I hear you. But each school and indeed each individual history teacher gives a slightly different rendition of history. I learned about many positive black achievements growing up, because my teachers were consciously trying to provide a well rounded perspective. You realize there are a lot of black history teachers too right? I’m sorry about your experience, but let’s not generalize as if it represents every single history class ever taught.
Again, how was I cherry picking? The class taught? We now have offering for african-american studies but that’s not incorporated into the main history class which then leaves it to a teacher by teacher basis rather than a standard like European/American history.
I would still argue the majority get the standard based curriculum (which does not include African American history).
I could also argue that you’re cherry picking with your personal experience, especially since I have experience teaching in multiple districts in one of the main textbook states.
Okay, fair enough. Ultimately we live in a world that is still dominated by Europe and America. In order for children to have the best chance of succeeding in this world, it’s necessary for them to have a basic grasp of how things ended up this way. And most of the main characters in that story were of European extraction. That’s the rub of it. It’s not pretty, but it is what it is.
Education is not a purely intellectual pursuit, it’s actually primarily an economic one, now more than ever. I didn’t create this situation, so please don’t go after me for explaining it.
I hear you. But each school and indeed each individual history teacher gives a slightly different rendition of history. I learned about many positive black achievements growing up, because my teachers were consciously trying to provide a well rounded perspective. You realize there are a lot of black history teachers too right? I’m sorry about your experience, but let’s not generalize as if it represents every single history class ever taught.
Again, how was I cherry picking? The class taught? We now have offering for african-american studies but that’s not incorporated into the main history class which then leaves it to a teacher by teacher basis rather than a standard like European/American history.
I would still argue the majority get the standard based curriculum (which does not include African American history).
I could also argue that you’re cherry picking with your personal experience, especially since I have experience teaching in multiple districts in one of the main textbook states.
Okay, fair enough. Ultimately we live in a world that is still dominated by Europe and America. In order for children to have the best chance of succeeding in this world, it’s necessary for them to have a basic grasp of how things ended up this way. And most of the main characters in that story were of European extraction. That’s the rub of it. It’s not pretty, but it is what it is.
Education is not a purely intellectual pursuit, it’s actually primarily an economic one, now more than ever. I didn’t create this situation, so please don’t go after me for explaining it.