By Amanda Dyer
Still not satisfied with the treatment of religions in her son's seventh-grade textbook, Korina Self aired her concerns Tuesday night at Lodi Unified's board meeting.
Backed by nearly a dozen family members and friends, Self delivered a prepared statement asking the board to remove the book "History Alive!: The Medieval World and Beyond" from classrooms.
"To know that a textbook was selected and put into use by our district that is blatantly one-sided, whitewashed, and that our children are being spoon-fed this information with sugar on top ... I feel is negligent and intolerable," Self said.
Self stopped to gather herself several times during her statement, in which she said the book's description of the Crusades and its definition of several Islamic terms, including "Jihad" and "Shari'ah" are incorrect.
Korina Self and her husband Jim decided to review their 12-year-old son's textbook late last month after hearing that he was learning about the Prophet Muhammad.
After reading the book, which was published by the Teachers' Curriculum Institute, the Selfs took issue with what they feel is an undue amount of attention to the teachings of Islam, historical inaccuracies and a lack of information on other religions.
Initially, they asked that their son, who attended Houston Elementary School in Acampo, not participate in the school's history lessons.
Some Lodi Unified parents give a standing ovation to Korina Self, left, Tuesday night after she expressed her concerns over a history book. (Jerry R. Tyson/News-Sentinel)The Selfs eventually had to pull their son out of school to escape ridicule on campus.
He is now on independent study at home.
Since first reading the book, the Selfs have worked to inform parents about the book's content and have began the district's formal complaint process, through which parents, employees and other members of the public can challenge instructional materials.
The Selfs are also collecting signatures from parents who disapprove of the textbook. Though several petitions are in circulation, Korina Self said one petition she received had 15 signatures on it.
Mark Calonico, administrative director of curriculum at Lodi Unified, said he didn't know of any other parent who has contacted the district to complain about the textbook.
Calonico said he's not sure he can convince the Selfs and parents with similar concerns that their beliefs about the materials are inaccurate, but he doesn't think that's the point.
"I think they are certainly entitled to their opinion," Calonico said.
His concern is that the Selfs and parents like them get their issues addressed as quickly and as thoroughly as possible, he said.
"That's our responsibility as custodians of the district," Calonico said.
Teachers' Curriculum Institute• TCI was founded in 1989 by a small group of social studies teachers.
• The company now publishes social studies materials to by used by students from kindergarten to 12th-grade.
• TCI's first program in 1991 consisted of a white binder with photocopied lesson plans and other, now outdated instructional materials.
• The company now uses interactive student notebooks, CDs and CD-ROMs to engage students.
— TCI Web site.
What people said"We never imagined that what we found in this textbook would lead me here tonight."
— Korina Self, parent
"Open up your children's textbooks. Read what they're learning. Decide for yourself if this is OK."
— Korina Self, parent
"I believe passionately that to understand the people and their culture, you must understand their religion."
— Bonnie Cassel, Lodi Unified board member
"I want you to know, as the chairman of the board, you were heard. You were very clearly heard."
— Ken Davis, Lodi Unified board president
Although Calonico said he has not gone through the textbook's bibliography to ensure that it is historically accurate, he feels that the process used to select the textbook was transparent and that the textbook is consistent with state standards.
Bonnie Cassel, board member and former Lodi Unified social studies teacher, said that in her day, teachers were discouraged to discuss religion at all.
"In my mind, that stifled just about everything that we wanted to convey to the students," Cassel said.
Cassel said she struggled in her years as a U.S. history teacher to teach about the United States' founders without touching on the religion that was so important to them.
Cassel urged Korina Self to get a copy of the state's social studies framework — a source of information teachers have to guide them through the teaching of religion.
Korina Self said she will continue to move the issue forward through the district's process.
Ultimately, she said, she would like to get the issue on the board's agenda.
"We're in the baby stages of getting it done," Korina Self said.
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