导读:自从《爱迪生救妈妈》被爆有违事实之后，语文课文的选材再次成为了人们关注的焦点。有学者呼吁，学生不应迷信教材，而应博览群书。
The People’s Education Press has announced that it will remove the "fake text" about Thomas Edison (1847-1931) from textbooks since the next semester from September.
人民教育出版社已经宣布，从九月份下个学期开始，它将会删除关于托马斯·爱迪生（1847——1931）的“虚假课文”。
According to that text, Edison, as a child, used mirrors to direct light to the operation table during his mother’s appendicitis surgery. Though the story highlights the earlier creativity of Edison, the first appendicitis surgery was performed in 1886, when Edison was 39 years old.
根据这篇课文，作为孩子的爱迪生在他的妈妈做阑尾手术时使用镜子导光至手术台。虽然这个故事突出爱迪生早期的创造力，但是第一次阑尾手术是在1886年做的，当时爱迪生39岁。
Some people said some Chinese textbooks have similar factual errors. For instance, one text describes a father rushing to a school to save students after the 1994 earthquake rocked California. Yet a simple fact check shows the 1994 earthquake occurred at 4:30 am when most of the students were in bed. And after suspecting readers debunk such stories, editors should either correct the mistakes or remove the contents from textbooks.
一些人表示，部分语文课本有着类似的事实错误。例如，一篇文章描述了一位父亲在1994年加利福尼亚地震后冲向学校救学生。然而，一个简单的事实检验显示，1994年地震发生在凌晨4:30，当时大多数学生都在睡觉。 在持怀疑态度的读者揭穿这一故事后，编者应该纠正错误或从教材中删除一些内容。
But a few authorities argue that these are not history textbooks, but books to teach Chinese language and literature to students. As such, they allow room for fictional "embellishments". Such arguments are indefensible, as Edison is a historical figure and biographical materials should be faithful to facts. Authors or editors cannot just make up content with factual loopholes.
但是一些主管部门争论道，这些不是历史教科书，而是教学生汉语和文学的书籍。所以，他们就允许虚构“润色”空间。这种言论是站不住脚的，因为爱迪生是一个历史人物，传记材料应该忠于事实。作者或编辑不能用事实漏洞捏造内容。
Heavy dependence on textbooks in China might cause "intellectual malnutrition" among students. It’s true that editors carefully select these textbooks, but students should also be taught to find additional reading materials to enrich themselves. Educators and families should not put all their developmental eggs in one textbook basket for students. While publishers should address the problems with textbooks, I have higher hope that teachers and parents would scaffold students’ ability to choose additional sources to read. I also plead for more reading, as a thin textbook doesn’t offer much for the developmental needs at any grade level.
在中国，过于依赖教材可能会造成学生的“学术营养不良”。虽然编辑真的应该仔细选择这些教材，但是学生也应该被教会去寻找额外的阅读材料来丰富自己。教育者和家人不应该把自己所有的发展果实都置于教科书这个篮子中。出版商应该解决教科书问题，我更希望老师和家长帮助学生培养选择额外素材的能力。我也呼吁博览群书，因为一本单薄的教科书不能满足各年级的发展需求。
