Originally published Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Student flunks government text
Talk about a civics lesson: A high-school senior has raised questions about political bias in a popular textbook on U.S. government, and legal scholars...
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Talk about a civics lesson: A high-school senior has raised questions about political bias in a popular textbook on U.S. government, and legal scholars and top scientists say the teen's criticism is well-founded.
They say "American Government" by conservatives James Wilson and John Dilulio presents a skewed view of topics from global warming to separation of church and state. The publisher now says it will review the book, as will the College Board, which oversees college-level Advanced Placement courses used in high schools.
Matthew LaClair of Kearny, N.J., recently brought his concerns to the attention of the Center for Inquiry, an Amherst, N.Y., think tank that promotes science and which has issued a scathing report about the textbook.
"I just realized from my own knowledge that some of this stuff in the book is just plain wrong," said LaClair, who is using the book as part of an AP government class at Kearny High School.
The textbook is designed for a college audience, but also is widely used in AP American government courses, said Richard Blake, a spokesman for the publisher, Houghton Mifflin. Blake said the company "will be working with the authors to evaluate in detail the criticisms of the Center for Inquiry." Blake said some disputed passages already have been excised from the newest edition of the book.
Both authors are considered conservative. Dilulio, a University of Pennsylvania professor, formerly worked for the Bush administration as director of faith-based initiatives. Wilson is the Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University. Neither responded immediately to calls seeking comment.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
S.C. gov faces 37 charges he broke state ethics laws
U.K. started planning early for war, leaked papers show
Vaccine to kill nicotine buzz now in late tests by small drug firm
India's feeling bruised even before White House visit

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
42" Hitachi Plasma 1080i - $500
8 Drawer Dresser with Attached Mirror - $200
8 seat pecon formal dining table and china hutch - $1500
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
events for Monday, Nov. 23
- B-Bam! Online 10 Percent Off Sale
- Ian Black Friday 3-Day Sale
- Ravenna Holiday Arts and Crafts Sale
- Birth and Beyond Baby Closing Sale
editors' picks
- Independent video stores
- Neighborhood shopping
- Spas & beauty salons
- Phinney Ridge & Greenwood shopping
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
403 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
215 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
160 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
105 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
86 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
85 - Bellevue residents blast new bikini espresso stand
85 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
75 - Seattle woman charged with knife attack on boyfriend's ex
75 - Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
58
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family for immunotherapy research




