No lessons on the Holocaust

[reeeoga]

History can cause people to feel bad? So they won't teach it. So we are doomed to repeat it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/02/nschools02.xml

 

[golfgal]

The first high school I taught in had a semester long course just on the Holocaust that was part of the required history credit for juniors/seniors. It was an eye opener for the kids that is for sure.

 

[SwedishMeatball]

Unbelievable. History is filled with topics that don't leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy. I guess they should just teach about such things as the history of candy making.

 

[rentayenta]

Such a shame. Wonder what the real motivation for this is?

 

[pigletz]

Wow, that's crazy! How do you teach history without the controversial stuff? I teach middle school social studies. Eighth grade is early American History so there's obviously a lot of discussion about slavery. I had another social studies teacher tell me that she skips all information on slavery because it makes the kids upset. She also told me that I should skip it too since I'm not qualified to teach it. I asked her what she meant and she told me that since I'm white and all of my students are African American, I'm not qualified to teach about slavery. It can get a little uncomfortable at times but generally we get the best discussions on those days.

 

[Charade]

Political correctness run amok.

Just like this little news story.

http://www.kxmc.com/getARticle.asp?ArticleId=105907

 

[Alyssa88]

It is already repeating itself, genocide is still happening today.

 

[profdsny]

Oh, for pete sake! Let's not teach them anything then. I've read more than one thing that some of the UK schools are so set on not offending anyone that they won't grade math papers because a child will feel bad if he or she can't add 2 + 2. No wonder that kids in fast food places, or stores for that matter, can't give correct change without the machine telling them how much to return.

 

[basas]

Oh, for pete sake! Let's not teach them anything then. I've read more than one thing that some of the UK schools are so set on not offending anyone that they won't grade math papers because a child will feel bad if he or she can't add 2 + 2. No wonder that kids in fast food places, or stores for that matter, can't give correct change without the machine telling them how much to return.

What was the last thing I remember reading about UK schools...a "3 little pigs play" changed to "3 little puppies" to keep Muslims from being 'offended'! Crazy! I really hope this isn't the norm over there!

It's really a shame when we can't teach 'history' in fear of 'offending' someone or even worse, making them 'feel bad'.

 

[Fitswimmer]

It started with discipline-we couldn't say NO because children should be free to express themselves openly without fear of criticism. Then, we stopped having winners and losers in games because if the children lost, they would feel bad. my friend who teaches 6th grade science can no longer use RED pens to grade papers because RED is ANGRY and the children will feel bad if they see red marks. Now, we can't teach them anything that might "upset" them.

I'm not advocating a return to the paddle and the ruler, but good grief folks! Isn't it becoming obvious to anyone that we're NOT helping our children prepare for life this way?

 

[mandy200587]

It wasn't focused on much in history but there was an english teacher who did such a good study on the Holocaust and the students learned from it.

I see nothing wrong with teaching it, it's a part of history.

 

[basas]

It started with discipline-we couldn't say NO because children should be free to express themselves openly without fear of criticism. Then, we stopped having winners and losers in games because if the children lost, they would feel bad. my friend who teaches 6th grade science can no longer use RED pens to grade papers because RED is ANGRY and the children will feel bad if they see red marks. Now, we can't teach them anything that might "upset" them.

I'm not advocating a return to the paddle and the ruler, but good grief folks! Isn't it becoming obvious to anyone that we're NOT helping our children prepare for life this way?

I don't know...the paddle and the ruler kept kids under control at school (and did anyone really end up scarred for life as a result!?). Schools these days are…completely out of control. The more I hear, the more I’m shocked at what is going on at today’s schools. I really don’t know what the answer is…but I do think we’re heading more and more in the wrong direction. I really do think many education practices 20-30 years ago were much more effective.

 

[cardaway]

It's because of stuff like this that I am surprised the TAR had then visit Auschwitz.

 

[LakeAriel]

It is already repeating itself, genocide is still happening today.

So true..

BTW...the article also mentions not teaching about the crusades or slavery

 

[Poppinsme]

I don't know...the paddle and the ruler kept kids under control at school (and did anyone really end up scarred for life as a result!?). Schools these days are…completely out of control. The more I hear, the more I’m shocked at what is going on at today’s schools. I really don’t know what the answer is…but I do think we’re heading more and more in the wrong direction. I really do think many education practices 20-30 years ago were much more effective.

My DH was scarred for life. DH is Native American and was not allowed to go to public school. They sent them to boarding schools run by the catholics. The children were beaten, starved, locked in closets for 3 days, raped, and worked sometimes to death by the priests and nuns. Do they teach this in the history books? Oh yeah this happened up until the 1960s. He is 63 and still has nightmares about what they did and the scars on his body to prove it.

 

[basas]

My DH was scarred for life. DH is Native American and was not allowed to go to public school. They sent them to boarding schools run by the catholics. The children were beaten, starved, locked in closets for 3 days, raped, and worked sometimes to death by the priests and nuns. Do they teach this in the history books? Oh yeah this happened up until the 1960s. He is 63 and still has nightmares about what they did and the scars on his body to prove it.

I think there is a difference between giving kids a smack, and beating/starving/raping/locking up students (or whatever else the American Indians had to go through as mentioned in your post). Common sense here...

 

[Poppinsme]

I think there is a difference between giving kids a smack, and beating/starving/raping/locking up students (or whatever else the American Indians had to go through as mentioned in your post). Common sense here...

I am pointing out that not everything from the past 50 years was so great education wise. And to say so off handed "What ever else the American Indians had to go through" tells me how little you know of the history of your own country or care. We had our own Holocaust here. And my DH is NOT an American Indian he is a Lakota (that is his tribe). The Europeans named them Indians and he is stuck with that.

 

[basas]

I am pointing out that not everything from the past 50 years was so great education wise. And to say so off handed "What ever else the American Indians had to go through" tells me how little you know of the history of your own country or care. We had our own Holocaust here. And my DH is NOT an American Indian he is a Lakota (that is his tribe). The Europeans named them Indians and he is stuck with that.

Ok...no need to go so defensive. I said I obviously thought that whatever your husband had to go through was unacceptable. Obviously not ‘everything from the past 50 years education wise’ was perfect… We're talking about school discipline and I assumed we were having ‘general conversation’, not talking technical national history. And last I checked, the Lakota were an American Indian tribe. The term combines all the different tribes...again, no need to get all 'offended' (aka: the bad white man thing). I may be German, Polish, or Ukrainian but I still get grouped as a "European" or "white".

 

[cardaway]

And my DH is NOT an American Indian he is a Lakota (that is his tribe). The Europeans named them Indians and he is stuck with that.

You fell for the bait.

Some people honestly make mistakes and others knowingly throw slurs out there hoping people will cry foul so they can go into their inoocent "I just refuse to be PC" garbage. Sadly the real issue with being too PC is clouded by those who want to use it to defend some real racism issues.

 

[basas]

You fell for the bait.

Some people honestly make mistakes and others knowingly throw slurs out there hoping people will cry foul so they can go into their inoocent "I just refuse to be PC" garbage. Sadly the real issue with being too PC is clouded by those who want to use it to defend some real racism issues.

Yeah...ok.

I refuse to use the term "Native American" because anyone born in America is a “Native American". Since when did "Indian" become 'racist' and for what reason exactly? It's still used on the news, as the name of reservations, by Indian tribes themselves, as the government term , and even is included in the name for their national museum opened only 3 years ago. Heck…better stay away from Disney because even they call them “Indians” on several attractions.

<<However, some American Indians have misgivings about the term Native American. Russell Means, a famous American Indian activist, opposes the term Native American because he believes it was imposed by the government without the consent of American Indians.[35] Furthermore, some American Indians question the term Native American because, they argue, it serves to ease the conscience of "white America" with regard to past injustices done to American Indians by effectively eliminating "Indians" from the present.[36] Still others (both Indians and non-Indians) argue that Native American is problematic because "native of" literally means "born in," so any person born in the Americas could be considered "native". However, very often the compound "Native American" will be capitalized in order to differentiate this intended meaning from others. Likewise, "native" (small 'n') can be further qualified by formulations such as "native-born" when the intended meaning is only to indicate place of birth or origin.
A 1996 survey[37] revealed that more American Indians in the United States still preferred American Indian to Native American. Nonetheless, most American Indians are comfortable with Indian, American Indian, and Native American, and the terms are now used interchangeably.[38] The continued usage of the traditional term is reflected in the name chosen for the National Museum of the American Indian, which opened in 2004 in Washington, D.C...>>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States

You know…the race card gets mighty old.

I assume being ‘anti illegal immigration’ is ‘racist’ too, right?