'Connell stated, "If the publisher cannot provide such evidence [that the five academics did work on the textbook], then the CDE [California Department of Education] will ask the publisher to remove those names from any subsequent printing of the text and to insert a statement noting the erroneous credits in all future sales of this text in California prior to any such reprinting. Furthermore, we will ask the publisher to send this statement to all California districts that are currently using the Holt Earth Science program." Holt failed to provide proof for any of the five, claiming it would be an invasion of privacy to inquire further. O'Connell has so far failed to carry out his promise to remove the false credits. The five are Alissa Arp Ph.D. of San Francisco State University, John E. Hoover Ph.D. of Millersville University, John L. Hubisz Ph.D. of North Carolina State University, William G. Lamb Ph.D. of Oregon Episcopal School, and Lisa D. White Ph.D. of San Francisco State University. Everyone should write Superintendent O'Connell to ask him to proceed with the Holt Earth Science errors as promised, and to expand the policy to all types of factual errors in textbooks. His address is on his letterhead below. All other states should adopt similar policies. |
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