If you’re an actress or a coed just trying to do a man-size job, a yes-man who turns a deaf ear to some sob sister, an heiress aboard her yacht, or a bookworm enjoying a boy’s night out, Diane Ravitch’s internationally acclaimed The Language Police has bad news for you: Erase those words from your vocabulary!

Textbook publishers and state education agencies have sought to root out racist, sexist, and elitist language in classroom and library materials. But according to Diane Ravitch, a leading historian of education, what began with the best of intentions has veered toward bizarre extremes. At a time when we celebrate and encourage diversity, young readers are fed bowdlerized texts, devoid of the references that give these works their meaning and vitality. With forceful arguments and sensible solutions for rescuing American education from the pressure groups that have made classrooms bland and uninspiring, The Language Police offers a powerful corrective to a cultural scandal.

The range of research and quotations is impressive covering a wide swath of famous authors present and past whose works have been banned or quietly bowdlerized or edited by testing companies and publishers without comment. Ravitch quotes an indignant Ray Bradbury who became aware of bowdlerized versions of his book Fahrenheit 451.I like the lists of censored books and the CENSORSHIP on the LEFT chapter particularly the quote on Mark Twain. Ravitch never wrote anything truer: "...Teachers and students alike must learn to grapple with this novel WHICH THEY CANNOT DO UNLESS THEY READ IT." Ravitch quotes Orwell " Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?" Has it every occurred to anyone that insipid dumbed down texts play a role in school house boredom and low achievement? Ravitch's well-researched APPENDIX of BANNED WORDS and PHRASES was great (but chilling). "Sportsmanship" and "lumberjack" are out -VERBOTEN- in favor of the gender neutral and extremely weak and uncommunicative "SPORTING CONDUCT" and "WOOD-CUTTER". As a language teacher I am concerned when words that are to found in HUNDREDS of classic literary tales and thousands if not millions of English-language books are not taught thus handicapping a generation of readers who will simply lack the vocabulary to read independently. If you think about on it, it just makes no sense and hurts the education of kids.
At the end of the book the sampler of classic literature compiled with Rodney Atkinson a well-respected teacher specialist in children's literature- was very well done not just another bloomin' list but commentaries to help remind us of the book or poem we may have forgotten or encourage us to read it or suggest others read these classics of cultural literacy a la E.D. Hirsch.

The bottom line is the LANGUAGE POLICE by DIANE RAVITCH is a good read, entertaining, informative, and worthy as a reference and a guide for the citizen, the reformer, parents and educators alike. Censored books mean bad books that suppress the truth. Untruthful, garbled text books make for bad scholars and bad teachers. Why should anyone care? Bored and low-achieving students could affect the survival and success of American democracy as well as our political and economic stability.

18 of 18 found the following review helpful:


Part of the Problem in our Schools!  Aug 23, 2003 By Jason M. Waskiewiczx
It would be very simplistic to blame all of the problems in America's schools on the textbooks. However, it is realistic to say that the textbooks are a big part of the problem.

Many teachers rely heavily on the textbook to create their course. This is due either to lack of ability or to state law. Certain states (California and Texas among them) mandate the adoption of specific books or, at least, limit the options.

Good books are necessary in such an environment. We need books that the intelligent student can learn from and which will engage the less able student. Unfortunately, our textbooks are almost universally poor.

There are many reasons, and Ravitch has limited her discussion to the writing style of the texts. She focuses mainly on History and Literature.

In order to avoid offending groups at both ends of the political spectrum, textbooks have become heavily sanitized mush. Offensive words or concepts are eliminated.

The right wing conspiracy (of which I'm a member) has complained for years about left wing censorship while happily engaging in the same sort of activity.

The left wing mandates multiculturalism to ridiculous extremes. There must be gender and racial balance in illustrations, stories, authors, and illustrators. At the same time, the right wing demands stories that show children always obeying their parents, no evolution, no sorcery, and other such things.

Taken together, the flavor and interest of textbooks is gone. My students tell me how boring the books are to read, and they're right. I have taken the extreme step of writing my own textbooks because there are so few decent texts out there.

Ravitch has identified and articulated what I had felt instinctively. Furthermore, she has provided the research and the facts to back herself up. This book provides evidence of the problem. It is for this that I rate it five stars. No one can argue with it. The facts are plain.

We can argue over whether it is a bad thing. She claims it is, and I agree, but that is an opinion. That it is happening is a fact.

15 of 15 found the following review helpful:


A tale so strange, it could only happen in America...  Jul 01, 2003 By Richard
This book is a goldmine of information about the words, phrases, and topics that are taboo in today's textbooks for fear of insulting radical feminists, racial minorities, the elderly, or handicapped people. While the book is only about 150 pages long, there is a wealth of information within those pages. On top of that, this book includes a lengthy list of words (not necessarily ones that were mentioned in the regular text) of off-limits subjects and a little information on why.

While the book is short, and while it does seem to sound a little repetitive, it is still a fascinating book that anybody with a child in school should read.

Diane Ravitch covers censorship in literature and history books in chapters dedicated to the subjects. While she touches on censorship in math and science, they take a backseat to the deplorable censorship in literature and history books.

This is a fascinating book that will make you shake your head in disbelief on many occasions. A very good book!

19 of 20 found the following review helpful:


Stop in the name of the law!  Jul 23, 2003 By Cathy Magruder
Diane Ravitch gives an account of the "regime of censorship that has quietly spread throughout educational publishing in response to pressure groups from both the left and right." Readers will discover the power of "bias and sensitivity reviewers", and will be disturbed to find historical accuracy is routinely sacrificed for political correctness. Ravitch attempts to provide a balanced account of censorship by giving examples from the extreme right and extreme left. Unlike bias guidelines, which are often secretive, this text is well referenced. Readers will find a valuable bonus in the two appendices. In the first appendix Ravitch provides a glossary of banned words, usages, stereotypes, and topics. While some may find the glossary somewhat amusing (examples range from the ridiculous to the sublime, including a section of foods to avoid in textbooks), the lists also elicit deep concerns as one becomes aware of the degree and extent of censorship so readily practiced. Parents and educators alike will find the second appendix to be particularly helpful as it provides a compilation of leading classics in literature, broken down by grade level, ranging from grade three to ten. While she somewhat belabors her points, the points are worth making. Having read her book, like Ravitch, "I could not shake the feeling that something important and dangerous was happening in American education that few people knew about."

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