Sphere Watch - September 26, 2011

Similar to current events, this is an article chosen from 2007 along with my assignment.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-445979/Teachers-drop-Holocaust-avoid-offending-Muslims.html

Sphere of Influence: Education
Article Title: Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
Publication Date: April 2, 2007
By: Laura Clark

Summary:
A government-backed study revealed schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils, whose beliefs include Holocaust denial. The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills, looked into ‘emotive and controversial’ history teaching in primary and secondary schools and found some teachers also show resistance to tackling the 11th century Crusades – where Christians fought Muslim armies from control of Jerusalem. The report said teachers feared confronting lessons that contradict what is taught in local mosques. Christian parents challenged a third school as the classes did not accord with the teachings of their denomination. The researchers also warned that, particularly at a primary level, a lack of subject knowledge among teachers was leading to history being taught in a ‘shallow way leading to routine and superficial learning’. 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.”

Quotes and excerpts:

“History is not a vehicle for promoting political correctness. Children must have access to knowledge of these controversial subjects, whether palatable or unpalatable.”
- Chris McGovern, history education advisor to the former Tory government

“The report said teachers feared confronting ‘anti-Semitic sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim pupils’. “ - Laura Clark, article author

Discussion:
Ms. Clark’s informative piece is well-written, leaving a trail of personal opinion. It is fairly clear that the author is opposed to the idea of removing the said teachings from history’s curriculum. Looking to the quotes she selected to inform the reader, a not-so-hidden message is revealed: teachers fear some Muslim pupils. Among the teachers, a relative and secular humanistic worldview is present as they strive to promote tolerance; unfortunately this comes at the cost of withdrawing documented history of prior racial and religious intolerances. The teachers themselves have no roots in the material and therefore are disillusioned and unprepared to handle their own assumptions: Muslims will deny history and react boldly in the classroom. I find it extremely problematic and selectively discriminating that “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.” As a Christian student in a public school, I was most certainly challenged and on occasion even mocked by teachers who taught evolution as fact, no matter that I was ‘a pupil steeped at home, in my community and place of worship’ that God Almighty is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and that Jesus is His Son, the only Hope for humanity. Interestingly, teachers did not fear that Christian students would get in the way of their lesson plans; and, sadly, not enough of us did and have now adapted to secular humanism as well.