treestarfae Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Virginia-Textbooks-Full-of-Errors-112635439.html I knew Virginia taught their own version of history but this is ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 That is really sad; why would they.... pay for such trash? They should "demand" for better editions... for corrections... to be made... Makes you think they'd hang their heads in shame!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted December 31, 2010 Author Share Posted December 31, 2010 :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Did you see in the responses that one person asked if it really mattered? Factual accuracy in textbooks? yes it matters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) What exactly do you mean by this? I knew Virginia taught their own version of history It seems to me that it is the textbook company that should be hanging its head... in Connecticut. ETA: deleted statement. I see that the books are being pulled from the classroom. Edited December 31, 2010 by Old Dominion Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Begs the question what information are the SOL tests based on in VA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted December 31, 2010 Author Share Posted December 31, 2010 What exactly do you mean by this.[/quote I'm referring to "state" history requirements. I've dealt with public school in Virginia. They require credits for Virginia government and history. While I find Virginia history interesting, I don't think it's necessary to focus and demand credits for multiple years. I've heard Texas does the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Here is a link to the Virginia Standards of Learning. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_socialscience/index.shtml Don't even get me started on the VA SOLs, which were originally written by a textbook company. The test have gradually gotten easier over the years which explains how the pass rate continues to go up. It is a DOE snow-job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) Ah. Well, while you may have dealt with public schools in Virginia, I've taught in public schools in Virginia. Virginia history correlates very well with U.S. History, so it is covered in fourth grade as a lead in to U.S. History. I think most U.S. states cover state history. Virginia doesn't require a year of Virginia Government. It does require a year of Virginia/US Government which looks at the rolls of the State and US representatives and the roles of the various branches of state and federal gov't. It isn't really the way I would have chosen to teach history, splitting it all up like that. Other states interject their state's history into the proper time period, hence the different versions of U.S. History books that are available to the PS school systems.. Edited December 31, 2010 by Old Dominion Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 I've taught history in public school in VA. I know that different people have different views of history and that there are genuinely different valid interpretations. I didn't agree with their interpretation. Probably most key, I didn't think a class with more lessons on American history and government than African, Asian and South American history COMBINED should be called "world history." But, probably more importantly, I also didn't agree with their facts. This is no surprise. I'm most surprised they're pulling the texts, actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 I've taught history in public school in VA. I know that different people have different views of history and that there are genuinely different valid interpretations. I didn't agree with their interpretation. Probably most key, I didn't think a class with more lessons on American history and government than African, Asian and South American history COMBINED should be called "world history." But, probably more importantly, I also didn't agree with their facts. This is no surprise. I'm most surprised they're pulling the texts, actually. I taught history, too. I am not surprised that they are pulling the texts. I am sure they are horrified, at least (nearly) every teacher I ever taught with would be horrified. The issue that you stated above is one of the main reasons that I decided to homeschool, though we do still cover a great deal of (factually accurate) Virginia history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted December 31, 2010 Author Share Posted December 31, 2010 Ah. Well, while you may have dealt with public schools in Virginia, I've taught in public schools in Virginia. Virginia history correlates very well with U.S. History, so it is covered in fourth grade as a lead in to U.S. History. I think most U.S. states cover state history. Virginia doesn't require a year of Virginia Government. It does require a year of Virginia/US Government which looks at the rolls of the State and US representatives and the roles of the various branches of state and federal gov't. It isn't really the way I would have chosen to teach history, splitting it all up like that. Other states interject their state's history into the proper time period, hence the different versions of U.S. History books that are available to the PS school systems.. I hear you. I love local history! Being from Boston I have much respect for Virginia. I feel we have commonalities. Being a military family though I feel neutrality. I don't teach from a "state" point of view. I do look forward to moving back to Virginia and checking out historical sites in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 :lol: Also, this is sort of hilarious... I didn't click on the link because I was like... if I read that I'll just be mad. But then I *did* click the link... that's my dh's column he writes for NBC! I'm sure no one else finds that as amusing as me, but I'm sort of cracking up right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 ...Full suits of armor? Really? I am just dying to see the context for that one! Anyone have access to the text? Farrar, can your husband get it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 ...Full suits of armor? Really? I am just dying to see the context for that one! Anyone have access to the text? Farrar, can your husband get it? Probably not. That column is just his side job - he only rarely does original reporting for it. Full suits of armor. Ha. After reading this though, I'm seeing how easy it must be to write state history textbooks. And if you can do your research on Wikipedia... I'll bet I could knock one out in a day or two. I think I've found my calling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted December 31, 2010 Author Share Posted December 31, 2010 :lol:Also, this is sort of hilarious... I didn't click on the link because I was like... if I read that I'll just be mad. But then I *did* click the link... that's my dh's column he writes for NBC! I'm sure no one else finds that as amusing as me, but I'm sort of cracking up right now. He-he that's great. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted December 31, 2010 Author Share Posted December 31, 2010 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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