Textbooks (#7328)
by Jennifer Schroeder on January 17, 2003 at 1:24 PM

Editor's Note: Following is a statement released by Jennifer Schroeder, who is associated with the group, BlessedCause.com.

What is California to do?

Many politicians and government officials have come to realize that the 7th grade textbook, "Across the Centuries," is not fit for our children because of bias and propaganda of many sorts. Asking our children to "Assume you are a Muslim soldier" out to conquer a nation, among many other practices has not been well received. Much care will be taken by the next textbook review committee to decide which textbook will be purchased but unfortunately, this process will take years before the hands of children will actually hold replacement books. Right now these precious children continue to learn lies and indoctrination of religions, a practice abhorrent to many parents. What is California to do?

Let's be honest. Our options are limited. California is in the midst of a financial crisis on the state level. Local school districts are facing severe cutbacks and cannot afford to replace "Across the Centuries" or "A Message of Ancient Days" (equally affrontive as it attempts to discredit the validity of the Bible, distorts facts and presents Islam's beliefs, not Christian beliefs, about Jesus Christ in the Christian section.)

Every day that passes with these textbooks is a day of shame and regret. What is California to do?

Solution: Rip out the offensive pages.

(sudden pause)... GASP. WHAT? Deface school property? Take a $60+ book and RIP out PAGES??? This smacks of book burning! How could anyone even THINK of such an idea? How obscene! How disrespectful! How humiliating!

Yes, it's humiliating. Every day the pages of that textbook are turned is a day of humiliation to the State of California and to America. That we cared so little about our precious children and what we teach them, that we scarcely scanned the social studies textbook before approving and funding them. That an honorable profession of "historian" has been reduced to propaganda and special interest group agendas attempting to brain wash the minds of young children. The approval of this textbook and many like it are a disgrace to education and society.

What is more important: the minds of our children or the pomposity of the esteemed historians that wrote such tainted historical "facts"? Because we can ill-afford to replace these expensive textbooks, we can and must salvage what is acceptable in these textbooks and continue to use them until we are able to replace them. The only way to salvage them is to rip out some pages. Some pages have only a few sentences that are grievous. Simply take a black ink marker and line out a sentence or two. For what is more important; the book and its propaganda or the children and true historical facts?

What message would we be sending our children if we asked them to open their textbooks and rip out specific pages? In my opinion, an extremely positive one. That the CHILDREN are more important than the pomposity of false pride in public education. That the TRUTH is more important than saving face. That our children's minds are far more important than an attempt to cover up our mistake. We need to confess that we are not perfect, that a mistake has been made, and take the steps to protect our children. Truth is more important than pride. Children are more important than books. Honor and righteousness are more important than political correctness and liberal agendas. (yes, I said RIGHTEOUSNESS, this is not a profane word!)

Will children be able to trust what we teach them in schools if we rip out pages and own up to a mistake? YES. Because we should tell them as they rip out pages, that they, the children are important, and what we teach them is more important than denial of a mistake.

If we found poison in the cafeteria, would we continue to feed it to children and hope the next batch will be better? No! Would we throw out everything if we knew that only the apples were poisonous? No! Would we stop feeding them at all? No! We would dispose of what is poisonous and take extra precaution to carefully examine everything to be sure nothing else was contaminated.

Every time a child opens their history book of missing pages, they would be reminded that historical truth is important, that people do make mistakes, but we take the responsibility and the steps to fix it. Because California cares to teach our children the best, a history that is honorable, unbiased and true.

Who would determine what pages to rip out? Form a committee. We have multiple task forces from Governor Davis to promote homosexuality, why can't we have a committee to re-examine what is appropriate in the textbook? It obviously NEEDS A REVIEW.

I urge all politicians and educational personnel to consider that for now, as we wait until we can provide new textbooks, (dare I say it again?) RIP OUT the pages that are so completely reprehensible to everything America stands for. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are not found in forcing our sons and daughters to participate in foreign religious beliefs, repeat atheist statements as fact and twist the very fabric of American history.

By Jennifer Schroeder, Founder of http://www.BlessedCause.org. She is a soccer mom determined to raise awareness of the corruption in public schools

Jennifer Schroeder<br>