Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's
Formal Response to Oral Testimony
August 23,2002
Comments Concerning Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Grade 4, Texas Our Texas
1. From Naomi Grundy
What these texts will probably take another 10-20 years to mention is the Underground Railroad Resistance Movement from Texas to Mexico, which liberated over 5,000 enslaved African-Americans with the help of Mexicans and Germans. The importance of Kiamata to the survival of Jane Long during the winter of 1821. Of course, Bowie brothers, William Travis, Thomas McKinney all participated in the Texas slave trade and have streets, cities, counties and state parks named in their honor. However, there is yet no monument to Juneteenth. And as I said before, this again reflects the social-political thinking of our generation.
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Response
The historical specificity mentioned in the examples listed here are more appropriate for grade. None of these examples were included in the TEKS for grade 4.
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2. From Naomi Grundy
None of the texts covered to my satisfaction the importance of slave labor to the economy
of Texas, while they all stressed that "Cotton was King."
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Response
In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Pupil Edition, the text on page 202 will now read:
Study the graphs to see how the economy of Texas depended on enslaved African
Americans.
Comments Concerning Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Grade 5, Our Nation
1 .From Mr.Don Zimmerman
"And all of the references I found to the Mayflower Conflict started with, "In the name of God, amen." So I was naturally curious as to say, for people like me who are very passionate about our faith and who believe that America was founded by a lot of people who believed in God and some who didn't, I thought it was very important and very poignant that this was left off."
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response
The Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, does not include the text of the Mayflower Compact. However, the Grade 5, Our Nation, Read Aloud Anthology, page 22, does include the entire source, starting with "In the Name of God, Amen."
2. From Dr Ricky Floyd Dobbs
"A notable example of the worse kind of heroification is Charles Lindberg, the aviator
who flew across the Atlantic alone in 1927. Also the Nazi sympathizer who received
decorations from the German government, praised Hitler, cavorted with British Fascists
and warned that a Jewish conspiracy sought to embroil the United States in World War
II."
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response
In the Grade 5,Our Nation, Pupil Edition, on page 548, column 2, the first sentence of the last paragraph will now read: A popular and well-known American of the 1920s was Charles Lindberg, an airplane pilot who flew across the Atlantic alone in 1927.
3. From Ms. Margie Raborn
"Last time I tried to address the need for the inclusion in accurate definitions for 'republic' and 'democracy' in each social studies book. And that I believe it's important to have a clear explanation that America is a republic."
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response
In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, on page 325, column 1, the second paragraph explains the difference between a democracy and a republic as follows: The authors wanted to show that the people held the power in the country—that it was a democracy. It is also a democratic republic. A republic is a system of government in which the people choose representatives to make the laws and run the government.
4. From Ms. Margie Raborn
"But I believe it is wrong the repeated and blatant way the company logos are used throughout these books. Since some try to question the SBOE's authority to address the content of book, I'm sure there would be a big outcry if you started to address advertising policy. However, I would appreciate it if the board would request that the publishers refrain from such blatant advertising."
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill textbooks contain no advertising, nor have we sought any for our books. Like all of the major textbook publishers, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill includes brand identification in its textbooks when they have material developed by other content providers. For example, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill proudly identifies material in our books developed by National Geographic. National Geographic is an author responsible for providing maps and some photographs. As an author, we pay them rather than their paying us. The important thing to note is that National Geographic owns the copyright to the material they provide. In our next printing, the copyright notice in each social studies textbook will state that, "The maps in this textbook identified by the National Geographic trademark, were designed and developed by the National Geographic Society's School Publishing Division. Copyright © 2003 National Geographic Society. All right reserved. The name "National Geographic " and the Yellow Border are registered trademarks of the National Geographic Society." The maps are distinctive assets to the textbooks and we believe they provide the highest quality of information to our Texas teachers and students.
5. From Ms.Claudia Gomez
".. .it is important to mention..." More Chicanos served in combat divisions than any other ethnic group. They volunteered for the more hazardous branches and also took part in most of the campaigns of World War II. This information is crucial because the Mexican American participation in the war marks a transition from being underestimated as citizens to a positive sense of self-confidence, which contributed to their future status as Americans."
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response
In the GradeS, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, on page 545, column 2, the last sentence will now read: One of them was David Barkley, the first Hispanic American to be awarded the Medal of Honor. He drowned while returning from behind enemy lines in France. He had mapped enemy weapon sites near the Meuse River. "
In the Grade 5, Our Nation Pupil Edition, on page 565, column 2, paragraph 2, line 3 will now read: They include over 1 million African Americans and between 250,000 and 500,000 Hispanic Americans who served in the armed forces. Hispanic Americans took part in most of the campaigns of the war, and 11 won Congressional medals of honor for bravery beyond the call of duty.
6. Ms. Eleanor Hutcheson
"In the McGraw-Hill Fifth Grade, you will note that Juan Seguin did live past the Alamo
and had a busy life in Texas thereafter."
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Response
In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, on page 394, the caption under the photo at the bottom of the will now read: David Crockett (right) died at the Alamo during the attack led by Santa Anna (left). Juan Seguiin (center), -who left the Alamo to seek help, took part in the battle of San Jacinto.
5. From Eleanor Hutcheson
"Also in that text, there's a mention of Joseph McCarthy negatively. He has since been cleared, due to the release of the Venona decoding Soviet espionage papers documented a vast amounts of material that proved that McCarthy was right. Please correct that error."
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Response
Research indicates that while some historians believe the Venona Project and the 1930s-1940s Kremlin files prove that McCarthy was accurate about communist infiltration, others think that the information gained from the breaking of the Soviet codes is too incomplete to reach conclusions about individuals referred to only by code names. The text about McCarthy is correct. He could not prove his charges. We will add information in the Teacher's Edition, page 568, bottom of the side column, explaining that recent evidence proves that the Soviet Union did indeed have a vast spy ring in the United States. However, the identities of most of the spies in the United States, remain unknown.
7. From Ms. Eleanor Hutcheson
"Now, there is a picture on the front of this book. You'll see there are 10 people here. And one of the 10 people is a picture of a black man.. ..The man is reported to be Crispus Actus, the man that started the Boston Massacre by hitting a soldier on a neck with a large cordial. According to extant material in John Adams' legal papers concerning the trial, he was an Indian from the Narrangansett tribe and possibly could be a mulatto, which meant at that time a mixture of race, white and Indian in that - in the Boston area. If he had been black, it would have been noted in 1770 in the records and even in the engraving by Paul Revere. Isn't it strange that this imposter or myth suddenly appears after 232 years?"
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Response
In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, on page 264, column 2, the next to last paragraph describes the events that are generally agreed upon. Several aspects of the "Boston Massacre " remain in dispute since the witnesses at the trial held afterwards disagreed. What is known is thatAttucks was a fugitive slave. William Brown, to whom Attucks was enslaved, had advertised for his return, describing him as "a mulatto fellow. " Current research says that his father was an African American slave and his mother was all or partly a Nantucket Indian. At the time mixed African and Indian
colonists were referred to as either black or mulatto. However, our text does not define his ethnicity. It identifies him only as 'a former slave.' Not all accounts agree about what was thrown beyond snowball and sticks or whether Attucks actually hit the British soldier. Also, the evidence you quote comes from The Legal Paper of John Adams. Adams, who defended the soldiers at the trial, was citing pro-British eyewitness accounts, not events he himself had observed.
