HS Student Finds Mistake in History Book
Have you ever seen something in one of your textbooks that you thought might not be correct? Matthew LaClair, a senior at Kearny High School in Kearny New Jersey was upset by some of the information in the book he was using in his Advanced Placement social studies class.
The book is called “American Government.” It was written by two college professors, James Wilson and John Dilulio. Both men are politically conservative.
Matthew was most upset by the book’s treatment of global warming. In the 2005 edition, the book included the following passage: "science doesn't know whether we are experiencing a dangerous level of global warming or how bad the greenhouse effect is, if it exists at all."
Matthew took his concern to the Center for Inquiry in Amherst New York. The center reviewed Matthew’s concerns and completely agreed with his view. The center notified the publisher of the book, Houghton Mifflin Co.
A spokesperson for Houghton Mifflin said that the company is working with the authors to evaluate Matthew’s concerns. The publisher has already changed some of the material in its latest edition.
The 2007 edition of the same book has a different quote about global warming. It says, "Science doesn't know how bad the greenhouse effect is."
This is not the first time in the news for Matthew LaClair. A couple of years ago he taped a lesson in which his teacher made some religious remarks to his students. The teacher was very popular and many students and teachers were unhappy with Matthew.
Matthew says that he is not trying to stir up trouble. It’s just that when he sees something that is incorrect, he tries to fix it.
Source: Ed Week
BLOG QUESTION
Do you think Matthew was right to raise questions about the book his class was using?
The book is called “American Government.” It was written by two college professors, James Wilson and John Dilulio. Both men are politically conservative.
Matthew was most upset by the book’s treatment of global warming. In the 2005 edition, the book included the following passage: "science doesn't know whether we are experiencing a dangerous level of global warming or how bad the greenhouse effect is, if it exists at all."
Matthew took his concern to the Center for Inquiry in Amherst New York. The center reviewed Matthew’s concerns and completely agreed with his view. The center notified the publisher of the book, Houghton Mifflin Co.
A spokesperson for Houghton Mifflin said that the company is working with the authors to evaluate Matthew’s concerns. The publisher has already changed some of the material in its latest edition.
The 2007 edition of the same book has a different quote about global warming. It says, "Science doesn't know how bad the greenhouse effect is."
This is not the first time in the news for Matthew LaClair. A couple of years ago he taped a lesson in which his teacher made some religious remarks to his students. The teacher was very popular and many students and teachers were unhappy with Matthew.
Matthew says that he is not trying to stir up trouble. It’s just that when he sees something that is incorrect, he tries to fix it.
Source: Ed Week
BLOG QUESTION
Do you think Matthew was right to raise questions about the book his class was using?
2 Comments:
I think that was okay of him, to prove it wrong, but maybe the writers of the book changed their mind or did a little extra research. But, yes he was right to ask a question... after all, don't teachers incourage kids 2 ask questions?
Bebe 4-Cohn
I think he should because you should be able to say what you think is right.
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