Ed Week writes about a new study that, as the textbox above highlights, finds that science textbooks don’t always give an accurate picture of how success is achieved in science (see Few Science Textbooks Show How New Discoveries Are Really Made).

Of course, science textbooks are not alone in telling inaccurate stories emphasizing the role of one person in achieving major breakthroughs.

Many years ago I discussed this very thing in “Idolizing Just One Person Undermines The Struggle.”

It’s one of our major jobs as teachers to point out the roles of struggle and mutual support in these stories.  If anything, I find it makes those stories more interesting and inspirational to students, not less….