In the past few months, my TikTok "For You" page has taught me more valuable history than my ten years in the American public school system. Neil Postman commented on how American schools are becoming entertainment locations rather than learning institutions. Many of the main failures of the education system are in history. Therefore, this post will use a historical event to demonstrate the education system's failure and why it must be changed.
One of the American schooling's failures is lying to students about history. The lie is this: the benefits and losses of history are balanced. The education system does not omit the evils of history, and it does not assert false claims. Instead, the education system acknowledges evil for a short time. Afterward, the history curriculum quickly changes topics. The genocide of Native Americans is a prime example of this.
Up until middle school, I had a screwed sense of history. I believed that Christopher Columbus discovered America and met "Indians." Later, the Europeans and the "Indians" had Thanksgiving. The Europeans did not kill anyone. Next, George Washington created the United States. This baffling view of history sounds comical and absurd. However, if someone reads the comments on social media, it is clear that many people never learned history. Preferentially, perhaps, many people were not taught history. Former students were taught that "Indians" were killed by Europeans. But the true extent of the evils is overpowered by an emphasis on "progress." History books do not share how indigenous peoples were burned alive or beheaded if they did not meet European standards. Of course, we should not demonize all history and perpetuate hate. When we do not acknowledge parts of history because they are uncomfortable, however, we are gilding history. A gilded history only undermines attempts at human progress.
This method of teaching history has caught up with us. We failed to emphasize the benefits and losses of historical events. Currently, members of American society believe that racism ended when Martin Luther King Junior gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Others believe that people can never live together in harmony. Meanwhile, some citizens oppose equality. These are the consequences of avoiding uncomfortable topics. We, as the next generation, cannot allow for this to happen any longer. At this crossroads, how can we surpass our predecessors' failures? In what ways can we reform the history curriculum and teach true history?
Not all of the American public school system is like this. I took Mrs. Garvin's A.P. World History class last year and she did a really good job of clearing up my uneducated sense of history. She informed us of all of the terrible acts of mankind, whether it be the sad confrontation between Christopher Columbus and the natives, or Joseph Stalin’s mass murder of millions of Ukranians. She made sure we were well educated on all aspects of history without leaving out any misconceptions. However, it is pretty bad that I did not hear the truth about Christopher Columbus’ murder of the natives until I was in her class. It is possible I would have never learned about it. I do agree with you that the American public school system (or at least a good portion of it) does a poor job of teaching history. It is also possible that students do a poor job of learning it. The only way to fix this is to force all students in high school to take a world history class that will truthfully teach every aspect of human history from multiple points of view. If they try and deny true history even after it was taught to them, then we’ve got a bigger problem on our hands.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Even the news now is very biased and censored in favor of the rich white people who have lots of control over the country. Not only do schools not teach the horrible things many people did, but they also don't teach the amazing things minorities have accomplished. I believe it's too deep in time to teach children certain things as lots of history has been wiped out and changed over time. Many of these evils do not even seem human. It's nothing new to hear how people have changed history over time. The daughters of the confederation worked hard to teach teach hate and spread fake news through out schools to glorify the confederation. The best we can do now to to make sure we teach children the truth that has not been completely changed and wiped out.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that history needs to become more multifaceted in America. Throughout time the victors write the history of what happened, creating a one sided perspective that has now lead to the burial of so much needed knowledge. We need to talk about and accept the uncomfortable, and wrong things we've committed throughout history to be able to truly learn from it. Such as how in Berlin, and now other major cities as well, you will find Stolperstein, or a small brass plate on the floor that has a names on it. They are memorials of holocaust victims, to honor everyone who was wrongfully killed. We need to teach future generations of the mistakes we've made and how we can honor the victims of those mistakes. As well as show the amazing accomplishments of everyone throughout history. We must teach the good, the bad, and everything in between.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with this statement because the education in America is very Eurocentric meaning that it is biased or more inclined to teaching the European or White side of history rather than the many sides history tends to take. Our history books tend to show the side of history that helps or pushes the idea of White saviors; the idea that they are the only ones that can save or help in international or intranational problems. Though we see the “good” they have achieved, our history books often forget the many times they have destroyed or eliminated entire cultures, wiped out hundreds of thousands of people and enslaved millions for over 200 years. Our books don’t even bother showing the other side of this perspective, further proving the point that what is being taught to us is very tainted with the European or White perspective. Something has got to change, not in just the curriculum but the way we show and teach history in classrooms. We must be more ambiguous and not see everything as black and white, because these conflicts most likely have more than just two sides. Hopefully this time of change will come very soon and arrive before the next generation comes because teaching them the full story of our past is essential to a more educated and more open-minded future.
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