Ravitch, Diane. The language police; how pressure groups restrict what students learn

Kliatt, Sept, 2004 by Janet Julian

RAVITCH, Diane. 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, using the services of committees that search texts for biases of all kinds. As a result, texts have been expurgated of references to: sexual innuendo, the disabled, junk food, stereotyping of women (by showing them cooking, for example), scantily 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 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