Colorado students walk out of class to protest right-wing revision of history

[Person Man]

FWIW, I never studied anything beyond World War II in any elementary, middle or high school history class I ever took. There was never enough time in the school year to get further than that. I distinctly remember that in my 8th grade American history class, we started talking about World War I the last day of class before the final and our teacher said there wouldn't be anything about WWI on the final for that reason. He also claimed we were the worst class he ever had and that our counterproductive, off-topic behavior was the reason we only made it up to 1915-ish.

Unfortunately, this is a huge problem pretty much everywhere. As a crappy solution, Tennessee and Mississippi (maybe other states too, I don't know that much about every state's curriculum) do only through 1877 in 8th grade and then only do 1877-Present in high school US History. It's not much better.

I am personally a great fan of chronology, but  history education doesn't have to be chronological. Often you can start with current affairs - like when you take Islamic terrorism or Islamophobia in Europe and work your way backwards to the crusades and look at how Christians and Muslims have interacted and the resulting conflicts. I think that approachn is preferable on a lot of issues when you are teaching teenagers, generally you get more motivated students (the ones that can be motivated ...) if you start with current affairs and try to put them into historical perspective. US history is well suite for that approach.

Historical knowledge is generally pretty useless if you don't use it to think about how the world became what it is today. So critical thinking is at the core of studying history.

History is best written in sequences, but if it is to show causes one often must treat some events as practically irrelevant to others. The Crusades have nothing  to do with World War II, but they have much to do with Western-Islamic relations. The Russian Orthodox Church might be practically irrelevant to the history of the Soviet Union, but once the Soviet Union came to an end it becomes extremely relevant to Russia.

.........

Perhaps most significant to the walk-out is that it is an act of conscience against ideologues who have their own plans to turn schools into propaganda machines.  The Hard Right has its agenda for schools -- ensuring that those who attend school are fully convinced that capitalism at its most inequitable is the best of all possible worlds.

It's a power grab to "fundamentally transform" our nation and its processes based on the mandate they thought the earned last year.

[Joe Republic]

I can't even imagine what it must be like to be an African American in the US

no kidding?

[New_Conservative]

This is funny. Schools do teach the bad stuff...

[Grumpier Than Thou]

My school recently held a sit-in protest in our hallway protesting rule changes, so this was really cool to see. Glad kids across the country are exercising their right to protest. Really proud of it.

[memphis]

FWIW, I never studied anything beyond World War II in any elementary, middle or high school history class I ever took. There was never enough time in the school year to get further than that. I distinctly remember that in my 8th grade American history class, we started talking about World War I the last day of class before the final and our teacher said there wouldn't be anything about WWI on the final for that reason. He also claimed we were the worst class he ever had and that our counterproductive, off-topic behavior was the reason we only made it up to 1915-ish.

Unfortunately, this is a huge problem pretty much everywhere. As a crappy solution, Tennessee and Mississippi (maybe other states too, I don't know that much about every state's curriculum) do only through 1877 in 8th grade and then only do 1877-Present in high school US History. It's not much better.

We did that in middle school (up to the Civil War in 7th grade, post-Civil War in 8th grade, not sure about high school courses).

That's not how we do it here. 7th grade does World Geography, which is fairly unrelated to US History. There's a 3 year gap between junior high US History before 1877 and (usually) 11th grade US History 1877-present. It's a complete mess.

[DC Al Fine]

I question whether its worth it to do a lot of history with middle schoolers. The age of the kids and nature of the teaching doesn't lend itself accurate teaching. High school seems like a much better time to get into history and civics.

Most of my middle school history was pretty shrill and simplistic. It was either "OMG teh Anglos were EVUL to the Natives/French!!!!" or "The Fathers of Confederation were SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME". High school provided an opportunity for a much more nuanced view.

I'd much rather cut out history in middle school and then do a solid in depth history course in high school than the mess memphis just described.

[Indy Texas]

I question whether its worth it to do a lot of history with middle schoolers. The age of the kids and nature of the teaching doesn't lend itself accurate teaching. High school seems like a much better time to get into history and civics.

Most of my middle school history was pretty shrill and simplistic. It was either "OMG teh Anglos were EVUL to the Natives/French!!!!" or "The Fathers of Confederation were SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME". High school provided an opportunity for a much more nuanced view.

I'd much rather cut out history in middle school and then do a solid in depth history course in high school than the mess memphis just described.

Well, let's be honest, how engaging and stimulating could Canadian history possibly be?

[nolesfan2011]

Love this, now if only they would mass boycott and walkout of compulsory education in the first place, youth rights now! stop treating minors like second class citizens

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I question whether its worth it to do a lot of history with middle schoolers. The age of the kids and nature of the teaching doesn't lend itself accurate teaching. High school seems like a much better time to get into history and civics.

Most of my middle school history was pretty shrill and simplistic. It was either "OMG teh Anglos were EVUL to the Natives/French!!!!" or "The Fathers of Confederation were SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME". High school provided an opportunity for a much more nuanced view.

I'd much rather cut out history in middle school and then do a solid in depth history course in high school than the mess memphis just described.

History should be different for middle schoolers, not just left out.  If you want to get away from the simplistic moralism, teach it in a different way.  Connect it to archaeology and the history of science and technology. I think it is a great time to do ancient history.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

As one of the more Conservative members here, I strongly believe that students should learn both the good and bad in our history, especially the evil things our government has done.

[pbrower2a]

I question whether its worth it to do a lot of history with middle schoolers. The age of the kids and nature of the teaching doesn't lend itself accurate teaching. High school seems like a much better time to get into history and civics.

Most of my middle school history was pretty shrill and simplistic. It was either "OMG teh Anglos were EVUL to the Natives/French!!!!" or "The Fathers of Confederation were SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME". High school provided an opportunity for a much more nuanced view.

I'd much rather cut out history in middle school and then do a solid in depth history course in high school than the mess memphis just described.

History should be different for middle schoolers, not just left out.  If you want to get away from the simplistic moralism, teach it in a different way.  Connect it to archaeology and the history of science and technology. I think it is a great time to do ancient history.

It makes sense. The further back in time one goes the less bias creeps into teaching. 

[Indy Texas]

I question whether its worth it to do a lot of history with middle schoolers. The age of the kids and nature of the teaching doesn't lend itself accurate teaching. High school seems like a much better time to get into history and civics.

Most of my middle school history was pretty shrill and simplistic. It was either "OMG teh Anglos were EVUL to the Natives/French!!!!" or "The Fathers of Confederation were SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME". High school provided an opportunity for a much more nuanced view.

I'd much rather cut out history in middle school and then do a solid in depth history course in high school than the mess memphis just described.

History should be different for middle schoolers, not just left out.  If you want to get away from the simplistic moralism, teach it in a different way.  Connect it to archaeology and the history of science and technology. I think it is a great time to do ancient history.

It makes sense. The further back in time one goes the less bias creeps into teaching. 

Not in this country for obvious reasons. But I can see Greeks being very divided about some aspects of teaching the history of ancient Greece and by extension ancient Egypt or the legacy of Alexander the Great or something. The Chinese probably have a lot of arguments about how to teach ancient Chinese civilization.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Looks like we're in for another 50 years of White Guilt. I thought it would be done and dusted by the time the 21st century arrived.

Yes, because 400+ years of colonialism, racism, discrimination and their social and economic aftereffects should have been completely erased the minute the the last piece of civil rights legislation was passed in the 1960s.

Racism ended when BHO was elected POTUS.

In other news,  people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are the biggest racists in America, no contest.

It's hilarious how your first point is great sarcasm and obviously not true, and then you turn around with an epic fail below it.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Looks like we're in for another 50 years of White Guilt. I thought it would be done and dusted by the time the 21st century arrived.

Yes, because 400+ years of colonialism, racism, discrimination and their social and economic aftereffects should have been completely erased the minute the the last piece of civil rights legislation was passed in the 1960s.

Racism ended when BHO was elected POTUS.

In other news,  people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are the biggest racists in America, no contest.

It's hilarious how your first point is great sarcasm and obviously not true, and then you turn around with an epic fail below it.

Both points were sarcasm...

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I question whether its worth it to do a lot of history with middle schoolers. The age of the kids and nature of the teaching doesn't lend itself accurate teaching. High school seems like a much better time to get into history and civics.

Most of my middle school history was pretty shrill and simplistic. It was either "OMG teh Anglos were EVUL to the Natives/French!!!!" or "The Fathers of Confederation were SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME". High school provided an opportunity for a much more nuanced view.

I'd much rather cut out history in middle school and then do a solid in depth history course in high school than the mess memphis just described.

History should be different for middle schoolers, not just left out.  If you want to get away from the simplistic moralism, teach it in a different way.  Connect it to archaeology and the history of science and technology. I think it is a great time to do ancient history.

It makes sense. The further back in time one goes the less bias creeps into teaching. 

I'm not sure about that but it tends to be less politically charged anyway.  Of course you could run into problems if you point out that humans have been around for more than a few thousand years. But then, I think even most evangelicals don't pay that close attention to Ussher's chronology so in most parts of the country you should be safe if you don't venture back before the mid-to-late Upper Paleolithic.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Looks like we're in for another 50 years of White Guilt. I thought it would be done and dusted by the time the 21st century arrived.

Yes, because 400+ years of colonialism, racism, discrimination and their social and economic aftereffects should have been completely erased the minute the the last piece of civil rights legislation was passed in the 1960s.

Racism ended when BHO was elected POTUS.

In other news,  people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are the biggest racists in America, no contest.

It's hilarious how your first point is great sarcasm and obviously not true, and then you turn around with an epic fail below it.

Both points were sarcasm...

I know you meant both to be, and I good laugh out of the first one!  But the second one was less impressive.  Without constant racial tension, some of which is legitimate but a hefty portion is manufactured, Al Sharpton would be even less relevant than he is now.

[AggregateDemand]

I know you meant both to be, and I good laugh out of the first one!  But the second one was less impressive.  Without constant racial tension, some of which is legitimate but a hefty portion is manufactured, Al Sharpton would be even less relevant than he is now.

Entire political parties would be irrelevant without racial tension, which is why some people are dedicated to making sure it never disappears.

[All Along The Watchtower]

I know you meant both to be, and I good laugh out of the first one!  But the second one was less impressive.  Without constant racial tension, some of which is legitimate but a hefty portion is manufactured, Al Sharpton would be even less relevant than he is now.

Entire political parties would be irrelevant without racial tension, which is why some people are dedicated to making sure it never disappears.

Case in point: the Republican Party.