THE SECULAR INDEX

Study reveals textbook self-censorship (Adrian Humphreys, May 05, 2003, National Post)

The classic children's story The Little Engine That Could has been banned in some U.S. jurisdictions because the train is male and The Friendly Dolphin rejected because it discriminates against students not living near the sea, according to a major study on education policy.

The study found officials who approve classroom materials want references to dinosaurs removed, because they prompt questions about evolution, and owls stricken as they are taboo for Navajo Indians.

Ketchup and french fries, bacon and eggs and ice cream and cake are also on the outs because of concerns over healthy eating habits.

Even birthday parties have been forbidden because they could upset children who do not get invited to them, says Dr. Diane Ravitch, author of The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn.

Dr. Ravitch studied education policy in the United States for three years, tracking policies of state authorities and local school boards, test-writing companies, review committee decisions, as well as in-house correspondence and style guides of publishing houses -- much of which was deemed secret and came to light only through court action.

She documents "an elaborate, well-established protocol of beneficent censorship, quietly endorsed and broadly implemented by textbook publishers, testing agencies, states, and the federal government."

"Educational materials are now governed by an intricate set of rules to screen out language and topics that might be considered controversial or offensive," she writes. "Some of this censorship is trivia, some is ludicrous, and some is breathtaking in its power to dumb down what children learn in school."

It should surprise no one that in a regime of absolute tolerance, when every asinine idea that comes down the pike must be treated with the same regard as those ideas that form the basis of the culture, you end up practicing absolute intolerance, in order that no one be offended. If all truth is relative then no truth can be stated nor falsehood denied. And so utopia approaches... Posted by Orrin Judd at May 5, 2003 9:37 AM