Cleaning up textbooks in Texan schools

Press, 6 July 1977, Page 16

Cleaning up textbooks in Texan schools

Mrs Norma. Gabler is a determined crusader and she knows how to get results. Bent on cleaning up textbooks in her home state of Texas, even publishers regard her as a force to be reckoned with. In a system where all text books must be state adopted, she and the Educational Research Analyst sort out the books which do not fulfil the state requirements. These rule that no textbook may be adopted if it has blatantly offensive language or pictures that could cause embarrassment in the classroom.

If publishers do not agree to changes in books classed as “offensive,” they stand to lose vast sums of money in a S2OM-S3OM business in Texas alone.

Bespectacled and matronly she is enthusiastic about her campaign which has become a full-time job. She regards the involvement of parents as being vital, especially since education has taken a very steep turn towards social education.

“Reading skills have been lowered and children can’t do maths and they get very frustrated,” she saio.

Outwardly tolerant, she says that she does not expect all people to share her views, yet she believes that she, too, has a right to be heard. “We have tried to be objective and not use personalities," she said. Like Patricia Bartlett, she is concerned about community standards, but Norma Gabler confines her public comments to textbooks, divorcing these from library material. “I feel we have a work-; able format. We stay with! what we feel we are effec-i

tive at.” She says that she is particularly concerned about textbooks as the children are taught from them, like it dr not. “I think we should clean up text books before TV. Children don’t have an option in the classroom.”

“I am very hesitant to clean up the bookstands. We don't deal in that,” she said. The tolerance cracks

slightly as she discusses the controversial book, “Down under the Plum Trees.” “It’s hard-core pornography. It would be doing a great job for making hustlers,” she said losing her usually cheerful expression for a moment.

“My husband and I think too much of each other to consider doing those sorts of things”, she said. She said that she was also very concerned to hear about an in-service training course for teachers being held in Christchurch this week . The programme,

“Man: A Course of Study,” is written for 10-year-olds, said Mrs Gabler.

“This textbook is probably the most gruesome thing we have ever picked up. One chapter dealing with an Eskimo family, concentrates on cannibalism, infanticide, genocide and senjlicide until these acts of violence seem acceptable and understandable to the children,” she said. However, Mr Colin Knight, the person taking the course, said that it "is the best Social Studies programme ever devised.” Many false accusations had been levelled against the course and references to cannibalism could only be found in the teacher’s handbook providing background to the Eskimo culture.

The programme would be taught to 14-year-olds, he said.

“I am not here to tell New Zealanders what is good for them,” insisted Mrs Gabler. “The Concerned Parents Association invited me over here to share information learned over 17 years,” she said.

She began her series of lectures in Christchurch yesterday and will visit other New Zealand cities during the next two weeks before leaving for Australia.