A Texas school district administrator told teachers that if they have books about the Holocaust in their classrooms, they should also have books that offer “opposing” or “other” viewpoints on the subject.
Gina Peddy, the executive director of curriculum and instruction for the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, issued the directive last week during a training session about which books teachers can have in their classroom libraries. A staff member secretly made an audio recording of the training session and shared it with NBC News, which broke the story.
In the recording, Peddy told the teachers to remember a new Texas law that requires teachers to present multiple perspectives when discussing “widely debated and currently controversial” issues. She said: “And make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.”
There are lots of things that there are "alternate views" of that have no basis in reality. The Moon landing was faked. the Earth is flat. The African slaves were guest workers. There were Irish slaves in the American colonies. 9-11 was an inside job. Jewish space lasers control the weather. Chemtrails. Paul McCarthy died in 1966. Jade Helm was a rehearsal for invading the United States. the COVID vaccine has microchips so Bill Gates can track everyone. But just because some part of the population believes some whackaloon ideas does not mean they should be taught in schools as alternative views.
This is all because Republicans are having a cow over the idea that schools should even mention the fact that the European settlement of the Americas meant the near-extirpation of the people who were already there, or that the economy of the South was built on slave labor.
If the moon landing wasn't faked let them PROVE IT! They can't can they? for one simple reason Donald Trump wasn't presnident. That's all I need to know.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that this will be upheld by the "Supremes".
ReplyDeleteI was in public high school in Alabama in the 70s - 80s, and we were taught about about both topics. This was during blue dog Democrat times, who morphed into Republicans soon after.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they *should* have holocaust denial books, for the sole purpose of teaching a "holocaust denial" lesson - coupled with Nuremberg trial testimony and evidence to back up the truth.
ReplyDeleteThis is really another manifestation of the politique du pire, or, as someone put it, "flooding the zone with sh1t". Besides, they're pikers. Plenty of other places, the kids are only being taught the "conservative" myths. But from a pragmatic standpoint, the harm that this can do is limited by the facts that (1) public school is babysitting, full stop, and (2) the kids all know it.
ReplyDeleteI went to school in Northern California in the sixties and seventies, and I don't remember being taught about the holocaust or slavery at all. The only biased teaching I remember was in fifth grade when the teacher was a hard core Christian and told us about it all the damn time. It didn't work.
ReplyDelete-Doug in Sugar Pine
When St. Christopher Columbus came to the Western Hemisphere it was void of any people. After years of selfless toil building up a great civilization it attracted illegals from Middle Earth. They snuck in through the open borders and claimed they were here all along. So then they had to entice Africans to come here and pay them high union wages just for diversity. Texas History 101.~
ReplyDeleteOn the other side of the holocaust were fascists. If they want to teach that, I'm all for it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't think that is quite what they had in mind.
I never realized quite how far we were on that road here, until things like this come out.
I don't want to be around for it, but we did forget. In spite of the personal accounts, and the pictures, and all the evidence. Our warriors tried to leave us reminders but we turned our backs to their hard won wisdom.
On the other side of the holocaust was the dead.
w3ski
7th grade earth science...
ReplyDeleteFirst the teacher read Genesis, that was like second day
after getting books and stuff...
At the time I didn't think much but for the rest of the
year it was science theory, observations, data, facts.
It was clear he was presenting a story and how unsophisticated
people might interpret the world and create a origin story.
It made clear what is science and what is myth and story telling.
Counter stories for things known to be facts are only useful
if your teaching critical thinking, not reinforcing myths and
random beliefs.
Eck!
Aaand yet you advocate for such opposing views as more than 2 genders and such.
ReplyDeleteGotta be more consistent....
Having said that, I think holocaust denial is as intelligent as more than 2 genders and that men (males) can menstruate and get pregnant....But if yer gonna teach that kind of bullshit, then you might as well teach the alternate view to the Holocaust.
This is what comes when one denies reality.
Where the hell are you getting that from, B? Who in here said anything along the lines of your third paragraph?
ReplyDeleteAre you OK?