--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you realize that your history books…" description: "\"When you realize that your history books and your science books and your literature books are not the result of experts sitting down and making it a wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/diane-ravitch-11245_book_when-you-realize-that-your-history-books_2311703.jpg" --- # When you realize that your history books and your science… ![“When you realize that your history books and your science books and your literature books are not the result of experts sitting down and making it a wise decision, but of political pressure groups coming to the state textbook hearings, this is wrong.” quote by Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/diane-ravitch-11245_book_when-you-realize-that-your-history-books_2311703.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/diane-ravitch-11245_book_when-you-realize-that-your-history-books_2311703.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/diane-ravitch-11245_book_when-you-realize-that-your-history-books_2311703.jpg) > “When you realize that your history books and your science books and your literature books are not the result of experts sitting down and making it a wise decision, but of political pressure groups coming to the state textbook hearings, this is wrong.” [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The content of textbooks is shaped by political lobbying rather than expert consensus, leading to biased education. **In simple terms:** Textbooks are influenced by politics, not just expertise. Key Takeaway Demand transparency and diverse expertise in curriculum design. Themes education politics curriculum bias authority Mood critical concerned Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - school boards - policy debates - parental advocacy - academic research Key Concepts lobbying expertise knowledge production Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure balanced curricula? - Who decides what knowledge is essential? A Different Perspective Political pressure can also reflect legitimate community concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Decision Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-political-436675/) [Down and](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down-and/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Experts Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts-sitting-5493201/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Hearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearing/) [Hearings Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearings-wrong-5493200/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-pressure-578622/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) [Pressure groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure-groups/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-books/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Sitting down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-down/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Textbook Hearings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/textbook-hearings-5493199/) [Textbooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/textbooks/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-decision/) ## Related quotes > [First-world science is one science among many; by claiming to be more it ceases to be an instrument of research and turns into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/first-world-science-is-one-science-among-many-by-claiming-to-be-more/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [ \[T\]here are, at bottom, basically two ways to order social affairs, Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state - what we can call political… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/t-here-are-at-bottom-basically-two-ways-to-order-social-affairs/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [“Like I told you, I’m not interested. 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This is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-gold-standard-makes-the-money-s-purchasing-power-independent-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Statism, which forces all of us within its orbit, is nothing but a political system of organized plunder, managed by every conceivable type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/statism-which-forces-all-of-us-within-its-orbit-is-nothing-but-a/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [The legislature, like the executive, has ceased to be even the creature of the people: it is the creature of pressure groups, and most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-legislature-like-the-executive-has-ceased-to-be-even-the-creature/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The people in the popular group say there is no peer pressure because they are at the top of the food chain. Really what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-greenfield/the-people-in-the-popular-group-say-there-is-no-peer-pressure-because/) [Lauren Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-greenfield/) > [ The Conspiracy Theory of Society... \[is\] a typical result of the secularization of a religious superstition. The belief in the Homeric gods whose conspiracies… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-conspiracy-theory-of-society-is-a-typical-result-of-the/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [A small group is powerful in matters relating to a particular industry, because then it is normally the only organized force, but it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mancur-olson/a-small-group-is-powerful-in-matters-relating-to-a-particular/) [Mancur Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mancur-olson/) > [Offering 'comprehensive' reform usually means years of arguing and horse-trading among pressure groups to get anything done. By the time all the special interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-davis-hanson/offering-comprehensive-reform-usually-means-years-of-arguing-and/) [Victor Davis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-davis-hanson/) > [Governments, political parties, pressure groups, and the bureaucrats of the educational hierarchy think they can avoid the inevitable consequences of unsuitable measures by boycotting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/governments-political-parties-pressure-groups-and-the-bureaucrats-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) ## More by Diane Ravitch > [“Our schools will not improve if we continue to focus only on reading and mathematics while ignoring the other studies that are essential elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ravitch/our-schools-will-not-improve-if-we-continue-to-focus-only-on-reading/) [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) > [We will continue to chase rainbows unless we recognize that they are rainbows and there is no pot of gold at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ravitch/we-will-continue-to-chase-rainbows-unless-we-recognize-that-they-are/) [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) > [When you succeed at keeping almost everyone in school, you must figure out ways to educate everyone you keep in school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ravitch/when-you-succeed-at-keeping-almost-everyone-in-school-you-must-figure/) [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) > [“The history of education is a seemingly endless parade of “new ideas” that are actually old ideas renamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ravitch/the-history-of-education-is-a-seemingly-endless-parade-of-new-ideas/) [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) > [We should totally ban for-profit charters. 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