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Should schools teach proper history?

Should schools teach proper history?

  • Yes.

    Votes: 34 85.0%

  • No.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I don't believe in public education.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other.

    Votes: 7 17.5%
  • Total voters
    40
If we go ahead and lie to our children about slavery and stuff that'll make some adults feel better. Isn't that the important thing?
 
AConcernedCitizen said:
American history began between 18,000 and 26,000 years ago. There isn't really any evidence to suggest that genocide and slavery played a significant role in pre-Clovis cultures, but this is humans we are talking about, so I wouldn't put it past them.

Regardless, proper history should be presented as specific historical facts. "The first recorded occurrence of the slave trade in North America was in 1619 when an English slave ship reach Point Comfort on the Virginia peninsula, exchanging twenty and odd slaves for food." is an important historical fact, and as such should not be omitted from history classes.

"America was founded on genocide and slavery, which has had systemic ramifications until present day" is just vague judgemental slant, equivalent to "America was founded on principals of liberty and democracy, which paved the way for democratic representation enjoyed around the world today." Neither of these vague judgments makes history any more proper or accurate. Let the actual facts tell their own tale.
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America was founded on genocide and slavery, which has had systemic ramifications until present day" is just vague judgemental slant, equivalent to "America was founded on principals of liberty and democracy, which paved the way for democratic representation enjoyed around the world today."



Both are factual and historically correct.
 
Superfly said:
See? This is the problem right here. There is no "version."

There's just history. You suck it up and swallow it, whether you like it or not.
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Everyone had to remember taking history in context is the key to proper teaching
 
Dans La Lune said:
Even if that history paints America in a very, very bad light.
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The problem with history is usually there are many sides to the story. Whose side do you teach. A lot of times it is best especially with children and bias teachers to avoid a lot of issues. Like friendly fire during wars. The sad reality is lives have to be risked to win. This is just one example. The other problem is perspective. When we took Texas we believe we were right in doing so. But not from the Mexican perspective.
 
We have a national holiday coming up. Can they teach the reason for the holiday in school?
 
AConcernedCitizen said:
American history began between 18,000 and 26,000 years ago. There isn't really any evidence to suggest that genocide and slavery played a significant role in pre-Clovis cultures, but this is humans we are talking about, so I wouldn't put it past them.

Regardless, proper history should be presented as specific historical facts. "The first recorded occurrence of the slave trade in North America was in 1619 when an English slave ship reach Point Comfort on the Virginia peninsula, exchanging twenty and odd slaves for food." is an important historical fact, and as such should not be omitted from history classes.

"America was founded on genocide and slavery, which has had systemic ramifications until present day" is just vague judgemental slant, equivalent to "America was founded on principals of liberty and democracy, which paved the way for democratic representation enjoyed around the world today." Neither of these vague judgments makes history any more proper or accurate. Let the actual facts tell their own tale.
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You've skipped a lot of facts in this narrative, but I agree with your central point (that history should be based on facts). And, of course, oversimplified a number of other points. The facts are ugly enough. By the way, technically, Clovis is prehistory. The America's history really only began a few thousand years ago.
 
NWRatCon said:
You've skipped a lot of facts in this narrative, but I agree with your central point (that history should be based on facts). And, of course, oversimplified a number of other points. The facts are ugly enough. By the way, technically, Clovis is prehistory. The America's history really only began a few thousand years ago.
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I skipped a couple of historical facts for brevity, simply because there are more facts in history than will fit in the DebatePolitics character count, and I haven't time to type them all out anyways. I imagine you can extrapolate though.

Specific facts about the Trail of Tears should be taught. Self-flagellating judgments about how horrible America is because of it should not. Specific facts about the contents of the US Constitution and the circumstances of its authorship should be taught. Self-congratulatory judgments about how great and visionary the founders were and how wonderful America is because of it should not. Extend this pattern ad nauseum to the rest of the historical facts.

As you say, the facts are ugly enough. Injecting commentary does not make history more proper or accurate.
 
Rexedgar said:
We have a national holiday coming up. Can they teach the reason for the holiday in school?
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Another hallmark made up holiday like ****ing sweetest day.
 
History is what it is.

The UK has done some good and some terrible things and we need to teach it all.
 
History is hysterical when it cannot do physics!

Like not being able to figure out the importance of steel distribution in a straight down skyscraper collapse.

ROFLMAO

History is self delusion.
 
Peter said:
History is what it is.

The UK has done some good and some terrible things and we need to teach it all.
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Do they teach in the UK slavery wasn't officially abolished on the Island till 2010?



TIL that England only abolished Slavery in 2010, and only did so as a formality, because the status of "Slave" never existed in English Common Law, and thus a person could not be charged with the practice of "Slavery". Owning a person was made illegal much, much earlier
 
Bear5131 said:
Do they teach in the UK slavery wasn't officially abolished on the Island till 2010?



TIL that England only abolished Slavery in 2010, and only did so as a formality, because the status of "Slave" never existed in English Common Law, and thus a person could not be charged with the practice of "Slavery". Owning a person was made illegal much, much earlier.
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I suppose The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 was just a figment of our imagination then?

en.wikipedia.org

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

I must have missed all the slaves being traded in the UK in 2009.
 
jpevans said:
I think it's more about reporting accurately the facts of history. Let students judge where we are now. History is ongoing.
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There are too many FACTS. How important which facts are depends on what paradigm of reality you start with.

We have Economic Power Games and Political Power Games and Military Power Games. When the US attacked the Japanese economically with the oil embargo why weren't the navy officers in Hawaii immediately suspicious of the possibility of a military response.

But the way I was taught HISTORY the Japanese just attacked out of the blue. That inscrutable oriental mind.
 
"Proper history" is a moral judgment without semantic context.

Everyone agrees-- or should agree-- that we should teach proper history in schools, but everyone disagrees with you about what that means.
 
Real Korimyr #9 said:
"Proper history" is a moral judgment without semantic context.

Everyone agrees-- or should agree-- that we should teach proper history in schools, but everyone disagrees with you about what that means.
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For me it's just telling kids what happened and letting them judge for themselves how they feel about those facts.
A good example are the Kings and Queens of England.
Many people argue about whether they were good or bad but we must all agree on the historic facts of what they did.
 
Masterhawk said:
Why no, I want schools to teach improper history
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Proper, shmoper, the whole purpose of teaching history in high school is to create proud, loyal citizens. People whos education ends there have no need to have actual historical information.
 
Grand Mal said:
Proper, shmoper, the whole purpose of teaching history in high school is to create proud, loyal citizens. People whos education ends there have no need to have actual historical information.
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Sarcasm?
 
Proper History is ALEADY TAUGHT.

No idea where some of you went to school.
 
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