Political Groups Issue Demand On How Textbooks Portray 'Minority Experience In History'

[one...two...tree 2,762]

A coalition of Tennessee Tea Party groups has formulated a list of "demands" focused on the state's educational curriculum and political agenda that they want the state's legislature to heed this session.

As far as their educational concerns, the panel writes that they want to "compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government," a failure that they claimed had been brought about by "neglect and outright ill will," The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.

Hal Rounds, spokesman for the group, recently claimed at news conference that there was "an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the Founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another."

As a result, the Tea Party organizations argue, there should be "no portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers, or the majority of citizens, including those who reached positions of leadership."

"The thing we need to focus on about the Founders is that, given the social structure of their time, they were revolutionaries who brought liberty into a world where it hadn't existed, to everybody -- not all equally instantly -- and it was their progress that we need to look at," Rounds explained of his interpretation of the legacy of the Founding Fathers.

The issue of revising curriculums to teach history in a manner that encourages the glossing over of the uglier factors of the past has popped up in other states over the past year.

In Texas, an ultra-conservative faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded in pushing through a drastic overhaul of the state's textbooks and educational agenda. Among those proposals was an effort to replace instances of the "slave trade" with "Atlantic triangular trade."

http://www.huffingto...s_n_808508.html

Edited January 14, 2011 by 8TBVBN

[Maxx121 14]

Rewrite history and 100 years from now people will feel the need to repeat it.

[Jenn! 918]

I can't wait until the minority becomes the majority.

[Danno 1,228]

Steve are you all for teaching the short comings of MARTIN LUTHER KING too?

That some of the founders owned slaves in an era where it was normal around the world, it is a point to be noted but their ideas and accomplishments but greatly over shadowed that IMO.

The teaching day is very limited, we have a national holiday honoring MLK we have a whole month set aside for Black History, a large focus on the Civil war certainly focuses on Slavery.

All subjects are limited in their scope due to time..... what are the greater lessons children should be learning when we teach on the founders?

Edited January 14, 2011 by Danno

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

So now the tea baggers want to revise history ? They should move to Russia where that stuff is not only tolerated, but encouraged.

[Danno 1,228]

So now the tea baggers want to revise history ? They should move to Russia where that stuff is not only tolerated, but encouraged.

I'm betting you can contribute more than that to the conversation.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I'm betting you can contribute more than that to the conversation.

I could go on all day about Russia and Russians...probably none of it would be too positive other than the strip joints and massive amount of hot chicks over there.

*I try to save that kind of convo for the RUB Forum.

Edited January 14, 2011 by Why_Me

[Danno 1,228]

I could go on all day about Russia and Russians...probably none of it would be too positive other than the strip joints and massive amount of hot chicks over there.

*I try to save that kind of convo for the RUB Forum.

While I can testify about the high number attractive babes.. I'll have to take your word on the strip clubs.

[alienlovechild 75]

Among those proposals was an effort to replace instances of the "slave trade" with Slave-trade-would-become-Atlantic triangular trade."

No problem there because the Atlantic triangular trade included slaves but the term shows the trade to be fairly complex rather than just the slave trade. Students should get the whole picture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_trade

[james&olya 1,121]

No problem there because the Atlantic triangular trade included slaves but the term shows the trade to be fairly complex rather than just the slave trade. Students should get the whole picture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_trade

Let me guess, the Vietnam war will now be the Southeast Asia Police Action!

[Danno 1,228]

Let me guess, the Vietnam war will now be the Southeast Asia Police Action!

Apples N oranges.

[alienlovechild 75]

Let me guess, the Vietnam war will now be the Southeast Asia Police Action!

Calling anything a police action would upset some minority groups so that's not an option.

[james&olya 1,121]

Apples N oranges.

Maybe. It seems like people advocating this are trying to minimize, even whitewash, the huge problem of slavery in our not so distant past. I am guessing you will have all sorts of 'reasons' this is not the case.

[alienlovechild 75]

Maybe. It seems like people advocating this are trying to minimize, even whitewash, the huge problem of slavery in our not so distant past. I am guessing you will have all sorts of 'reasons' this is not the case.

Really? How do explain the Atlantic triangular trade without explaining slavery?

[james&olya 1,121]

Really? How do explain the Atlantic triangular trade without explaining slavery?

I think it is great to explain how it worked. But trying to get the word 'slavery' out of the label is what this seems to be about.