the word american removed from ps textbooks

Sorry. :cry: :love:

It's just other people's assumptions that have made this an issue. An American is supposed to be "a citizen of one of the nations of the Americas". But oh well, people sure like controversy, don't they?

 

Frankly, textbooks are about presenting biases and about subtle indoctrination. That's the whole point.

If it's not about a term for US citizens then it's about leaving aboriginal nations out of history texts. Or inserting creationism or environmentalism into science texts. Or a hundred other choices that shape the message a textbook relates.

Textbooks are generally about shaping kids and governments, textbook companies and lobby groups KNOW this and do their best to exploit this. And no, it's not just some evil liberal thing, it's something that people from right across the political spectrum do because they understand that indoctrination is the whole point!

Of course it is. Even WE know that. That's why we don't send our kids to school.

 

That's an excellent point. If a textbook is not supposed to be biased (hahaha) then maybe that lack of bias should extend to ideas of citizenship. If a text is intended to give American kids an objective view of their place in the continent and the world then perhaps the use of American should be questioned.

 

Yes, I get it. That's my point. Whenever you get news from a source you're being exposed to a biases and some degree of manipulation. Fox or CNN.

 

Wow...I am just seeing this now...we have VBS this week so I get the miss the good threads! LOL. I guess with mamaof3peas around, I don't need to say much anyway. LOL.

I am never a fan of banned words. I also am not fond of pc or any of that junk. I understand we need to have a respect for people around us but this often goes too far.

 

im not for pc, but have no issue with wording things sensitively.

dawn,

i think we can agree on your last point. every new network is a little biased. and its ok, right? i mean there is a news channel for everyone. for the conservative, there is fox, for the liberal, cnn. and the fact that foxs' ratings have gone through the roof lately should prove that most americans agree fox is basically as fair and balanced as one might ever get from a network,lol.

ava, please interject any wise words. i just get in spurts where i see all this stuff and love the brain exercise that debates cause. there has been many times i dont have time to look through here, and then a day or two later i see this great post that i missed, lol.

 

I think that's actually where we part. I don't think it's really for the better if people are splitting off and only watching the networks that appeal to their sensibilities or the news that agrees with their view of the world. Sticking to a network who's bias you agree with and shunning others isn't a safe or healthy choice. That's where the trouble starts and that's where a network's power to manipulate begins.

Personally, I think both CNN and Fox are pretty worthless and driven more by corporate interests then any concern about informing people. I tend to stick more to magazines, blogs and newspapers when it comes to American media. TV news is generally CBC, PBS or BBC.

 

Yesterday when I was being finger printed to work as a volunteer teachers aide at the school the officer was typing my information into the computer. I looked at the section where it said, "Race", it said WHITE/MEXICAN. I told the officer that was incorrect because I am white (Anglo) and I was not from Mexico. He said that anymore if someone is not Asian, African American, etc. they are considered WHITE/MEXICAN. He said Hispanics are considered white. News to me.

 

Actually, the spike in fox's viewers doesn't mean "they" agree with it and think it is a "fair and balanced" source for news. A lot* of viewers are actually computers and/or dvd & vhs players recording the channel 24/7 to be reviewed at a later date. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who think fox is very biased and they take every opportunity they can to point that out. I watch both fox & and the so called liberal news stations. I cannot believe how many people out there actually think either source is unbiased. No two people see the world exactly the same and what I see as biased & unbalanced, someone else may see as a very balanced source of news.

* I did not say most or all, I said a lot

 

Truthfully, their database should have 2 sections for "white":
White/Non-Hispanic
White/Hispanic

It changed a while ago. He should have explained the difference (because there really is one) but I guess since the database only had one section he didn't feel the need to explain.

 

dawn, heres a ? so if fox is biased conservatively and cnn is biased liberally, wouldnt you say so are most people? you either fall on one side or the other of middle ground, at least on some issues. i didnt say i only watch fox, i do watch cnn some to balance, but it really ticks me off to see cnn commentators laughing at those of us who fall to the right. i find that i dont agree with the cnn comm. i find i agree with fox more often, and while i dont mind watching cnn to understand where the other side is coming from, i dont like the way they spin things. i dont see it as unhealthy in the least bit to follow your side more often. and i dont see it as manipulative for one news station to be followed by more americans. if that is what the american people want to watch, it is their right.

guamhsmom, i dont see why someone tivoing the channel makes that any less accurate. they still come home and watch it in the evening to see what is happening. so they are still deciding to trust fox, vs cnn, bc you can tivo 2 diff stations at the same time. and i agree with you, i guess about so many people believing either side is unbiased or balanced. neither are, and so as dawn pointed out, we tend to watch what side we agree most with. there is nothing wrong with that imho.

it would be like saying an atheist should have to watch the christian tv station in order to be healthy and safe. that makes no sense to the atheist! now to me, lol,*wink, wink*, i wish more atheist would watch the christian stations.

 

And there's the give-away. Shouldn't news be neutral? How come we find ourselves 'agreeing' with a news site? As you point out, it's because they no longer offer news but commentary and opinion (the only exception appears to be breaking news). Each of them provides Commentary, Not News (my interpretation of what CNN stands for). I don't watch TV, but I see occasional excerpts online or when walking through our front room. Fox's Sean Hannity, for example, is a joke. So are the folks at MSNBC. They don't care one iota for truth or objectivity because they are too full of themselves. PBS provides in-depth news, but it's very biased too.

What I've learned, having traveled the globe many times, is the value of visiting news sites from different countries: Canada, Britain, Australia, India, South Africa, even English-speaking papers in Russia and China. That way, you begin to see through the biases to get a picture of the real news.

 

I hate those boxes... now that is something that we should ban. What are bi-racial (tri-racial, etc.) people supposed to check? You might say the one you are the most of, but for a person who is mixed, that is insulting. What about if you are exaclty half of two races, then what?

 

Now THAT'S a politcal correct statement I can agree with!!!

 

So true! News shows are so different outside the USA.

 

Wow! I never expected so much excitement on a HS board!!! How fun! 8 pages of posts in one day! Yippee! Fun!

as to the whole debate at hand, I've gotten in trouble so many times on another <micromanaged and over moderated> board that I'm afraid to even have an opinion. Isn't that sad?

 

Talking strictly about the bold/underlined section ... no, that doesn't mean that they are trusting fox. That is exactly opposite of what I meant. They are recording it to watch it at a later time to disprove a lot of what fox reports.

 

where on earth did you get your info? that just doesnt sound legit?

 

My children are bi-racial (well more like tri-racial) and I agree that these boxes are stupid and the whole idea behind them needs to be rethought.

 

All you have to do is go to YouTube and you will find so, so many people who record fox in order to disprove/draw attention to fox's "news" reporting. That isn't the only source but it is the source with the most "hits".