The topic of
this post has been an extremely prominent issue in the Denver area while I have
been here. Although my school is in the
Denver Public School system, this is an issue with education as a whole – not
just one district. Not only has this
been in the news lately, but it also impacts me as a future educator. It also impacts you, if for no other reason
than that you are a citizen of this country.
I have shared facts, links for additional information, my thoughts, and
a few questions I would like people to think about. This may not faze you, and it might enrage
you. Regardless, please seriously
consider how this impacts the future generations of this country and the future
of this country.
For those of you who are unfamiliar
with the recent activities in the Jefferson County School District, I will
provide you with a brief synopsis of what has been happening. Below, I have also put the links for my
sources and for further information on this topic from a variety of news
sources including CNN, Aljazeera, Fox News, and USA Today. The Jefferson County
schools have an Advanced Placement United States History curriculum in place. According
to several news sources, the JeffCo School Board has decided to “review that
course [A.P. U.S. History] with an eye toward promoting patriotism,” (USA
Today). The school board would like to create a committee to review said
course. The JeffCo school board has made
a proposal that, “will select materials that ‘promote citizenship, patriotism,
essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and
respect for individual rights,’” and avoid materials that, “’encourage or
condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law,’” (Aljazeera
America). Among other issues discussed
at the school board meeting, the teachers and students alike were unhappy with
this proposal and set up walk-outs that lasted days. One day, enough teachers called in sick the
schools had to close. The next day,
students walked out of JeffCo schools and continued to do so into the next week. The issue is still being discussed and no
final decisions have been made.
As an educator, this impacts me. As an educator, this impacts my future
students. As a future parent, this
impacts my own children. Perhaps most importantly,
this impacts me as a past, present, and future United States citizen. It also disturbs me. How do you learn from the past if you do not
know what happened? How do you ensure
that history does not repeat itself, if you are fed a censored version of the
truth? It has nothing to do with being
anti-American or not teaching Patriotism.
It is simply a matter of being an informed citizen of this beautiful and
powerful country. We could make a list
of the times the United States had a positive impact on the world and then turn
around and do the same for all of the times we had a negative impact on the
world. This would be meaningless. It would be foolish to try to convince
someone that the United States has never done any good on this planet. However, it would also be foolish to pretend
we have not had a hand in some of the most horrifying and heart-wrenching acts
against humanity. Sometimes the acts of
a few, reflect many. The acts of our
country, are a reflection of us – its citizens.
It is time we hold ourselves accountable for the good and bad parts of
our history and our actions as a nation.
I would love the opportunity to be
an educator in a time when the history of this nation is not covered up,
ignored, or disregarded; but rather, a time when the history of the United
States of America is regarded with the utmost respect and a sense of
accountability, responsibility, and awareness.
If we, as members of the human family on this earth, want to ensure our
negatives are not repeated and our positives are re-evaluated and applied when
necessary, we cannot hide the truth from each other. There should be discussion about the Japanese
Internment camps during WWII. There
should be a discussion about the Native Americans and how our government
treated them. There should be a
discussion about the aftermath of dropping an atomic bomb on hundreds of
thousands of people. There should be a
discussion about slavery and the oppression of minorities. There should be a discussion about the Civil
Rights Movement and its impact on our country.
There should be a discussion about non-violent resistance and
non-violent movements in our history. The
only way to be certain that the ugly parts of our history do not reappear is to
talk about them. This country has a
great deal to be proud of, but we are not perfect. We owe it to our future generations to expose
our history in its entirety – the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is truly the only way to ensure this
country moves forward with its founding ideals close at heart.
Here are the
links, as promised. Enjoy.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/10/3/colorado-studentprotest.html
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/24/living/censoring-history-schools-denver-protest/index.html?iref=allsearch
http://video.foxnews.com/v/3812223728001/review-of-ap-history-curriculum-in-colorado-sparks-protests-/#sp=show-clips
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/23/denver-school-protest/16126625/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/03/colorado-school-board/16627713/
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