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| Title | Broadside, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1973 |
| Use and Reproduction | No Copyright - United States |
| Date | January 1973 |
| Publisher | National Organization for Women. Houston Chapter |
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| Language | English |
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| Original Item Location | HQ1439 .H68 B75 |
| Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b3767173~S11 |
| Digital Collection | Houston and Texas Feminist and Lesbian Newsletters |
| Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/feminist |
| Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
| Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/special-collections |
| Title | Page 1 |
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| File Name | femin_201109_081a.jpg |
| Transcript | HOW HOUSTON CHAPTER NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN Vol.4, No.l BROADSIDE January 1973 TEXTBOOK COMMITTEE BLASTS HISTORY BOOKS More than a year ago, Janice Law Trecker wrote an article in which she said, "Based on the information in commonly-used history textbooks, one might summarize the history and contributions of the American woman as follows: Women arrived in 1619. They held the Seneca Falls convention in 1848. During the rest of the nineteenth century, they participated in reform movements, chiefly temperance, and were exploited in factories. In 1923 they were given the right to vote. They joined the armed forces for the first time during the second World War and thereafter have enjoyed the good life in America." The only difference in the history texts adopted in Texas on November 10 and those Ms. Trecker criticized is in detail; these new books are spicier. They will tell the reader that women also bobbed their hair, shortened their skirts, started smoking, and learned to drive...busy, busy, busy. The books simply fail to take women seriously. Generally, women are underrepresented and omitted entirely. The Textbook Committee of the TWPC has been lobbying with the State Textbook Committee, the State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education for the past six months in hopes of influencing their selec tion of history texts. Their efforts were successful in that many of the worst were weeded out. More importantly, Dr. Edgar, Commissioner of Education, has stated he is in favor of the Textbook Committee helping to write guidelines for selecting future texts. Although none of the books adopted this year are satisfactory, local school districts must now pick from among them, and local women's groups must influence the selection of the barely acceptable from the totally unacceptable. In Houston, the Harris County Women's Political Caucus and the NOW Education task force are joining in an attempt to get the following books adopted: 1) Benefic or Follett should be chosen as a fifth grade text. 2) Allyn and Bacon's books should be chosen as secondary texts. Plans are being made to appear before textbook committees in 20 school districts in and around Harris County. A training session will be held on January 9 for those interested in working with this effort. Those interested should contact: Kay Whyburn, NOW Education task force coordinator, 667-8556 or Pattie Magee, TWPC Textbook Committee, Galveston, 744-7992. |