Ignoring history to appease Muslims

cleanbluesky

cleanbluesky

cleanbluesky

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6517359.stm

Some schools avoid teaching the Holocaust and other controversial history subjects as they do not want to cause offence, research has claimed.
Teachers fear meeting anti-Semitic sentiment, particularly from Muslim pupils, the government-funded study by the Historical Association said.

It also said the way the slave trade was taught could leave both white and black children feeling alienated.

Ministers in England had asked for guidance on teaching emotive subjects.

When he commissioned the report last year, schools minister Lord Adonis said the national curriculum encouraged teachers to choose content "likely to resonate in their multicultural classrooms" - but some found it difficult to do that.

The Historical Association report claimed: "Teachers and schools avoid emotive and controversial history for a variety of reasons, some of which are well-intentioned.

"Staff may wish to avoid causing offence or appearing insensitive to individuals or groups in their classes.

"In particular settings, teachers of history are unwilling to challenge highly contentious or charged versions of history in which pupils are steeped at home, in their community or in a place of worship."

The report gave the example of a history department in a northern city which decided not to teach the Holocaust as a topic for GCSE coursework.

'Worrying picture'

It cited another school which taught the Holocaust, but then avoided teaching the Crusades because "balanced treatment" of the topic would have challenged what some local mosques were teaching.

Emotive issues such as the slave trade can be taught too blandly, portraying Afro-Caribbeans as victims and isolating black children, the report said.

But when teachers downplay the role of the white authorities in abolishing the slave trade, white children can become alienated.

The report called for resources, which were scarce at present, to be made available to teach controversial and emotional history subjects.

Initial teacher training should include more attention on how to teach these subjects and a better research base should be made available to teachers, it said.

And further research into the issue, particularly the attitudes of different groups, families and individuals' to difficult subjects, needed to be carried out.

A government review of citizenship education recommended that all pupils should learn about issues such as slavery and the legacy of the British Empire.

A Department of Education and Skills spokesman said there was scope for schools to make their own decision on what to teach within the national curriculum

But he added: "Teaching of the Holocaust is already compulsory in schools at KS3. It will remain so in the new KS3 curriculum from September 2008.

"As Alan Johnson made clear in January there are certain subjects which will be protected in the new curriculum and that includes the Holocaust."

A Commission for Racial Equality spokesman said the report painted a "worrying picture".

"The teaching of history provides the perfect forum for stimulating the development of shared values that are essential if everyone is to contribute and play a full part in an integrated British society."

It was essential that teachers were supported in developing the confidence and expertise to discuss all historical periods and events in a balanced and sensitive way, the spokesman said.
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One of the worst moments of PC idiocy yet...
 
I reckon a practical experiment of the holocaust should be carried out on the PC brigade. All in the interest of furthering education, you understand!
 
christ, i remember watching "Schindlers List" as part of our history class. I think it really made every single person sit back and take stock of the world we live in today!!

We should never miss parts of history out because it offends someone, surely the point in teaching kids about such things stops them from growing up and making the same mistakes others have in the past!!
 
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I think what's funny is that the government seem to have forgotten that there are more religions in this country than just christian and muslim.

What about the sikhs? Will we have to change for them too?

Or the jewish? Aren't we insulting them by eating pork or even stocking it in our shops?

Why the big emphasis on muslims?

I know I sound like a bit of a racist bigot but the governement seriously needs to get real and so do the local authorities (i.e. like the time that a village church was told to take down advertising for it's nativity play incase it offends muslims last year).
 
What a load of BS.

Limiting knowledge of situations and history like this just contributes to extremism as people's views will be more limited.
 
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I wonder if these days a Rastafarian could argue that smoking ganja is their religous right and therefore legal to do!
 
i read that today,

we will end up repeating history if we are allowed to forget. isn't there that famous saying something like " least we forget"?

this is scandalous in germany they have holocaust denial as a crime and so it should be.


Roll on the revolution and we kick this rubbish out !
 
the sooner this country has the guts to say enough is enough the better!


Muslim/(insert religious group of choice) ideals aren't welcome here!
 
Posty said:
Why do these teachers just assume Muslim pupils will be against the teaching of these things?
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Probably because they interact with their Muslim pupils every day at school.
 
Posty said:
Why do these teachers just assume Muslim pupils will be against the teaching of these things?
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Perhaps it is based on reactions they have received in the past from pupils from those backgrounds on similar issues....
 
@if ®afiq said:
Can that be shown to be true or is it just what you want to believe?
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Such a thing could be proven, although you may also note that Virii said 'perhaps', indicating that it is a possible scenario - therefore no proof needs to be provided for his statement to remain true, unless it were disproven. Can you disprove it?

How do you feel about this article, @if?
 
MNuTz said:
christ, i remember watching "Schindlers List" as part of our history class.
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We had to do this as well at school, great bloody film and teaches you a lot! But this is again PC gone horribly wrong :rolleyes:
 
cleanbluesky said:
How do you feel about this article, @if?
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I feel that both yourself and the BBC are putting an anti-Muslim slant on it. First of all no Muslim I know takes any offence at the Holocaust and to suggest so would be in line with painting Muslim's as anti-Semetic, hate filled, irrational etc.

I would be interested to know where this Historical Association gets it's information from.

Why have you chosen to use the tabloidesqe title of "...appease Muslims" as the reports is also talking about other minorities such as blacks?
 
@if ®afiq said:
I feel that both yourself and the BBC are putting an anti-Muslim slant on it. First of all no Muslim I know takes any offence at the Holocaust and to suggest so would be in line with painting Muslim's as anti-Semetic, hate filled, irrational etc.

I would be interested to know where this Historical Association gets it's information from.

Why have you chosen to use the tabloidesqe title of "...appease Muslims" as the reports is also talking about other minorities such as blacks?
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You got the wrong end of the stick, same as i did! I thought it was about NOT teaching the holocaust but if your reread the article its says that they will teach about the holocaust but not about the Crusades!!


It cited another school which taught the Holocaust, but then avoided teaching the Crusades because "balanced treatment" of the topic would have challenged what some local mosques were teaching.
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