This is one of many ridiculous ideas we’ve seen during the national education conversation. A group of educators in Texas made a proposal to the State Board of Education suggesting that teachers should teach slavery as “involuntary relocation” in second-grade social studies lessons. Although the suggestion was rejected by the Board, it is still a ridiculous one.
The Texas Tribune reported:
This group of educators includes a University of Texas Rio Grande Valley professor. They are one of several such advisory groups that advise the state education board on making curriculum changes requests. This summer the board will consider updates to social studies instruction a year after lawmakers passed a law to keep topics that make students “feel discomfort” out of Texas classrooms.
Before digging into the report, it is important to note that Texas’ law is about far more than just making students “feel discomfort” over the teaching of America’s history. It is about ensuring that teachers are not influencing students to judge one another by skin color – but it’s The Texas TribuneSo, of course they leave that out.
Nevertheless, it was met with considerable criticism. Board member Aicha Davis, a Democrat, lambasted the argument, pointing out that characterizing slavery in this manner was not a “fair representation” of the peculiar institution.
“I can’t say what their intention was, but that’s not going to be acceptable,” she told The Texas TribuneOn Thursday.
The draft proposal said that lessons regarding slavery should “compare journeys to America, including voluntary Irish immigration and involuntary relocation of African people during colonial times.”
Lone Star State currently is developing a curriculum for social studies. The overhaul takes place approximately every ten years in order to keep the public schools current with new material. This is all happening amid heated discussions about leftist ideologies being instilled into K-12 classrooms.
Many states passed laws to prohibit teachers from teaching lessons inappropriate for children under the age of 6. Progressives have pushed back against these measures, claiming they are rooted in bigotry and a desire to whitewash America’s history when it comes to racial matters.
Newsmax reported that the state’s education board rejected the working draft and sent it back for revision. “For K-2, carefully examine the language used to describe events, specifically the term ‘involuntary relocation,’” the group requested.
These schools are not the only ones to be criticized for teaching slavery. Newsmax also noted that “Texas attracted attention in 2015 when it was discovered a state-approved social studies textbook called slaves brought to the U.S. ‘workers.’”
Progressives will be able to use this proposal to claim that any opposition to critical race theories is nothing but an attempt to gloss over the darkest parts of American history. Moreover, if it had been adopted, it would have been exactly that – a way to downplay an evil that the country worked hard to move away from. It not only reduces the seriousness of the problem, but also makes it less valuable than the millions of Americans who have worked to eliminate the institution.
Many agree with the fact that history can be taught in public schools better. The far-left seeks only to highlight America’s flaws to undermine the reasons for being proud of our country. The appropriate response is not to water down the nasty parts of the nation’s history, but to tell AllIt includes the positive.
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