Macmillan McGraw-Hill: 02/08/05

Macmillan
McGraw-Hill

Sari Factor
President

2 Penn Plaza
21st Floor
New York, NY 10121-2298
212 904 3108 Tel
212 904 3095 Fax
sari_factor@mcgraw-hill.com

August 5, 2002

Dr. Robert Leos
Attention: Formal Responses - July 2002
Texas Education Agency
Division of Textbook Administration
1701 North Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78701

Dear Dr. Leos:

Enclosed please find Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's formal responses to the Written Comments, Oral Testimony, and to the Texas Public Policy Foundation Report for our Social Studies program. Grades 1-5.

Also included are floppy disks containing these responses. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Sari Factor
President
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Attachments

www.mhschool.com

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's

Formal Response to the
Texas Public Policy Foundation's Comments

July 17, 2002

Macmillan/McGraw Hill's Response

No reference is made to Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Social Studies, Grades 1-5, in the Texas Public Policy Foundation Report.

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's
Formal Response to Oral Comments
July 17, 2002

Comments Concerning Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Grade 4, Texas Our Texas

1. From Dr. Jose Limon

"For example, in Macmillan/McGraw's fourth grade text called Texas, Our Texas, informs our children, on page 120, in the highlighted sections of that page, that: In 1826 Mexico agreed, quote, to let people move to Texas hoping that hard working settlers would help Texas grow strong, close quote. Thereby permitting, quote, again Stephen F. Austin to bring the first 300 settlers to Texas, close quote."

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Response

In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Pupil Edition, the caption under the photo for "THE FATHER OF TEXAS," on page 120, will now read: Stephen F. Austin brings the first three hundred settlers from the United States to Texas."

Also on page 120, the caption under the photo for "COLONISTS ARRIVE" will now read: Mexico agrees to let colonists from the United States move to Texas hoping that they would help Texas grow strong."

2. From Dr. Jose Limon

"This text improves somewhat, on page 139, in its account of the events of the Texas War for Independence in 1836 where we learn that two Spanish surname individuals, Juan Seguin and Gregorio Esparza, fought at the Alamo and San Jacinto respectively."

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response

In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Teacher's Edition, on page 140, we will add biographical information about Juan Seguin and Gregorio Esparza

3. From Dr. Jose Limon

"What this book might have further done is to note that most of the pro Texas men fighting — who died in the Alamo were those with Spanish surnames were the only ones who claimed Texas as their native soil."

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response

In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Pupil Edition, the last sentence, on page 138, will now read: "He and a group of Tejano and United States volunteers defended the Alamo against about 5,000 Mexican soldiers."

In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Pupil Edition, column 2, the last sentence in column 2, on page 140, will now read: "Historians believe that between 189 and 250 Texans, both Tejanos and new arrivals, died at the Alamo along with 600 to 800 Mexican soldiers."

4. Dr. Maria Louisa Garza:

"The acknowledgment of the American heroes, Mexican-American heroes is absent in fourth-grade textbooks that I analyzed, and there were four of them."

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response

In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Teacher's Edition, on page 140, we will add biographical information about Juan Seguin and Gregorio Esparza

5. Esther Read: "I am going to refer right now to the chapter on the Alamo in the Fourth Grade Harcourt textbook, pages 199, Lesson 3, which teaches Texas history to our citizens, although the same omission is obvious in other fourth-grade social studies textbooks. And I am speaking of the omission of the names of the defenders of the Alamo. The names of the defenders of the Alamo are not in those textbooks."

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response (Though this comment was made in reference to the Harcourt, Grade 4 textbook, we would like to respond to this comment.) In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Pupil Edition, the last sentence, on page 138, will now read: "He and a group of Tejano and United States volunteers defended the Alamo against about 5,000 Mexican soldiers."

In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Teacher's Edition, on page 140, we will add biographical information about Juan Seguin and Gregorio Esparza

Comments Concerning Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Grade 5, Our Nation

1. From Nora Sanchez

"In the textbook I studied, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Our Nation, I came across the history of what is the United States today. The textbook mentions pertinent information about early native civilizations but lacks detail on the importance of figures such as 'Doña Marina.'"

"Important revolutionary leaders like Poncho Villa and Francisco Madero were not mentioned in the text. And in regards to women's strikes during the 1930s, neither the strike of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union nor the 1934 Fink Cigar Company's strike were mentioned either."

"Among those risk-taking women were Betty Freidan, Rosa Parks, and Emma Tenayuka."

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response

In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, we will add, on page 131, that many Mexicans honor Dona Marina as the mother of Mexican civilization because some believe that her son was the first child born of Spanish and Aztec parents, making him the first Mexican.

In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, we will add, on page 619, information about Madero and Pancho Villa.

In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, we will add information to Chapter 18, Lesson 4, about Hispanic contributions during World War II.

In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, there is information, on page 579, about Rosa Parks. There is information, on page 592, about Betty Freidan.

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's
Formal Response to Written Comments
July 17, 2002

Comments Concerning Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Grade 4, Texas Our Texas

1. From Dr. Jose Limon

For example, in Macmillan/McGraw fourth grade text called Texas, Our Texas, informs our children, on p. 120, that in 1826 Mexico agreed "to let people move to Texas" thus permitting "Stephen F. Austin to bring the first three hundred settlers to Texas." From these statements we can only conclude that (a) Texas existed in 1826 and (b) that there were no people in what is now Texas which is to say, no settlers before 1826.

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Response

Also on page 120, the caption under the photo for "COLONISTS ARRIVE" will now read: Mexico agrees to let colonists from the United States move to Texas hoping that they would help Texas grow strong."

2. From Dr. Jose Limon

"This text improves somewhat, on p. 139, in its account of the events of the Texas War for Independence in 1836 where we learn that two Spanish-surname individuals, Juan Seguin and Gregorio Esparza, fought at the Alamo and San Jacinto respectively, for Texas Independence. This book provides extensive biographical data for individuals such as William B. Travis and Davy Crockett, General Santana's prisoner of war, but we are told almost nothing about Sequin and Esparza."

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response

In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Teacher's Edition, on page 140, we will add biographical information about Juan Seguin and Gregorio Esparza

3. From Dr. Jose Limon

"This continuing omission is especially troubling when we now have so much new scholarly research, especially on the Mexican-origin population of Texas, a great deal of this research conducted at our two major Texas university systems, my own, but also the Texas A&M University System which has become a real leader in this effort. In the bright light of this new research, I ask you not to continue to keep the children in the dark.

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response

4. From Esther Read

"I am referring to the chapter on the Alamo in the 4^th grade Harcourt textbook which teaches Texas history to our citizens, although the same omission is obvious in other 4^thgrade social studies textbooks. I am speaking of the omission of the names of the Defenders of the Alamo. I, too, was taught about the Alamo with whatever text was in use at that time. In fact one of books, which supplemented our history text was this cartoon book, which was published in 1943.

"The shock I experienced when I grew up and visited the Alamo was that there were Hispanic names on the list of the Defenders of the Alamo. I thought to myself, "Why hadn't anyone ever told us this?" Up to the time I read those names, the Battle of the Alamo had always seemed an "Us against Them" situation, and I was on the wrong side. Finally, this revelation – that there were Hispanics who fought in the Alamo-made some of us feel like we were fully enfranchised Texans.

"Juan Seguin entered the Alamo with the other Texan military men. Later he was sent out as a courier. His men died along with the other Defenders of the Alamo. (After the fall of the Alamo, Sequin organized another unit that fought at the Battle of San Jacinto." The omission in the 4^th grade social studies textbooks of the names of the Defenders of the Alamo, which include Juan Seguin's men, misleads the children of Texas into believing that there were no persons of Mexican heritage who were for freedom and liberty from dictators.

"All the names for the Defenders of the Alamo should be listed in 4^th grade social studies books, so that the students in the state of Texas can know that Hispanics also fought against a dictator and for freedom from Mexico. Let us not continue the "sin of omission."

In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Teacher's Edition, on page 140, we will add biographical information about Juan Seguin and Gregorio Esparza.

5. From Anthony Quiroz

"So I encourage you to seek out books that tell a thick story that involves the historical actions of all Americans including Mexican Americans. Mexican Americans have been marginalized and oppressed throughout our history in this country, and that marginalization is reflected in and reinforced by widely held negative stereotypes.

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response

In the Grade 4, Texas, Our Texas, Teacher's Edition, on page 140, we will add biographical information about Juan Seguin and Gregorio Esparza

In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, we will add information to Cahpter 18, Lesson 4, about Hhispanic contributions during World War II.

Comments Concerning Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Grade 5, Our Nation

1. From Nora Sanchez

"In the textbook I studied, Macmillan and McGraw-Hill's Our Nation. I came across the history of what is the United States today. The textbook mentions pertinent information about early native civilizations but lacks detail on the importance of figures such as Dona Marina. Though the text mentions that she was responsible for recruiting native warriors to fight along Cortez's side, it fails to mention her importance as the mother of the Mexican civilization, which is of extreme value since it informs the students of their lineage. Important revolutionary leaders like Pancho Villa and Francisco Madero were not mentioned in the text, and in regards to women strikes during the 1930's, neither the 1933 strike of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union nor the 1934 Finck Cigar Company strike were mentioned either. The collaborative effort that women of all ethnicities endured during the hardships of the early to mid 1900's should be stressed in our students' history books. Among those risk-taking women were Betty Friedan, Rosa Parks, and Emma Tenayuka, who at the young age of 22 organized the Pecan Sheller's Strike in 1938. It is essential that students understand the importance of Mexican American involvement along with other minority groups to achieve the essence of what the United States stands for."

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Response

In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, we will add, on page 619, information about Francisco Madero and Francisco Pancho Villa.

In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, we will add information to Chapter 18, Lesson 4, about Hispanic contributions during World War II.

In the Grade 5, Our Nation, Pupil Edition, there is information, on page 579, about Rosa Parks. There is information, on page 592, about Betty Freidan.