I disagree w/ this completely! Not aware if this is really true but I do believe "political correctness" is being taken to such extremes today! What else is goin' to be removed & denied in the History bks!? This subject was posted in another group & I wanted to share. Any moms aware of this or live in Britain!?
Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims
By LAURA CLARK
Schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils, a Governmentbacked study has revealed.
It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial.
There is also resistance to tackling the 11th century Crusades - where Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem - because lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques.
The findings have prompted claims that some schools are using history 'as a vehicle for promoting political correctness'.
The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills, looked into 'emotive and controversial' history teaching in primary and secondary schools.
It found some teachers are dropping courses covering the Holocaust at the earliest opportunity over fears Muslim pupils might express anti-Semitic and anti-Israel reactions in class.
The researchers gave the example of a secondary school in an unnamed northern city, which dropped the Holocaust as a subject for GCSE coursework.
The report said teachers feared confronting 'anti-Semitic sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim pupils'.
It added: "In another department, the Holocaust was taught despite anti-Semitic sentiment among some pupils.
"But the same department deliberately avoided teaching the Crusades at Key Stage 3 (11- to 14-year-olds) because their balanced treatment of the topic would have challenged what was taught in some local mosques."
A third school found itself 'strongly challenged by some Christian parents for their treatment of the Arab-Israeli conflict-and the history of the state of Israel that did not accord with the teachings of their denomination'.
The report concluded: "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."
But Chris McGovern, history education adviser to the former Tory government, said: "History is not a vehicle for promoting political correctness. Children must have access to knowledge of these controversial subjects, whether palatable or unpalatable."
The researchers also warned that a lack of subject knowledge among teachers - particularly at primary level - was leading to history being taught in a 'shallow way leading to routine and superficial learning'.
Lessons in difficult topics were too often 'bland, simplistic and unproblematic' and bored pupils.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article1600686.ece
If we don't pay attention to history , history is doomed to repeat itself. In the Holocaust , It wasn't just jews who were exterminated. It was ALLLLLL Christians. I listened to a gentleman speak one night who'd been in the concentration camps. They asked him who Hitler hated as much as the Jews. He said 'The gypsies". Who next ? He then said " the Mormons ". Then he went on and on. Arn't Muslims Christians ?
The Holocaust was part of history.
Absolutely absurd.
This is HISTORY. Not philosophy, or religious study etc. Why in the hell should anyone be allowed delete what has been written as documented, researched fact, just because it ll upset some people.
Yeah it can be offensive, i found it very offensive at times, but that doesn't matter. It needs to be taught.
People are accepting ignorance more and more each day.
This is absolutely ridiculous. I don't care what they believe, i don't care what their faith is , they can do and feel as they please. But to take something out of history BECAUSE of that possibly false belief system is ludicrous.
Ya know what? Maybe they should take science and math out of schools as well. I'm offended by how hard it is.
What a joke.
Quoting mamapaparazzi:
I'm not a huge fan of withholding history in order to respect religion. I think it's ridiculous.
I agree.....
Just more "dumbing down" of our children. They can ignore it all they want, it won't change the FACT that it happened, and there are living survivors that were EYE WITNESSES!
But then, the Bible is full of eye witness accounts, and look how people dismiss and deny them. That's why Jesus told "doubting Thomas," "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
I agree Mary Anne, this whole "PC" nonsense has just gone way too far! I'm a Christian, and I don't get offended about the fact there were the Crusades and the witch hunts. I think it's tragic and sad, and I certainly don't agree with what they did, but I don't deny it happened, and I certainly don't want them to wipe them out of textbooks. We need to learn from history so we don't repeat the same mistakes.
Why is the Holocaust so threatening to people anyway? It wasn't the Muslims who were responsible for it...it was a Nazi German named Hitler. So why in the world would the Muslims be "offended?"
Quoting ihavemorekidznu:
If we don't pay attention to history , history is doomed to repeat itself. In the Holocaust , It wasn't just jews who were exterminated. It was ALLLLLL Christians. I listened to a gentleman speak one night who'd been in the concentration camps. They asked him who Hitler hated as much as the Jews. He said 'The gypsies". Who next ? He then said " the Mormons ". Then he went on and on. Arn't Muslims Christians ?
The Holocaust was part of history.
I have been reading more n' more about these type of events being removed from the History bks. And history will repeat itself if we become complacent & in denial. I am so happy my 2 sons are adult now but I am very concerned about so many children & teens facing these problems today. The Schools are constantly changing & sadly not always for the better!
Hitler was an evil man * the power & hatred destroyed him. But he made certain he was goin' to exterminate as many Jews & those who were not to his liking prior to his own death. This story should be sounded in the History bks. thru out all the generations. These horrific events shall never be forgotten~
Quoting MemawBrie:
Just more "dumbing down" of our children. They can ignore it all they want, it won't change the FACT that it happened, and there are living survivors that were EYE WITNESSES!
But then, the Bible is full of eye witness accounts, and look how people dismiss and deny them. That's why Jesus told "doubting Thomas," "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
I agree Mary Anne, this whole "PC" nonsense has just gone way too far! I'm a Christian, and I don't get offended about the fact there were the Crusades and the witch hunts. I think it's tragic and sad, and I certainly don't agree with what they did, but I don't deny it happened, and I certainly don't want them to wipe them out of textbooks. We need to learn from history so we don't repeat the same mistakes.
Why is the Holocaust so threatening to people anyway? It wasn't the Muslims who were responsible for it...it was a Nazi German named Hitler. So why in the world would the Muslims be "offended?"
I agree Brie...it seemingly is more important not to offend someone than it is to tell the Truth. Sometimes the Truth hurts but it must be revealed for the sake of never repeating the events again. The Muslim aspect is a lil' mind boggling to me also. Maybe 1 of the Muslim women here in this group can offer some understanding concerning this~
Quoting zodia:
Absolutely absurd.
This is HISTORY. Not philosophy, or religious study etc. Why in the hell should anyone be allowed delete what has been written as documented, researched fact, just because it ll upset some people.
Yeah it can be offensive, i found it very offensive at times, but that doesn't matter. It needs to be taught.
People are accepting ignorance more and more each day.
This is absolutely ridiculous. I don't care what they believe, i don't care what their faith is , they can do and feel as they please. But to take something out of history BECAUSE of that possibly false belief system is ludicrous.
Ya know what? Maybe they should take science and math out of schools as well. I'm offended by how hard it is.
What a joke.
Very true zodia.....maybe some of these teachers should take a class in ways to present these events * how to manage & be senstitive to their students but above all to be firm & knowledgeable about the history they are obligated to teach in the classroom. When I was young... teachers were not afraid of the students & set sound guidelines in reference to behavior & what was expected of them. This seems to be lacking in many classrooms today~
I texted my girlfriend in the UK this morning asking her about this, she emailed me this link. Said it was false.
Hope this helps.
The letter below attempts to clarify the rumors that UK schools have stopped teaching about the Holocaust. These rumors are being deliberately encouraged by a hoax email that claims that "recently this week" it was announced that UK schools will stop teaching about the Holocaust, for fear of offending Muslims.
This is a pointless and vicious hoax. Please do not forward such letters. If you get a UK Holocaust education hoax letter, please send the originator this message with the information below, and ask them to send this message back to the people who sent it to them.
Thank you.
Ami Isseroff
16th April 2007
Dear Friend,
Over the past weeks there have been a number of rumours circulating via email regarding Holocaust education here in the UK. The emails suggest that the UK Government are removing Holocaust education from the National Curriculum and that in general British schools steer away from teaching what they might consider, a 'controversial' subject. We want to make it clear that our understanding is the Holocaust is and will continue to be on the National Curriculum and therefore continue to be taught in all UK schools.
Background
These rumours stemmed from a piece that featured in a number of newspapers including the Daily Mail, Guardian and The Telegraph at the beginning of April. See the following links:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/02/nschools02.xml;
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2048161,00.html
how can we learn from past mistakes when they are re-writing history!!
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