Education: Was Robin Just a Hood?

A team of Texan critics take textbooks to task

One day back in 1961, young Jim Gabler came home from high school in Hawkins, Texas, and told his parents that he was bothered by his history textbook. When his father, Mel, read the book, Our Nation's Story, he was more than bothered; he was outraged. In a chapter on the U.S. Constitution, the book puffed up the powers of the Federal Government but minimized states' rights. Recalls Gabler: "It was teaching that Washington has complete dictatorial power."

Though neither Mel, 64, nor his wife...

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