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Sounds like a perfectly reasonable assignment to think about and better understand an important part of history.
We ought not ignore uncomfortable parts of history.
I very much agree, that we ought not ignore uncomfortable parts of history. Yet...
Quote:
Originally Posted by distortedlogic
Steve I tend to agree. I think I would have structured this a bit differently. Perhaps "choose" was not a good word, as no one would ever choose to be a slave, and I doubt anyone, especially a kid would choose to be a slave owner today
Well stated, and I agree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by distortedlogic
Maybe the reaction to this is sort of a symptom of a society that has come to look for ways to feel victimized first, rather than a culture that truly wants to learn and challenge and reach common ground.
While I know that you're speaking generally, I can only speak to my reaction:
During WWII, Japanese Americans were interned, for no other reason other than the the fact that they were of Japanese heritage.
It was wrong that America did this to Americans of Japanese heritage. However, to plan a lesson that would have students pretend that they were "jailers," while others would assume the role of being "captives," is nuts.
When I was in high school, I had a family of Japanese immigrants who lived close to my home. Imagine if they were force fed this material...this could do nothing but cause division between people. How is this productive?
Quite frankly, I am long weary of the division between peoples, and the nonsense that's being fomented. And it's being fomented by people of ALL ideologies and persuasions.
I remember attending an evangelical church in the early 2000's, and for a couple of people, the bogeyman at the time were people of the Muslim faith. Meanwhile, one of my classmates who died in the World Trade Center was Muslim; I remember him well, and I thought well of him.
Left/Right; people of faith/unbelievers; etc., everyone's got their bogeyman, and I am weary of it.
I side with Dr King, in appealing to the morality of the American people; take the high road; acknowledge and respect the inherent dignity that each person possesses; teach history to ensure that injustice and prejudice are quelled, but do it in a "melting pot" fashion that draws people together.
(Yours was a very good post BTW)
Quote:
Originally Posted by furmanpals
Give the kids an assignment to watch "12 Years a Slave", or "Harriet", or "Free State of Jones", or "The Birth of a Nation" if they want to learn about the evils of slavery. After watching the movies, have them write an essay on what they saw and how it applies to present day America. Our children need to know the truth about this great evil thrust upon many of God's children. They also need to know the Civil War was fought over the issue of slavery. They need to know racism still exists today.
I am going to look up those movies...thanks for referencing them.
I do not agree that the War was fought over the issue of slavery; the majority of soldiers who participated in the War were peasant farmers, and peasant farmers didn't have the wherewithal to purchase, and maintain, slaves, therefore I am not sold over the idea that the War was primarily fought over the issue of slavery. Why would the majority of soldiers die, get maimed, and suffer economic hardship, to defend the practice of slavery - when they couldn't afford to buy and keep slaves? That reasoning doesn't make sense to me.
I do very much agree that racism exists today, and I do agree that we need to eradicate it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beckycat
I think it maybe OK to teach children about it but this assignment may not be appropriate.
Agreed
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrandonCoombes
If it helps, the majority of kids that go to Bradley live in Forest Acres, not Columbia. Though it still doesn’t explain it, it does explain the lack of empathy as most who live there are not black. But I do agree the teacher could have worded it better. What’s even more startling to me is that the lesson plan itself was approved. I’ve been a teachers aid in college, administration approved all lesson plans in Richland 1 and 2, so how did this skate by? It’s not just the educator to blame.
Agreed
Quote:
Originally Posted by vistatiger
Shouldn't this be in the City Data-forum for Columbia? I come here for the Greenville area news and happenings.
Good question; was this lesson taught at the behest of the school, or is this curriculum at the State level (hence my posting it on the Greenville forum).
It's very hard watching one human being treat another cruelly, but if anyone wants to educate themselves by watching the movies that Furman suggested, I found this:
I very much agree, that we ought not ignore uncomfortable parts of history. Yet...
Well stated, and I agree.
While I know that you're speaking generally, I can only speak to my reaction:
During WWII, Japanese Americans were interned, for no other reason other than the the fact that they were of Japanese heritage.
It was wrong that America did this to Americans of Japanese heritage. However, to plan a lesson that would have students pretend that they were "jailers," while others would assume the role of being "captives," is nuts.
When I was in high school, I had a family of Japanese immigrants who lived close to my home. Imagine if they were force fed this material...this could do nothing but cause division between people. How is this productive?
Quite frankly, I am long weary of the division between peoples, and the nonsense that's being fomented. And it's being fomented by people of ALL ideologies and persuasions.
I remember attending an evangelical church in the early 2000's, and for a couple of people, the bogeyman at the time were people of the Muslim faith. Meanwhile, one of my classmates who died in the World Trade Center was Muslim; I remember him well, and I thought well of him.
Left/Right; people of faith/unbelievers; etc., everyone's got their bogeyman, and I am weary of it.
I side with Dr King, in appealing to the morality of the American people; take the high road; acknowledge and respect the inherent dignity that each person possesses; teach history to ensure that injustice and prejudice are quelled, but do it in a "melting pot" fashion that draws people together.
(Yours was a very good post BTW)
I am going to look up those movies...thanks for referencing them.
I do not agree that the War was fought over the issue of slavery; the majority of soldiers who participated in the War were peasant farmers, and peasant farmers didn't have the wherewithal to purchase, and maintain, slaves, therefore I am not sold over the idea that the War was primarily fought over the issue of slavery. Why would the majority of soldiers die, get maimed, and suffer economic hardship, to defend the practice of slavery - when they couldn't afford to buy and keep slaves? That reasoning doesn't make sense to me.
I do very much agree that racism exists today, and I do agree that we need to eradicate it.
Agreed
Agreed
Good question; was this lesson taught at the behest of the school, or is this curriculum at the State level (hence my posting it on the Greenville forum).
Neither. This was some rogue teacher who thought there was nothing wrong with it. Simple as that. This happened once, the teacher found it online somewhere and thought, "Oh neat! The kids would like this!"
If the root of the objection here is the wording chosen when telling the kids to pick a writing assignment from one or the other perspective then we're really reaching at straws for something to be offended by.
Maybe it could have been worded better but that's not statewide news.
Neither. This was some rogue teacher who thought there was nothing wrong with it. Simple as that. This happened once, the teacher found it online somewhere and thought, "Oh neat! The kids would like this!"
If the root of the objection here is the wording chosen when telling the kids to pick a writing assignment from one or the other perspective then we're really reaching at straws for something to be offended by.
The root of the objection is that children are being instructed in a way that causes division.
Eradicating racial prejudice is a worthwhile and noble objective; pitting one group against another is unacceptable, and division among Americans now spans across society, among all groups: Right against Left; White against Black; Heterosexual against Homosexual; Christian against Muslim, Consumptionists against Conservationists, etc.
"The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities" - Theodore Roosevelt
In the 21st Century, we've replaced "nationalities" with "ideologies," although the end result might very well be the same.
***
The instructor came up with an imbecilic assignment, although through our discussion in this thread, it's become apparent that it was a localized issue, as opposed to it being Statewide.
Having an accurate understanding of history will indeed divide people from others who don't.
I don't know how to reply to you; I believe that you can educate people without causing division.
Using my Dad as an example, he grew up in a melting pot. Because English was not spoken in his home, and because many of his neighbors were Greek, before he became of school age, he understood some of the Greek language better than he understood English.
My point: you can eliminate racism, and eradicate ignorance, simply by getting to know those around you; education doesn't necessarily need to cause division.
Back to my childhood example of the Japanese family that lived on our street: in the 1980's, there was prejudice against the Japanese; the Japanese were buying up a lot of assets in NYC, and they were killing the American electronics industry. And while my family didn't hold prejudice against people of Japanese descent, many did.
Thankfully, my family got to know the Japanese family as people; they kept a nice home, were very nice and kind, and they were good neighbors.
That's all I needed to know. And the melting pot approach that I described, tends to eradicate racism by building a sense of familiarity and community, as opposed to waging division.
I very much agree, that we ought not ignore uncomfortable parts of history. Yet...
Well stated, and I agree.
While I know that you're speaking generally, I can only speak to my reaction:
During WWII, Japanese Americans were interned, for no other reason other than the the fact that they were of Japanese heritage.
It was wrong that America did this to Americans of Japanese heritage. However, to plan a lesson that would have students pretend that they were "jailers," while others would assume the role of being "captives," is nuts.
When I was in high school, I had a family of Japanese immigrants who lived close to my home. Imagine if they were force fed this material...this could do nothing but cause division between people. How is this productive?
Quite frankly, I am long weary of the division between peoples, and the nonsense that's being fomented. And it's being fomented by people of ALL ideologies and persuasions.
I remember attending an evangelical church in the early 2000's, and for a couple of people, the bogeyman at the time were people of the Muslim faith. Meanwhile, one of my classmates who died in the World Trade Center was Muslim; I remember him well, and I thought well of him.
Left/Right; people of faith/unbelievers; etc., everyone's got their bogeyman, and I am weary of it.
I side with Dr King, in appealing to the morality of the American people; take the high road; acknowledge and respect the inherent dignity that each person possesses; teach history to ensure that injustice and prejudice are quelled, but do it in a "melting pot" fashion that draws people together.
(Yours was a very good post BTW)
I am going to look up those movies...thanks for referencing them.
I do not agree that the War was fought over the issue of slavery; the majority of soldiers who participated in the War were peasant farmers, and peasant farmers didn't have the wherewithal to purchase, and maintain, slaves, therefore I am not sold over the idea that the War was primarily fought over the issue of slavery. Why would the majority of soldiers die, get maimed, and suffer economic hardship, to defend the practice of slavery - when they couldn't afford to buy and keep slaves? That reasoning doesn't make sense to me.
I do very much agree that racism exists today, and I do agree that we need to eradicate it.
Agreed
Agreed
Good question; was this lesson taught at the behest of the school, or is this curriculum at the State level (hence my posting it on the Greenville forum).
"I do not agree that the War was fought over the issue of slavery; the majority of soldiers who participated in the War were peasant farmers, and peasant farmers didn't have the wherewithal to purchase, and maintain, slaves, therefore I am not sold over the idea that the War was primarily fought over the issue of slavery. Why would the majority of soldiers die, get maimed, and suffer economic hardship, to defend the practice of slavery - when they couldn't afford to buy and keep slaves? That reasoning doesn't make sense to me."
My thought on your good points comes in the form of a question. Would there have been a Civil War if there had not been slavery in the South? And before someone says it was fought over the issue of states rights, my comeback is, yes, for the southern states right to continue to own slaves.
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I think it maybe OK to teach children about it but this assignment may not be appropriate.
