Contrary to David Olson's claim that authority is conveyed by textbook language, it is mainly the school context of textbooks that establishes their authority--and that of teachers--in students' minds. The curriculum is not in the text but in the social rules reflected by school organization and teachers' authority. (JW)

Although Luke, de Castell, and Luke rightly notice the role of social structure in the authority of the textbook, the pattern of social authority outside the school is primarily reflected in the text itself. The task for writers, then, is to clarify the grounds for their authoritative claims. (JM)