Recently there have been some concerns expressed in the general media – major networks, I should say – about the fact that various political and educational bodies all over America are banning books – removing them from school curricula and libraries. Why now? What’s so urgent?
It just so happens that we hear about it now because 45 (my name for the worst president I have encountered in my study of American History) unleashed the hounds of racism, so his followers feel free to make their thinking known to those who may have forgotten such misguided ideas exist. Right now, we hear about the books on topics related to African American History, to the Holocaust and the maltreatment of marginalized Americans ,being removed from many bookshelves. The reason given for these removals and this denial of historical facts is “the protection of young white Americans” – so they will not be made to “feel guilty” for the atrocities of the past.
I vehemently disagree with this kind of thinking. I was a 5th Grade teacher for 11 years. That is the level at which public school students generally learn about American History – which is their own history. I taught my students the truth. The great, the good, and the bad were all included.
My students’ parents supported me – they gave written permission for me to show the first two chapters of Roots – an excellent series about the slave system in America. When I reviewed these screenings with my students, I was blown away by the level of understanding and empathy they expressed. Neither white, black nor latino students expressed any guilt. Rather they showed their humanity and their ability to relate to vulnerable people. This is the level of understanding that all citizens need if we are to move forward as a nation.
The citizens of any country or state – especially a democracy – need this kind of in-depth knowledge about what their past leaders have done well – or poorly – the triumphs as well as the mistakes. This kind of reflection and analysis allows citizens to mature and to help improve themselves as well as their country. It helps them to avoid the worst mistakes of the past, and to create a better future. At this stage of my life, I am extremely proud to have been among the American youth of the 1960’s who were the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights, Anti-Vietnam War, Immigrant Workers and Women’s Movements of that time. What a sea-change for so many we were driven to make!
That is why children in Germany’s public schools are taught about World Wars I and II and the Holocaust. That is why all American children need the same kind of truth-telling, not just about the mechanisms of slavery and discrimination, but about the persecution of Jewish people, Muslims and the Irish Catholics for religious differences, about gender discrimination, misogyny and the horrendous treatment of Native Americans all over the United States.
I don’t suggest that all of this history be taught at the 5th Grade level – but certainly, it should be a part of the curricula before our youth graduate from High School. By the way, “Critical Race Theory” which is an important area for study, has never been taught in K-12 classrooms – it is taught at some colleges and universities. As well, it should be!
Uninformed far right activists are falsely accusing educators of teaching this theory, just because they seek to include the basic facts about the slave system and its abolition in American History classes. There just is no way to teach the American Story without teaching about the role of slavery in the building of America and its lasting effects in our society today…
Denial. Lies. These do not keep us sane or safe. They doom us to dismal failure.
That is why we need special times for reflection – so we can find a path forward as a nation: special times such as Black History Month, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Women’s History Month to help us to come to terms with who we are, and who we want to be.