The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion

by Gary A. Tobin, Dennis R. Ybarra

Overview

School textbooks in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab and Muslim worlds are filled with anti-Western and anti-Israel propaganda. Most readers will be shocked to discover that history and geography textbooks widely used in America's elementary and secondary classrooms contain some of the very same inaccuracies about Jews, Judaism, and Israel. Did you know that 'there is no record of any important Jewish contribution to the sciences?' (World Civilizations, Thomson Wadsworth). Or that 'Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus?' (The World, Scott Foresman/Pearson). Supplemental materials and other classroom influences are even worse. The Trouble with Textbooks exposes the poor scholarship and untruths in textbooks about Jews and Israel. The problems uncovered in this ground-breaking analysis are instructive, and illustrate the need for reform in the way textbooks are developed, written, marketed, and distributed. Substitute another area_how we teach American history, Western civilization, or comparative religion_and we have another, equally intriguing case study. The Trouble with Textbooks shows what can go terribly wrong in discussing religion, geography, culture, or history_and in this case_all of them. The Trouble with Textbooks tells a cautionary tale for all readers, whatever their background, of how textbooks that Americans depend on to infuse young people with the values for good citizenship and to help acculturate students into the multicultural salad that is American life, instead disparage some groups and teach historical distortions. With millions of young people using these textbooks each year, the denigration of some should be a concern for all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739130957
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	07/31/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Gary A. Tobin is the president of the Institute for Jewish&Community Research and the author of The UnCivil University: Politics and Propaganda in American Education. Dennis R. Ybarra is a research associate at the Institute for Jewish&Community Research.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Textbooks Are in Trouble
Chapter 2 When the Textbook Is Not Enough: Supplemental Materials,Teacher Trainings, and More
Chapter 3 Learning about Jewish Origins: Stereotypes of Jews
Chapter 4 Jews, Judaism, and Christianity
Chapter 5 Double Standards in Teaching about Judaism Compared to Islam
Chapter 6 The Ancient History of Israel
Chapter 7 The Founding of Israel: Rights to the Land, War, and Refugees
Chapter 8 Terrorism and Internal Conflict
Chapter 9 Conclusion
Chapter 10 Methodology
Chapter 11 Appendix A: Textbooks Reviewed by Publisher Parent Company
Chapter 12 Appendix B: Familiar Imprints of Major Textbook Publishing Corporations
Chapter 13 Appendix C: Textbook Usage Survey: Extent of Usage by Publisher Parent Company
Chapter 14 Appendix D: Textbook Usage Survey: Survey Instrument
Chapter 15 Appendix E: Outline of the Arab Narrative