Published by deborah.woehr on 09 Apr 2007 at 05:50 pm
Schools Using History as a Vehicle for Promoting Political Correctness
Schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils, a Governmentbacked study has revealed. It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial.
There is also resistance to tackling the 11th century Crusades - where Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem - because lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques. The findings have prompted claims that some schools are using history ‘as a vehicle for promoting political correctness’.
Teachers Drop the Holocaust to Avoid Offending Muslims
When I first read this article, I thought this was happening here in the United States. This is happening in the UK. I understand that schools are very diverse now, compared to when I was growing up, but this is going overboard. Last year, my oldest told me that the schools were talking about dropping the civil war and Martin Luther King, as well as the holocaust, from their curriculum for the same reasons as above.
This controversy isn’t exclusive to the Muslims, but other Christian sects as well. It seems that some people out there want to block out pieces of history that don’t fit in with their view of the world and how it should be.
All this makes me grateful for the Internet, documentaries, and all the books growing dust in our libraries. When my son told me what was happening with the schools and how they were planning on dropping the holocaust, I showed him some websites that had photos of the concentration camp victims as well as the camps where they died. We talked some about Adolf Hitler and his hatred of the Jews.
I found myself reading and learning more about why this happened and why the German people (and the rest of the world) allowed this to happen. It was very provocative reading that should be included in every textbook but isn’t. I came to realize, for the second time in my life, how watered down my history books were. This makes me think that political correctness has been around for a long time, only it was much more subtle when I was growing up.
What are your thoughts?
Benjamin Solah on 09 Apr 2007 at 10:10 pm #
I have a Muslim friend who is really offended when stories like this comes up. Within it, it’s promoting a racism of Muslims as uncaring monsters. My Muslim friend is totally horrified by the Holocaust and in no way tries to deny it.
I think it comes from this assumption that a lot of Muslims are horrified by what’s going on in Palestine and disgusted by Israel’s actions, and the media love the confuse this with anti-Semitism despite the fact that many Jews are against the state of Israel.
In my opinion, all this political correctness has nothing to do with trying not to offend other cultures considering how racist politicians in the US and Australia can be. I think it has something to do with trying to divide society and breed more racism as if these people are destroying our ‘way of life,’ when really, these people have a lot in common with us.
(Sorry for the long comment; just my thoughts)
deborah.woehr on 10 Apr 2007 at 3:42 pm #
Don’t be sorry. I asked for your opinion.
You hit the nail on the head. These politicians and the media are doing a great job of spreading hatred and misery. It’s all about power and greed. Unfortunately, we are stuck in the middle.
Marti on 11 Apr 2007 at 3:31 am #
That is horrible. Students should learn facts. I realize that history is usually written by the victors, but there is still factual information that simply exists - events that happened and are clearly documented. It is a disservice to a child to withhold this information from their education.
(Stepping down from soapbox now - lol)
Steve on 11 Apr 2007 at 5:49 am #
As human beings we have the ability, to a certain extent, to change the future: the decisions we make today, and the actions we take today will, inevitably affect the future. So if we censor history today will not future generation grow up ignorant of the mistakes of their predecessors? And then, through that ignorance could they not be condemned to repeat those same mistakes? Mistakes that are forgotten or buried in a hidden history are not something that anyone will ever be able to learn from.
What we cannot do is change history – what has happened, has happened. Unfortunately, we can forget the lessons of history (Hitler etc) if we so choose. Sad really, because it sounds like that is where this kind of mind-set could lead. Do we have to wallow in ignorance to be politically correct? God, I hope not.
When I was at school, in RE they taught us that God created the world in seven days. Then off we went and toddled down to Physics, where they taught us The Big Bang Theory, which expounded that an explosion created the world. We learnt two opposing theories and, being aware of them, had the privilege of being able to make up our own minds. My point is this: can a child not learn one thing in the mosque and another at school and then make up his or her, own mind about how he/she feels about it?
deborah.woehr on 11 Apr 2007 at 9:00 pm #
Marti: Yes, children should learn the facts about history and from multiple viewpoints. Because the history books are often written by the heroes, I agree.
Steve: My mother-in-law’s father had a great saying about education: Education teaches you how to think, not what to think. Sadly, too many people sacrifice their minds to win the popularity contest.
michaelm on 12 Apr 2007 at 4:44 am #
I’m gobsmacked.
This is absolutely ridiculous.
Think about how far reaching this could be.
The party/person responsible for bringing this to light has done a great disservice to the learning children and the world.
I’m stunned and saddened by this.
How does it end? And when?
Thanks for posting this, Deb. Let’s hope it opens a few eyes.
~m
fred charles on 12 Apr 2007 at 8:16 am #
We live in very interesting and scary times. Everyone is so afraid of being offensive. Censoring history is just downright wrong. Who knows what will be censored next.
On the plus side, I recently found out that my blog is not being censored in China…which is pretty sweet
deborah.woehr on 12 Apr 2007 at 2:56 pm #
I hope it opens a few eyes, too, Michael. We really need to take a stand on this political correctness crap. I thought it was exclusive to the United States for a long time. Now, I see it sprouting to other countries.
Fred, we’re letting this group erode our rights and our way of life while the people we are trying not to offend run slipshod over us. That’s cool about China.