When Mrs. Cheney Roars Booklets Disappear

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Lynne Cheney main complaint was over the fact that it mentioned National Standards for History. She has long opposed this.

The booklet, "Helping Your Child Learn History," was updated in June by the Education Department. The 73 page booklet is designed for parents of children from the preschool age to fifth grade. It offers advice on many topics including taking children to museums and historical sites.

The booklet included several references to the National Standards for History, developed in the mid-1990's by UCLA. The Standards were created by scholars and educators to help school officials to design better history courses.

At the time that the standards were developed Lynne Cheney led a campaign opposing it saying that it paid to little attention to historical figures and not enough positive attention to American achievements. At one point during her campaign she blasted the program as "politicized history."

UCLA revised much of the standards at that time but not enough for the likes of Cheney and her staff.

"Helping Your Child Learn History" is part of a series of booklets on subjects such as science, geography, reading and math to encourage parents to be involved with their children's education. More than 9 million copies of the various booklets have been distributed to the nation's parents.

Lynne Cheney should not have a say so in the federal government. Yet when the latest edition of the history booklet's new edition had references to the National Standards for History she had her staff talk to the Education Department.

Only 30,000 copies had been it out of the office and into parents hands before the rest were placed in the paper shredder.

The Times were able to get a copy of the booklet that had not been destroyed.

The following are parts that have been removed from the re-revised booklet that parents will be receiving;

For example, a clause in the foreword was removed that suggested President Bush supported instruction based on teaching standards that had been developed for various academic subjects.

Also missing from the department's Internet version is a suggestion that parents ask whether their children's curriculum incorporates the National Standards for History. An Internet address for the standards in a list of more than a dozen websites for parents was also removed, as well as a footnote elsewhere in the text that shows where to find more information about the history standards.

When The Times initially approached the Education Department to inquire about the booklets, the department issued a statement saying it had taken the unusual action because of "mistakes, including typos and incomplete information."

The new version mentions Cheney's wife several times. She is quoted as a "noted author and wife of the vice president." The two children's books on history she wrote made it into this version. It is also noted in the acknowledgments that her office helped with the guide. The guide cost $110,360 to print.