Zachary M. Schrag

Problematic History Textbooks May Return to Virginia

I am quoted in Hattie Brown Garrow, “Problematic History Textbooks May Return to Virginia,” Virginian-Pilot, 22 September 2011.

The lede: “Thumbing through two elementary history texts this summer, Zachary Schrag spotted what he described as dubious quotations, misleading images and maps depicting inaccurate borders. His list of errors – including a reference to the ‘United States Navel Academy’ – fills nearly four pages.”

For the full list, see My comments on Five Ponds Press revised drafts.

My comments on Five Ponds Press revised drafts

In 2010, historians found dozens of errors in two textbooks published by Five Ponds Press and being used in Virginia public schools.

Five Ponds has drafted new editions of the offending texts: Our Virginia: Past and Present (for grade 4) and Our America: To 1865 (grades 5 and 6).

Not only has the press hired some historians as consultants this time, but review copies have been put on display at eight universities around the state, including Mason. I reviewed these drafts, and the new editions seem to have fewer gross errors than the first editions. They do have some odd emphases–Andrew Jackson and his rivals do not appear in the US history text–but these are more attributable to the Virginia Standards of Learning than to decisions by the text authors.

I did assemble the following list of errors, which I have sent to the Virginia Department of Education. The department is accepting comments through August 31
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