War that ended 30 years ago still missing in most school curricula

[donsu]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05119/496477.stm

-snip-

And, they say, that lack of knowledge among America's young about the sacrifices, successes and mistakes in Vietnam could make them vulnerable.

That's Steve Jackson's fear.

Jackson, a professor of political science at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, said students in his Introduction to American Politics course have little if any knowledge about the Vietnam War and its lessons. He finds that appalling, especially in light of the U.S.'s current involvement in Iraq.

"Oftentimes, in world history courses, high school teachers only get to World War II and then the school year's over," Jackson said. "Unfortunately, high school curriculums are taught in a fairly black-and-white manner, which is what school boards demand. They don't want want nuanced positions, they want right and wrong, and World War II is a great story of right and wrong.

"Vietnam is a much more complicated thing to teach, and high school teachers tend to shy away from it."
-snip-
-------------------------------


Jackson is right.

"teachers tend to shy away from it." would real teachers shy away from teaching a hard subject?

most text books originate in Texas.

[aeolian]

1. In middle school and high school, I was taught the same 150 years

of american history EVERY FUCKING YEAR!!!!! Pre-revolution through the civil war, grade, after grade, after grade. Once, we almost got through the Spanish-American war!

I didn't learn about WWI (officially) until my AP European History class Junior year. I was never taught anything about WWII, Korea, or Vietnam. Had to learn all that on my own.

And I went to one of the best public schools in New York State.

EDIT: graduated high school in 1996.

[rodeodance]

7. I assume the new hx standards will/do include the Vietnam war--

prob. still black and white--as this is way hx is taught. memorizing is the gold standard of NCLB.

[aeolian]

9. The textbooks themselves went up through Korea,

but the teachers ALWAYS started with the colonists first coming over from Europe. Like they thought we hadn't gotten it the previous two years.

But, yeah, it was standard high school "history:" all memorization. No context, analysis, or meaning. Just names, places, and dates. Oh, and maps of the colonies with little red and purple squiggles representing battles. *smacks forehead*

[Maine-ah]

15. I graduated in '93, and they never taught us anything past

the Civil War.

[donco6]

2. I heard a great discussion on Vietnam in one

of our high schools the other day. I was observing for NCLB (sigh). But at the Expeditionary Learning HS they were having a Socratic dialogue about the reasons we continued involvement in VN even when things really turned bleak. The kids had a lot of good, insightful comments. I was impressed.

But yes, it's a more daring topic than WWII.

[ThoughtCriminal]

3. It's like leaving out WW-2 in 1975

Korea, Cuban Missile Crisis, assassinations of JFK and MLK, Watergate, collapse of Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union...

Yeah, history just stops on VJ-Day

[Bill McBlueState]

4. we went backwards

In my junior-level high school American history class, we went backwards, starting in 1990 and going back to the Revolution by the end of the year. It was kind of a silly approach to history, but we did cover Vietnam. It was the teacher's last year before retirement -- he had the right to do something different his last time around.

[rodeodance]

8. it is the "history of the present" approach to teaching history.

[TomClash]

5. Wiat - we won that War right?

I saw it in a movie - it was like Rambo 8 or somethin' like that.

[LdyGuique]

6. Part of this is deliberate RW control of textbooks

There has been a movement for at least 20 years to rewrite textbooks so that they are "positive" and don't include negative or truthful historical events

[rodeodance]

10. yes, but it runs up against those who want gender, black, asian, etc

history to be included.

[CatholicEdHead]

13. Correct, what TX wants, TX gets

is pretty much it.

[seabeyond]

11. bought son a 60's chronicle, huge ass book

fro his bday last night. told someone this morning reason why, school isnt going to teach it i am going to have to here at home.

[donsu]

12. you are right. parents have to see to their kids learning things that

their school is not teaching.

[oscar111]

14. English Lit is worse

those courses ended with turgid Victorian novels all aflutter over a Scarlet Letter.

that's a scandal?

We never got any of upton sinclair, dos Passos, Jack London, Wells, et.

Never learned the private opinions of the writers, manyh of whom were LW.

PS my college, in '8O, did not have a copy of the Pentagon Papers secret true hist of vietnam. Tho it did have decent collections of other LW mags and such.

[LdyGuique]

16. Although, I've caught programming on television that was superior

to any textbook. Between PBS, THC, Discovery, National Geographic, and the Science Channel, I've learned some excellent history and science. Perhaps, our children need to be forced to sit down and watch at least several hours a week of "real" programming versus garbage programming. I've seen stuff I wish I'd been able to see while I was in school as it's made it real and vivid. It ranges from fundamental basics all the way up to some fairly refined theories.

[jmm]

17. In 8th gr I watched a sex ed video made in 1968

I was born in 1979. The teacher literally had to dust off the projector to show us that one. She got pissed off and stopped it near the end though to give a lecture to my friend Patrick and I for laughing too loud.

Even when teachers attempt to cover an important topic if they are using bad materials the students won't gain anything from it.