It's impressive to hear about fifth-grader Liam Squires, who noticed a mistake in his class's science textbook and was able to get the publisher to acknowledge it. Squires noticed that the labels on pictures of an igneous rock and a sedimentary rock were switched in his Exploring Science All Around Us textbook. After reporting the mistake to his teacher, Serena Porter, and confirming it was indeed an error, Porter notified her school's instructional supervisor for science, who contacted the textbook's publisher, Five Ponds Press. The publisher ultimately sent Squires a letter thanking him for his attention to detail and for catching the mistake. While it's not uncommon for science textbooks to have errors, it's less common for students to spot them and prompt publishers to rectify them. Squires' sharp-eyed reading is commendable and a reminder of the importance of accuracy in education materials.
Photo Credit: Tamara Gak