Pleased to meet you...

[Knowhereman]

I am looking for teachers who have came to the same realization that I have about most public school curriculums and that is that most minorities who make up this country are not equally represented in most text books that are used to teach these very same minorities and all other students. Also, most schools are not actively teaching antiracism-the study of racism's roots and how to stop racism.

Yes, I realize that some schools do, in fact, observe Black History Month, Cinco De Mayo, and other such holidays, but why do these observations have to be separate and only discussed one month or day out of the entire year? Why not teach Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Jewish history in conjunction with white history? It all should be combined into OUR history and/or herstory. Why are we still teaching the greatness of such "explorers" as Columbus instead of the truth about him and every other person in history who is greatly misrepresented in our text books?

Also, the media, our schools, some institutions, and society, in general teach racism daily and our students are the unwilling recipents of these misguided and hurtful lessons. What is being done to counteract these lessons? Antiracist education could be the answer to this question that not many educators seem to be not asking.

I want to establish a dialogue with like-minded teachers who feel the same way that I do about this so that maybe we can work towards the direction of correcting this. So that ALL of our students who sit in front of us for six hours a day, five days a week will see education as a way of improving their lives and will develop a positive self-concept that will enable them to be productive and happy citizens in this country.

If you are interested in what I have presented, please respond on this forum or email me personally. Yes, I am prepared for those of you who may disagree with what I am saying and may feel the need to call me a Commie Pinko N-word loving whatever. This is a free country, for most of us, and so your comments and feedback will be welcome as well.

[Chef Dave]

I am ethnic Chinese and find it interesting that although we are (briefly) mentioned in the history of the construction of the trans-Continental railroad, nothing is really said about the anti-Asian sentiment that led to the exclusion act of 1862. After the exclusion act was passed, Chinese were prohibited from becoming U.S. citizens for the next 60 years ... and this despite the poem at the base of the statue of liberty which was erected in 1886.

Emma Lazarus's poem reads:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The poem should have included a postscript that said, "Everyone is welcome in this country except for those damned Chinese!" :)

Still - although I resent the early history of Chinese in this country, I am grateful that the exclusion act was eventually repealed.

My grandfather came to the United States with the first group of Chinese immigrants after the exclusion act was ended. The opportunities he found in this country allowed him to lift my family out of poverty. My father and his brother both became doctors. Today my cousins are engineers, doctors, and attorneys. I myself am a teacher.

To be fair to this country I will also point out that every wave of immigrants has met some form of discrimination.

For example, beginning in the last quarter of the 19th century, millions of Polish immigrants came to America. As with many new immigrants, they took menial jobs. Many of them wound up working in American factories.

Working conditions in American factories was dreadful. Ten to twelve hour days were common. Sixteen hour days were not unheard of. The work week often ran for 6 1/2 days with a half day off for Church. Safety regulations were almost non-existent.

In 1886, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions prevailed upon the state government in Wisconsin to adopt an 8 hour work day. Unfortunately for the union, no penalties were included for employers who violated this law.

When Polish laborers went on strike in protest, the state governor called out the National Guard. Four companies of the guard fired upon the protesters. Seven men were killed. This incident later became known as the Bayview Massacre.

There were no repercussions against the employers who violated the law. In point of fact, the factory owners even took up a collection and gave a cash bonus to each member of the National Guard who participated in breaking the strike.

An inquiry of the events later praised the action of the National Guard. The official report referred to the incident as "unpleasant duty" and suggested that the guard had been humane in only firing one volley into the crowed of unarmed protesters.

Twenty Poles were subsequently indicted for leading an unlawful assembly. They were sentenced to hard labor ranging from six to nine months.

If you read the history of the labor movement in the United States you will find a history of greed, corruption, and discrimination.

Consider for example the mining strike of 1916 in Colorado. Most of the miners were East European or Mexican. They went on strike to protest low wages, lack of union representation, and unsafe work conditions.

Two companies of National Guardsmen, their pay underwritten by the Rockefeller interests that owned the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation, launched an attack on a miners' tent colony where one thousand men, women, and children lived. The Guardsmen machine gunned the tents and burned them. Forty-five unarmed civilians died including eleven children and two women.

The massacre resulted in widespread skirmishes. Armed miners attacked soldiers and destroyed mining property.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. later hired labor relations experts and implemented reforms for the mines and mining towns that included paved roads and recreational facilities, as well as worker representation on committees dealing with working conditions, safety, health, and recreation.

By way of another example, consider the history of the Irish Catholics.

Alarmed over the influx of Irish into this country during the 19th century, an attorney named Henry Bowers founded the American Protective Association in 1887. The mission of this secret society was to restrict Catholic immigration, remove Catholic teachers from public schools, and to ban Catholics from public office.

At the height of their power in 1896, the APA numbered 2.5 million members that included 20 sympathizers in the U.S. Congress. In actuality, the APA never achieved any of their objectives. Internal corruption and mismanagement bankrupted the organization ... so much so that that the APA disbanded in 1900.

As I hope you can see, history is replete with stories of discrimination and unfair practices. Although I am sympathetic to your point of view, I also take the opinion that life goes on.

I am barely old enough to remember the old segregated south. My father was a doctor with the U.S. Public Health Service which is based in Atlanta, Georgia. When the first McDonalds came to Atlanta in the early 60's prior to the repeal of the segregated restaurants law, my family had to eat our meal in the car. I thought it was a novel treat to eat in the car and was too young to understand the old Jim Crow laws that prohibited us from eating in the restaurant.

When I was a junior in high school, I was the only Asian enrolled at my school which was located in an Atlanta suburb. The only other minority was an African American. The white students said he was okay for a n----- because he was on the football team. Most of my classmates told me that I was also "okay" for a chink because I acted white.

How times have changed.

I think our society is more integrated today than it was back in the 60's. It's certainly a lot more integrated than it was a hundred years ago.

Race relations continue to improve.

The history of America is not perfect. No country has a perfect history because people are inherently flawed creatures. Greed, pettiness, hatred, lust, and envy war with trust, honesty, generosity, kindness, and mercy.

Although our history could include more references to minorities, the truth of the matter is that this country was founded by Anglo-Saxons. When you look at American history through the mid 20th century, who owned the factories? Who passed the laws? Who led this country? Whose culture has left an indelible stamp upon the fabric of American society?

This is not to say that minorities have not contributed to the growth and evolution of this country ... but as far as I can see, most minorities are only footnotes in the pages of history.

This is not because minorities were lacking in ability. It is because the opportunities simply did not exist.

As far as I can see, the past is past. We need to look towards the future and like all Americans, need to work towards improving our lives so that future generations, regardless of race, will have better opportunities than did our parents and grandparents.

[busbus]

Knowhereman,

I used to feel the same way as you do; however, I came to the realization that textbooks and our observances are only glimmers into understanding the history of this country and its people as well as the contributions made by the various groups that make up this country. To go beyond this glimmer, it is necessary to delve into primary sources, to explore secondary sources and to be open to discussion.

One avenue that we have in my school district is its mandate that we include a multicultural aspect across our discipline. So if we are to do this, this eliminates the one group perspective on a topic; other groups must be included.

As an example, the study of the Westward Expansion , leads to more than Lewis and Clark or the Gold Rush. If we delve deeper, we'll find that all Black Towns emerged. What was happening to Mexicans in California. Why the Border Wars? These are but a few explorations that can evolve from this theme.

All in all, I found that my curriculum became richer when my students and I delved deeper into a theme. A textbook is only one resource. We have to go beyond celebrations!

Our history may be flawed and sometimes extremely ugly; but, if we help our students to delve deeper and have meaningful discourse, they will find much to draw their own conclusions. All we need to do is to open the door!

[Aziz]

I am here to provide you hope!

We celebrate diversity in my school. We include minorities in our history curricula, which means veering away from the textbook a lot. In fact, we actively teach anti-racism. Students at our school read at least two books per year about racism. We have a seminar where we discuss discrimination, and how to prevent and eliminate it. We also organize assemblies and put up bulletins that celebrate various minorities.

Just to give you an idea of the atmosphere of my school: if a movie we watch doesn't represent minorities, students will make fun of it. For instance, one of my colleagues said that she showed a science movie and her students pointed out that every single person in the movie was a white male. They made fun of the movie. So when our students go out in the real world, where the history textbooks only talk about the white male Founding Fathers, our students will be conscious of it and will be able to protect themselves from internalization.

Whenever I think too much about U.S. history, an overwhelming sense of shame comes over me.

-Aziz

[Chef Dave]

So when our students go out in the real world, where the history textbooks only talk about the white male Founding Fathers, our students will be conscious of it and will be able to protect themselves from internalization.



I'm afraid I don't see your point.

The founding fathers of this country WERE white males. This is a historical fact.

The origin of the term "founding fathers" is vague. It is my understanding that the term wasn't even used until 1914 and was only used in reference to the members of the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

The Constitutional Convention, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, the Federal Convention, or the "Grand Convention at Philadelphia" took place between May 25 and September 17, 1787. The purpose of the convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation. What actually happened was that the delegates drafted a constitution with an attached bill of rights.

Present among these delegates were such notable historical figures as James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington.

http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/chft/images/01-08.gif

There were no minorities in attendance as delegates or advisors. I wish I could say otherwise, but this would simply not be true ... and no amount of wishful thinking will change this basic fact.

So - while I sympathize with the overall theme of this thread, I question the idea that minorities must be involved at every turn in American history.

Our history is what it is. I think we should accept it, learn from the mistakes of the past, appreciate the fact that we live in a better world, and move on.

With regards to students making fun of a science film because no minorities were represented ... I am at a loss as to understand why anyone would behave this way.

Why must everything be multicultural and poltically correct? Why should the lack of minority representation undermine the instrinsic worth of the film as a tool to teach science?

[Knowhereman]

Aziz, Thank you for your reply and your hope. Where do you teach and would it be possible to see this diverse curricula? I am currently beginning a research project in this area and am very interested in learning more about the curriculum at your school.

[sweetsass]

Hi there, Knowhereman,

I was wondering what the racial makeup is at your school. ?

I work at a high school in an extremely socio-economically challenged area of South Central Los Angeles. There are no white students at our school, and many schools in LA are the same way. Not teaching history that doesn't include the stories of racial minorities, or not teaching English that doesn't include works by racial minorities, wouldn't be an option.

If there's anything specific that you'd like to ask about what is taught at my school, feel free.

[Aziz]

Knowhereman, I'd rather not mention my school's name on the Internet for purposes of anonymity.

Chef Dave,

For starters, I want to say that I say everything here in a calm, factual tone.

Plenty of minorities participated in American history. Dr. Martin Luther King, for instance--although I do realize he has made his way into textbooks. An example of someone who hasn't: Crispus Attucks in the Boston Massacre. The horrible conditions Japanese-Americans had to endure after Pearl Harbor are often omitted. Textbooks often glorify Christopher Columbus and skip over the fact that he convinced himself the Native Americans were a dangerous people and burned a boat of Muslims on the way over to the New World. I'm sorry I wasn't clear--I didn't mean that the Founding Fathers weren't white and male; I meant to say that most textbooks only mentioned people that were white and male, such as the Founding Fathers. While I agree that we shouldn't deny that many contributors to history were white and male, we should not leave out those who weren't. Textbooks should not only mention that minorities were oppressed, but should also include certain members who made vital contributions to history despite being part of an oppressed group.

Many times when textbooks do mention famous minorities, they forget to mention that they were minorities. How many people know Thomas Edison was Deaf? I've read so many biographies of Langston Hughes and James Baldwin where it is never mentioned that they were gay, only that they were African-American.

I think it is essential to represent everyone in our history. The beauty of this country is that it is not homogeneous like so many others. We have different cultures that we can compare, allowing us to appreciate the upsides and recognize the downsides of each culture. For me it's not so much a preoccupation for being politically correct as it is a duty to give every student the opportunity to identify with historical figures. I think that teaching students about their people's history is another way of fulfilling their need for role models.

As for the making fun of the science film, I was just trying to illustrate our students' ability to be conscious and protect themselves from further internalization.

I want to apologize if I came across as hostile. Please know that I don't intend anything I said in a defensive way. I am just very passionate about this topic!

-Aziz

[MsCoffeeLover]

Textbooks are constantly being revised. In addition, most teachers, if they even use the textbook, supplement the textbook with so many other things. Using the textbook is one thing, and I understand your point, but let's give a little credit to the teacher who extends the lesson. We do more in the classroom than anyone can ever see. Teachers put a great deal of thoughts into their lessons--more thought than some people give them credit for.

Not that I am choosing sides, but I agree with busbus. If your students feel as though they are in a comfortable environment, you will have discussions that you wouldn't believe existed. Also, if some teachers are into team planning, there are many language arts standards like primary and secondary sources that can be incorporated. How can anyone not teach history without using real letters or diaries from that time?

I thought of this thread yesterday after the students and I watched a video on WWI. Part of the reason I chose that video was the fact that it discussed the roles of minorities and women. Some of my kids had a hard time watching the treatment of some of the African Americans in the film, but guess what? They asked me about it right after the video, and I used that time to discuss so many things with them. Those are the teachable moments that will never be addressed in any textbook or documented in any evaluation.

A lot of awful things existed, and that is the reality, but we also can't escape the reality of how far things have come, and the minorities contribution to what we have today. We could potentially have the first woman or the first black man for president. The kids may witness an historical first in America. When you see that, you see all the little seeds that had to be planted to get there, and there is no way folks aren't going to teach that along the way.

[Chef Dave]

I want to apologize if I came across as hostile. Please know that I don't intend anything I said in a defensive way. I am just very passionate about this topic!

-Aziz

Thank you for your comments and your explanation. As I said earlier, I am in general sympathy with the overall theme of this thread.

When I talked about the founding fathers, I was also thinking about the more pivotal historical moments in our nation's history. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitutional Convention of 1878, Madison's proclamation of Manifest Destiny, and so forth are all major events.

Society being what it was at the time - the major "players" of our history were essentially white, male, and wealthy.

Prior to moving to Arizona, I was a member of a local historical society in Pennsylvania. I recall one of our members showing us an enlarged photograph of a cobbler's store on Main Street in Harrisburg just prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

The member told us that he was the descendant of a freedman who was himself, a person of mixed race. The freedman in question was extremely light skinned and could pass as "white" but the times being what they were, the owner of the cobbler's store put him to work in the back of the shop where he could be "out of sight" of "decent folk."

By today's standards, this wasn't right or fair ... but by the standards of the time, the cobbler was actually quite liberal in employing a person of mixed color in his shop.

I also remember thinking that our textbooks are a bit skewed in that the north always seems to be portrayed as a land of freedom for escaped slaves.

Although the north did not recognize slavery, freedmen and escaped slaves met a great deal of discrimination. Homeless, uneducated, and with few possessions, many former slaves found themselves in government established contraband camps where they were hired out at low wages to Unionist plantation owners.

Even after the civil war began and the Bureau of Colored Troops began to recruit African Americans into the Union army, the discrimination continued. Most black soldiers got substandard training and cast off equipment. While white soldiers were paid $13 a month, black troops were paid $10 a month. Unlike their white counterparts, black troops were also billed for their uniforms - further reducing their rate of pay.

Many of our history text books would have us believe that the north was a beacon of shining hope and opportunity for freedmen and escaped slaves. The reality was that the north was in some respects, really no different from the south.