McGraw-Hill Addresses Textbook Controversy

Under the title "Patterns of Immigration," a McGraw-Hill textbook explains that Africans came to America as "workers." In another section, the book says Europeans came as "indentured servants." A mother's video describing her son's experience and the book went viral. She shows pages from the book that list consultants, advisors, and reviewers who seem to have approved the book.  

The publisher issued a statement. 

McGraw-Hill President and CEO David Levin called the caption a "mistake" and wrote in a message to employees, "We are deeply sorry that the caption was written this way. While the book was reviewed by many people inside and outside the company, and was made available for public review, no one raised concerns about the caption. Yet, clearly, something went wrong, and we must and will do better."

Discussion Starters: 

• What's your view of the "mistake"?
• How could the text get by so many reviewers? 
• Analyze McGraw-Hill's two statements: the Facebook post and the CEO's quotation. What do you find effective, and what could be improved?