Textbook Committee Debate

Nationwide Textbook Committees Are a Necessity

If we don't oversee what schools use to teach our children, then we don't care what our children learn. Currently there are only twenty-two states that have established programs that determine how textbooks are selected for use in schools. Education is the most valuable asset that we give to our children, so why shouldn't we insist on committees reviewing textbooks prior to school districts purchasing them? Without a nationwide reform on how we select our school books there will always be inconsistencies in what our children learn.

As a member of the U.S. military and a parent I have found that from state to state there are too many variables in what our children are taught from grade to grade. Being transferred from North Carolina to Texas is a perfect example of inconsistencies in educational reform and the need for textbook committees. Can you believe that my son's fourth grade book in North Carolina is the same textbook that was issued in the fifth grade in Texas? These major differences and discrepancies from state to state are telling of the need for a nationwide standard on school book selection.

The major argument against selection committees is the process becomes subjective due to personal beliefs, religion, and political affiliation. With a nationwide standard on how we select our textbooks we would also put into practice a criterion on how committee members are chosen. Our children are the future of this great nation and are deserving of the absolute best. Implementation of a standard for a national textbook committee would be as stringent as the selection process for Justices of the Supreme Court. These same members would serve limited terms to ensure there would be a changing of viewpoints with the changing times.

The nationwide cost effectiveness would be remarkable to all taxpayers. The cost of buying