Imperialism and other issues

[HuyckMar]

Hello all,

I recently had a discussion with a neighbor who has very strong opinions, and likes to come after teachers quite a bit. He told me a story about how he felt his daughter was unfairly judged by a teacher. ( After listening to him, I would agree with him)

Basically, the lesson was on British imperialism, and the teacher expressed his bias, that imperialism was completely a bad thing for the culture of India as an example. This parent was angry because he said that the teacher only presented one view on Imperialism. He instead had the perspective that British Imperialism had many positive effects on the culture of India, including better education system, higher standard of living, as well as longer life expectancy.

I guess my question is how do you deal with issues like this in your classroom. This discussion made me reflect on how I teach imperialism. I think in general I do tend to focus on the negative consequences for the indigenous people. The teacher in question here, went as far as to tell the student that her opinion was not correct. He gave her a poor grade because she wrote a paper on how imperialism was a positive thing in India.

How do you address these types of issues? Should both perspectives be given? Where do you draw the line between presenting two sides of an issue, even when you feel super strongly that one side is in the right? I know we need to present facts on both sides, but sometimes given our curriculum even this can be hard.

What are some thoughts out there? Please help me out.

Thank you,

Marcus Huyck

[theq]

[I think that both perspectives are equally important. When I teach about Columbus supposedly "discovering" America, I present the material from the perspective of a Native American. They are usually unfamiliar with this side of the story which is surprising.
A teacher's job is to present material correctly and without prejudice. Our job is to get students to develop thier own thoughts and ideas. No matter who's side a student thinks is correct, as long as they are able to support their thoughts with facts or logical reasoning, it should be accepted regardless of a teacher's personal opinion. Leave the judging to other, more appropriate forces.

Scott Middle SchooQUOTE]Originally posted by HuyckMar:
Hello all,

I recently had a discussion with a neighbor who has very strong opinions, and likes to come after teachers quite a bit. He told me a story about how he felt his daughter was unfairly judged by a teacher. ( After listening to him, I would agree with him)

Basically, the lesson was on British imperialism, and the teacher expressed his bias, that imperialism was completely a bad thing for the culture of India as an example. This parent was angry because he said that the teacher only presented one view on Imperialism. He instead had the perspective that British Imperialism had many positive effects on the culture of India, including better education system, higher standard of living, as well as longer life expectancy.

I guess my question is how do you deal with issues like this in your classroom. This discussion made me reflect on how I teach imperialism. I think in general I do tend to focus on the negative consequences for the indigenous people. The teacher in question here, went as far as to tell the student that her opinion was not correct. He gave her a poor grade because she wrote a paper on how imperialism was a positive thing in India.

How do you address these types of issues? Should both perspectives be given? Where do you draw the line between presenting two sides of an issue, even when you feel super strongly that one side is in the right? I know we need to present facts on both sides, but sometimes given our curriculum even this can be hard.

What are some thoughts out there? Please help me out.

Thank you,

Marcus Huyck

[/QUOTE]