Venezuelan textbooks anger many

parents
By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 01.26.15
Word Count 678

In this Dec. 11, 2014, photo, public school students draw after class in Caracas, Venezuela. As children head back to
school after the winter break, many Venezuelans remain outraged over texts that treat the founder of a deeply divisive
socialist revolution with the sort of reverence U.S. textbooks reserve for George Washington. Photo: AP/Fernando Llano

CARACAS, Venezuela Students in Venezuela study math by guring out the benets
when the government takes over farms from landowners. English classes practice saying
where the late President Hugo Chavez was born. Social studies lessons explain why the
elderly should be thankful to him.
Messages praising the government in Venezuela's schoolbooks have caused trouble in
this country. Parents recently burned textbooks in the streets in front of some schools.
The people of Venezuela have became divided about how their government has run the
country. Some support the government Chavez created, while others do not.

Exercises In Funny Math

Chavez, who often criticized the U.S. government, became president of Venezuela in 1998.
He turned Venezuela into a socialist country. In a socialist economy, the government often
sets prices for things and controls how they are bought and sold. When Chavez was
president, his government took over many businesses.

Chavez was accused of shutting down news media that criticized him, and of attacking his
opponents. He died in 2013 from cancer, just after winning re-election. His vice president
took over and has continued many of his practices.
Children are now back in school after the winter break. But many Venezuelans are still
angry about their schoolbooks. They complain the books talk about Chavez the same way
U.S. schoolbooks treat George Washington.
Math problems calculate how farming has improved thanks to the government takeover of
farm land. Other problems ask how much land the government still has to take from private
owners. Exercises ask how much shoppers save at stores run by the government.
Students learning English have to answer the question: "Where was Hugo Chavez born?"
Hector Cuevas was shocked when his son brought home his sixth-grade books. He said
the books are changing the country's history and replacing it with the government's
version. They are brainwashing children, said Cuevas, an information technology worker.

Lessons And Real-Life Examples

Defenders say the books introduced in 2011 include history that is left out of grade school
education. And they add that the books also tie lessons to real-life examples in their
socialist country.
The minister of education defended the books last fall. In an interview, he said the books
are not perfect, so people should point out errors and the government can correct them.
Opponents of the textbooks say errors are not their biggest problem. They say the problem
is the books attack the government's opponents and spread hype in support of
government programs.
An early edition of the social studies book shows a photo of an elderly person writing,
"Thanks, Chavez." It asks students to explain why. Another book stops an explanation of
fractions to praise a government food program, which it says was developed by the
government to make sure that the poor can eat.
While all students receive the books, they are used more often in schools in poor
neighborhoods where the books are often the only choice teachers have.

Dreams Of Old Books

One of those schools is Consuelo Navas Tovar, a high school at the edge of one of the
large slums in Venezuela's capital, Caracas. There, students dressed in navy-blue
uniforms are crammed into grimy desks. They sit in a classroom with bare walls, studying
their English textbooks.
The lesson has students discuss a government agency known by its initials. One student
has to say: "It's a project of FUNDABIT!" and the student's partner replies: "That is
excellent!"

Tomas Guardia, a math professor at the Central University of Venezuela, has spent months
recording basic errors in math books. One book denes a square as a shape with four
sides. But that could be a rectangle, too.
Cuevas, the father worried about his son, often pulls out his father's old math textbook to
help him. He dreams about textbooks that show his less-sunny vision of modern
Venezuela.
He said the books always use exercises like adding up groceries, but in Venezuela getting
food from government supermarkets can take awhile. A real textbook would add up how
many hours were spent in line to buy meat and sugar.

Quiz
1

Select the paragraph from the section "Dreams Of Old Books" that describes one way some
parents are pushing back against the new textbooks.

Which sentence from the section "Lessons And Real-Life Examples" BEST explains the
viewpoint of opponents of the textbooks?

(A)

Defenders say the books introduced in 2011 include history that is left out of
grade school education.

(B)

In an interview, he said the books are not perfect, so people should point out
errors and the government can correct them.

(C)

And they add that the books also tie lessons to real-life examples in their
socialist country.

(D)

They say the problem is the books attack the government's opponents and
spread hype in support of government programs.

Which sentence from the article BEST explains the terms "socialist" and "socialism"?
(A)

In a socialist economy, the government often sets prices for things and
controls how they are bought and sold.

(B)

And they add that the books also tie lessons to real-life examples in their
socialist country.

(C)

He turned Venezuela into a socialist country.

(D)

Social studies lessons explain why the elderly should be thankful to him.

Read the sentence from the article.

Chavez was accused of shutting down news media that criticized him,
and of attacking his opponents.
Which word from the sentence above gives a hint to the meaning of "media"?
(A)

accused

(B)

news

(C)

criticized

(D)

attacking