tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post402915364569177605..comments2024-03-22T01:00:38.320-04:00Comments on I.N.K.: THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: Part TwoLinda Salzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17217322360480267856noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-39646925426544590222011-07-12T10:15:06.633-04:002011-07-12T10:15:06.633-04:00That you express even a slight hint of trepidation...That you express even a slight hint of trepidation ("Now don't shoot me, but…") in bringing up this eminently fair and important concept just goes to show how sad and stupid things can get in this regard, when "political correctness" gets taken too far. Thank you for eloquently pointing out what SHOULD be obvious. -- PLPLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14615918982616632405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-10508657600871944682011-07-12T10:12:47.786-04:002011-07-12T10:12:47.786-04:00"As for printing falsehoods, a fairly recent ..."As for printing falsehoods, a fairly recent picture book biography claimed that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation declared "all slaves free." We grownups know that it freed only slaves in the Confederacy, effectively freeing NO slaves. But there it was, misinforming our children."<br /><br /> <b>Is this more a question of semantics than actual misinformation? I just looked up the EP online, and gave it a quick read. Unless I missed something (always a possibility), it does seem to declare all slaves free. <br /><br /> Of course, "as we grownups know", declaring a thing to be a certain way does not, in and of itself, make that thing so. It takes subsequent actions to accomplish that… and in this case, those actions (including a couple more years of a bloody Civil War) were, in fact, taken. But the "declaring" part was easier, and more quickly done. I'm not saying it was easy… just easier. -- PL</b>PLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14615918982616632405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-46381951288892532292011-07-08T12:46:23.368-04:002011-07-08T12:46:23.368-04:00This is an important topic to keep before us. Here...This is an important topic to keep before us. Here's the scoop from the classroom. Kids need balanced, honest history, not lies or lessons in fake morality. They know when stuff is too good to be true and that's why they don't like it. It can be trusted. So, authors need to tell it like it is or was.Myra Zarnowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08384106059616982063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-75206121269607585902011-07-07T11:53:19.300-04:002011-07-07T11:53:19.300-04:00I missed this the first time around. Great post--s...I missed this the first time around. Great post--so glad you ran it again, Roz!Marfe Ferguson Delanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07586102699193346265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-53672444017534529432009-06-02T23:14:31.066-04:002009-06-02T23:14:31.066-04:00Encellent post, Roz. And I know your books reflec...Encellent post, Roz. And I know your books reflect your determination to to be even-handed with everybody. (who else would have thought to write a book about the TWO Georges!) -wendieOWendie Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05720582855824814088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-17093768141154874602009-06-02T18:05:07.785-04:002009-06-02T18:05:07.785-04:00Thanks to everyone for these fascinating responses...Thanks to everyone for these fascinating responses. This is a subject I've often thought about as I try to write about history in the most accurate way possible, but I've never really discussed the pitfalls with anyone. I think it's so important that our readers can see everything with a clear eye, and I'm excited that other people have tried to present all sides of a story too.Rosalyn Schanzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11605814379256096903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-88431282653559789872009-06-02T17:12:15.547-04:002009-06-02T17:12:15.547-04:00Marie Curie was widowed at age 39. She had a scand...Marie Curie was widowed at age 39. She had a scandalous affair with Paul Langevin, a married (but separated) physicist in her early forties. When her daughter Eve wrote her initial biography this part of Marie's life was omitted. One of my most recent sources (adult biography) included every last tabloid article. I had to decide whether or not to include a discussion of "L'affair" in my biography for DK Books. Today's kids know about this sort of thing so I put it in, but without most of the sordid tabloid stuff that sold newspapers back then and now. The scandal almost cost Curie the Nobel Prize and she had to defend herself to the committee by reminding them that her personal life had nothing to do with her science and that a man would not be questioned. I also included that part. Times change and Marie Curie's little fling only made me and I hope my readers, see her as a full human being. Personally I wanted to say, "You go, girl!"Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07214356318088069618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-55892099289195129662009-06-02T13:04:38.148-04:002009-06-02T13:04:38.148-04:00Roz:
Loved your post!
I agree that we've got a lon...Roz:<br />Loved your post!<br />I agree that we've got a long way to go before kids gets a balanced sense of history and biography. As for printing falsehoods, a fairly recent picture book biography claimed that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation declared "all slaves free." We grownups know that it freed only slaves in the Confederacy, effectively freeing NO slaves. But there it was, misinforming our children. I wrote to the publishers for an explanation, and got a reply saying the book expressed the sense of Lincoln and the times, or some such waffle.<br />As for hot topics, we now know all about the Kennedy brothers' promiscuity, but virtually nothing about the same propensity of Martin Luther King. Who would dare to go there? (Not me.)<br />And who else but Sherman Alexie would dare to write a book like The Abolsutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian? I'm so glad he did!Gretchen Woelflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03718143439736242190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-33142914712050977152009-06-02T11:41:32.788-04:002009-06-02T11:41:32.788-04:00Excellent post - thank you! Much to ponder...Excellent post - thank you! Much to ponder...Eva Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921035998297319995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-91291048451775684112009-06-02T10:01:11.813-04:002009-06-02T10:01:11.813-04:00Good post--and you are brave to bring this up. I a...Good post--and you are brave to bring this up. I agree with you. I have edited many books on American Indians, and actually worked with representatives from current tribes as consultants. One in particular told me I should never refer to them as "warlike". It was admittedly a bad word choice (that got edited out) and could have benefited from better description, but the fact is, that particular tribe DID fight a lot of wars against other tribes, over land, hunting grounds, etc. I think we underestimate what kids can understand, especially when children's cartoons and movies address some of these topics with fictional characters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com