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Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims

Quote:

Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims
By LAURA CLARK - More by this author » Last updated at 11:58am on 2nd April 2007

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.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

What is wrong with the world? Its political correctness gone mad. Teaching watered down versions of the truth, or alternative versions of history, or down right not teaching certain key topics is absurd and amounts to brainwashing. There is a huge problem in society and how we educate children is a major factor. Living in northern Ireland, i see children everyday who have been brought up believing all sorts of nonsense just because it is what they were taught at a young age and didnt know any better at the time.

I dont want to get into the whole creationists/God/evolution in schools thing again, i'm talking about a School refusing to teach kids about something factual like The Holocust. Not only is it offensive to the millions people and their families who were murdered in it but it is just wrong on so many different levels!

What are other peoples views? Especially on people who deny the Holocost ever happened?

andi

unsurprisingly from the mail, the article is making a mountain out of a molehill.

there is a massive curriculum in history and the teachers / departments / schools themselves decide which parts to teach and which not to. 2 schools next door to each other can teach entirely different curriculums and there is nothing illegal or wrong with certain schools choosing not to teach certain subjects whatever the reason.

the accounts of british history taught in england, scotland and northern ireland are completely different because of national sensitivities for example so as much as the tories at the mail would like to perpetuate the idea that it's just those evil brown folk who get preferential treatment, we all have experienced the same thing in high school.

btw 6 million is a fairly accurate number for holocaust victims.

Absolutely pathetic, and the worst thing is I'm not at all surprised.

I forget which comedian it was said "You can't fix stupid." It seems to me that dropping an important part of history to avoid offending people is idiocy of the highest order. Whoever made that call should be fired. Didn't the British invent tarring and feathering, or did that practice come about on our soil?

Hopefully you guys won't give in to their calls to institute Sharia law as well.

Adrian

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Bon Jovi (Post 748732)

I've heard the Holocaust described as one of the defining periods (events? Occurences? I'm not really sure what's the appropriate word) of the modern era, so it's probably something that people need to be taught at some point

As an aside point, try saying "anti-Semitic sentiment" when you're drunk, I don't reckon it could be done

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Originally Posted by The Walrus (Post 748753)

well "defining event" is a fairly subjective term (that's historiography at work ;-) )

i start high school history teacher training in august and as of yet ive had no formal education on the holocaust which says alot considering im just about finished a degree which the main focus is on 20th century european history...

and again, before everyone jumps to conclusions that "it's them imposing their way on us"

1. it was the teachers decision to avoid the subject NOT the pupils

2. not only is it a paper, it's the daily mail. the accuracy of the facts and the reality with regard to what they are sayng could be totally untrue and at the very least is skewed. is this one classroom or 10,000? is it really because they dont want to offend muslims or have they just chosen not to do it aspart of the curriculum?

3. no one seems to be getting my point about what we're taught in history anyway. the teacher won't go into a class and say k guys we're going to ignore this subject incase it offends you or shows scotland in a bad light so we're going to put on braveheart and talk about scottish victories over england instead but that's pretty much how the teaching of history works.

One of the things I always taught my kids was - Don't ever be offended by the truth. You might not like it, but facts are facts. History is history - I'm not talking about subjective topics but the facts of history. Deal with it - is my answer.

Who was it that said - if you don't learn from history you are doomed to repeat it???

Kathleen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Bon Jovi (Post 748775)

or have they just chosen not to do it aspart of the curriculum?

3. no one seems to be getting my point about what we're taught in history anyway. the teacher won't go into a class and say k guys we're going to ignore this subject incase it offends you or shows scotland in a bad light so we're going to put on braveheart and talk about scottish victories over england instead but that's pretty much how the teaching of history works.

i can see you point here Jim, as im hoping to at least become a history teacher in a few years, history is one of those subjects that may not shine the total truth on the subject, and i cant see any REAL history teacher being able to teach Nazi Germany without talking about the Holocost! and i agree with what your saying about that paper as well, i havnt seen that article but i would put it passed them to blame muslims just to go along with the current popular image.

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Originally Posted by Malachy (Post 748805)

being a history student you'll appreciate more than most that history isn't just "names and dates"

while we're on the subject of being offended about the holocaust. ive just finished a 20th century german war and revolution module taught by an eminent german historian and even he didn't do anything on the holocaust other than the racialisation of germany that allowed the holocaust to happen.

why did he not do the holocaust directly? in his own words: he doesn't like teaching i because it's too gruesome and alot of previous students couldn't stomach it.

there's not one muslim on my course and these are 3rd and 4th year uni students we're talking about that can't hack it, not schoolkids.

Ok, but what about my second point - the people out there who deny that the Holocost even happened? I think that is absurd.

andi