Thu Sep 07, 2006 at 01:59:09 PM EDT
|
New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell, a former high school teacher, will join Congresswoman Louise Slaughter this afternoon to hold a joint press conference calling on Scholastic Inc and ABC to keep the factually-challenged mockudrama The Path to 9/11 out of our schools.Scholastic is currently planning on shopping the docudrama to as many as 100,000 teachers, and has already produced lesson plans containing questionable information and analysis. We've covered the situation before here, here and here.
UPDATE: There's reason to be cautiously optimistic. Scholastic appears to be reversing course. They issued a statement saying "We determined that the materials did not meet our high standards for dealing with controversial issues." Instead, their new material will focus on: 1. Media Literacy - what is a docudrama; how does it differ from a documentary; what are the differences between factual reporting and a dramatization?
2. Background to 9/11 - what are some of the causes of unrest in the Middle East and other parts of the world that give rise to attacks on the U.S. and other countries?
3. Geography and Culture -- there is a long history of conflict in the Middle East. How well do students understand each of the countries involved and what influences their behavior? A word of caution. Their press release notes that "the program can provide a springboard to discussion about the issues leading up to 9/11, terrorism and the Middle East." If that means they will still encourage teachers to show this in the classroom, that's unacceptable. |
| Juan Melli :: UPDATED: Pascrell tells Scholastic to Keep Mockudrama Out of Schools |
|
|
Featured Stories  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
