Rwanda/Genocide - Rwandan scholars caution teaching of genocide history in schools

Trainee — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 06:49:19 +0100

Source: Hirondelle News; 26 April 2010

Kigali, April 23, 2010 (FH) - Sixteen years after the 1994 genocide which left over 800,000 people dead, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, Rwandans have now started contemplating about teaching genocide history to the young generation in primary and secondary schools. Such initiative has already been introduced at the university level.

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Japan and Korea thumb a poisoned ledger

Trainee — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:50:00 +0100

Source: Asia Times; April 9, 2010

In the summer of 2007, 34 Japanese and Korean scholars were selected to participate in the second round of the Japan-South Korea joint history project. Since the release of their report in late March, it is becoming clear that very little progress has been made - many of the same issues from the first round of this project which commenced in 2001 remain unresolved. The first round report was issued in 2005.

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Is Russia finally ditching its revisionist history on Katyn?

Trainee — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:11:44 +0100

Source: The Washington Post; April 6, 2020

In this era of commerce and trade, it often happens that countries that might once have gone to war play out their antagonisms through other means. The immigration debate plays this role in Mexican American relations. For a time, the trade dispute over soft wood lumber (yes, really) fulfilled this function in Canadian American relations: At stake were different attitudes toward the role of government in industry, Canada's sensitivity to AmRead More...

Studying details of Shoah has no educational value

Trainee — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:31:51 +0100

Source: Haaretz; March 31, 2010

Most high schools in the country teach less than the recommended seven to nine hours of history per week, and the history that is taught focuses too much on the details of the Holocaust and not enough on the War of Independence, according to one of Israel's most prominent historians.

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Textbook cases

Trainee — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 07:16:00 +0100

Source: Los Angeles Times; March 29, 2010

As Texas shows, school book content must not be left to interest groups. California, take note.Oh, those disingenuous Texans. Pretending to bring ideological balance to history textbooks when what they're really doing is weighting the books so heavily with conservative mores, you'd expect the state's backpack-laden school children to list to the right.
If the revisions proposed by the conservative faction of the Texas Board of Education are adoRead More...

In Search of Our History: The Texas curriculum debate reveals our flawed mindset toward history

Trainee — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:33:15 +0100

Source: The Harvard Crimson; March 25, 2010

In framing the American mindset toward history, historian Richard Hofstadter wrote that we as a people prefer "a spirit of sentimental appreciation rather than of critical analysis." In other words, under a veil of blind nostalgia, Americans quickly become attached to a particular narrative as the one correct interpretation of a murky past. Challenges to this worldview, then, are often met with the most vitriolic of reactions, as Read More...

SBOE members clash over racial balance in history

Trainee — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:50:47 +0100

Source: Chron; March 16, 2010

AUSTIN — The State Board of Education's Hispanic and African-American members clashed with its Anglo majority for hours Thursday over how to present history to the state's 4.7 million public school children. Much of the conflict centered on the racial balance of the historical figures to be included in textbooks starting in the 2011-2012 school year. Tempers boiled over when sex or religion were added to the mix. Members grew increasingly distrauRead More...

Standardize education nationally

Trainee — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:02:48 +0100

Source: The Rebel Yell; March 16, 2010

Defining requirements would improve quality, reduce bias in teaching. When I was growing up, it always seemed to me that teachers and textbooks were an infallible source of knowledge. Textbooks, dry and authoritative, weren’t even meant to be read straight through, but consulted for pearls of wisdom that were faithfully jotted down verbatim to earn yet another check-plus. Perhaps that unyielding gullibility is what has made curriculum Read More...

Social studies curriculum up for debate. Board of Education's decision will be far-reaching.

Trainee — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:11:52 +0100

Source: The Associated Press; March 16th, 2010

AUSTIN - The politically shifting State Board of Education opened discussion of new social studies curriculum standards Wednesday with a plea that the Christian "heritage from which our nation was founded" be reflected in the new standards. The board, long led by social conservatives who have advocated for ideas such as teaching Texas children more about the weaknesses of evolutionary theory, has worked on, and squabbled about, the socRead More...

Fox News tries to clarify erroneous reports about Texas social studies curriculum debate

Trainee — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:10:56 +0100

Source: Dallas News; March 12, 2010

AUSTIN – After getting ripped by the Texas Education Agency, Fox News on Thursday sought to clarify some of its reports on the state's social studies curriculum debate.
While not apologizing for the reports, Steve Doocy of the morning show Fox & Friends said the network had been "trying to make it simpler" for viewers to understand the process by reporting that the State Board of Education was reviewing new textbooks.

Click here Read More...

Texas board again debates minority representation in curriculum

Trainee — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:18:23 +0100

Source: Star-Telegram, March 12th 2010

The Texas State Board of Education took back up its revision of social studies curriculum standards Thursday morning and almost right away, the issue of minority representation bubbled into a lively debate. In a process that has gained national attention, the board is making amendments to a proposal to update the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for social studies. They could take a first vote on the proposal Friday. A final vote is expected iRead More...

History instruction plan sparks concerns

Trainee — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:22:26 +0100

A group on the social networking Web site Facebook with the name “History Did Not Begin in 1877” had more than 4,500 fans late Friday afternoon.
Most likely, that title makes sense only to people who have followed the controversy surrounding an examination of how American history is taught in the state’s public schools.

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What's missing in the U. S. History debate

Trainee — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:12:15 +0100

We have posted several articles on the current controversy about the social studies curriculum in North Carolina. This article is the most recent and contains links to others. They can all be found in our School News section. On Friday (2-19-10) the North Carolina Public School Forum weighed in with an editorial comment that we feel compels us to respond to. First, we have a high regard for the Public School Forum. They have done much to improve public schools in this state, not the least of Read More...

Textbook Diplomacy, EUROCLIO on the BBC World Service

Patrick Barker — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:48:24 +0100

Source: EUROCLIO on the BBC World Service, February 3rd, 2010
On february 3rd, the BBC world service, with over 30 million global listeners, focused the disputed role of history textbooks in the process of European Integration. The documentary offered a multiperspective insight on the role of history teaching and the significance of history textbooks in the establishment of a balance between integration and nationalism on the path towards a common European Past. In this context, EUROCLIRead More...

Changing history books endangers education, future

Patrick Barker — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:35:49 +0100

Source: The Pine Log, 28th January 2010

Earlier this month the Texas State Board of Education agreed to postpone debate over what information will go in high school history textbooks until this March. These changes are grabbing the attention of the local and national media because the proposed ideas would rewrite history with a huge slant to the right, leaving out topics such as Sen. Edward Kennedy, Hispanic civil-rights groups and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Instead oRead More...

History Textbook Controversy Roils Texas

Patrick Barker — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:42:54 +0100

Source: Aol News, January 19th 2010

"History is written by the victors," Winston Churchill famously said. In Texas, that may mean removing mention of Ted Kennedy and Cesar Chavez from textbooks in favor of new entries on the National Rifle Association and Phyllis Schlafly.

For much of the past year, the Texas State Board of Education has been considering changes to its social studies curriculum, hearing from community members and debating alterations to the way the state will teRead More...

Were there women in Islamic history?

Patrick Barker — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:53:45 +0100

Source: World Bulletin,Tuesday, 26 January 2010

This article is written to present an historical background for those who are "looking for" veiled writers, for those who have "found/not found" them, and for those who defend them saying, "they were always there; you didn't see them." For the question, "Were there women in Islamic history," still lies behind all these questions and answers as a determining question/verdict.

The beginning of discussion regarding women in the IslamiRead More...

Texas Debates Way History Will Be Taught

Patrick Barker — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:11:56 +0100

Source: Parent Dish, 20th January 2010

Conservatives say too much attention is paid to American imperialism and not enough to Christianity. Liberals want to know why there is no mention of farm labor leader Cesar Chavez.

This is Texas. Everyone has an opinion. Rarely a shy one.

The Texas State Board of Education is scheduled to vote this week on a new statewide social studies curriculum. What students will -- and will not -- learn about history has gotten a lot of people Read More...

U.S. history to get a conservative bent in Texas schools

Patrick Barker — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:21:50 +0100

Source: USA Today, January 18th 2010

Texas high schoolers will learn about conservative groups from the 1980s and 1990s but not about liberal groups or organizations representing minority rights, The Dallas Morning News reports.

The change is a result of U.S. history standards tentatively adopted Friday by the Republican-led State Board of Education. Among topics and individuals that will not be required in history classes and textbooks: the late Sen. Edward Read More...

Hip-hop on history curriculum

Patrick Barker — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:18:35 +0100

Source: El Paso Times, 16th January 2010

EL PASO -- Hip-hop and country-Western music is in, but Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is out from the list of significant events and key figures that high-school students will learn about in their history classes.

The State Board of Education accepted both musical styles and dozens of historic figures into its social studies teaching standards during an abbreviated meeting Friday in Austin.

The 15-member panel halRead More...

Blog entries tagged debate

Rwanda/Genocide - Rwandan scholars caution teaching of genocide history in schools

Japan and Korea thumb a poisoned ledger

Is Russia finally ditching its revisionist history on Katyn?

Studying details of Shoah has no educational value

Textbook cases

In Search of Our History: The Texas curriculum debate reveals our flawed mindset toward history

SBOE members clash over racial balance in history

Standardize education nationally

Social studies curriculum up for debate. Board of Education's decision will be far-reaching.

Fox News tries to clarify erroneous reports about Texas social studies curriculum debate

Texas board again debates minority representation in curriculum

History instruction plan sparks concerns

What's missing in the U. S. History debate

Textbook Diplomacy, EUROCLIO on the BBC World Service

Changing history books endangers education, future

History Textbook Controversy Roils Texas

Were there women in Islamic history?

Texas Debates Way History Will Be Taught

U.S. history to get a conservative bent in Texas schools

Hip-hop on history curriculum