[quote=CBad]I totally agree with Hobie. Also, I wish we could get over covering all of the politically correct categories and focus on actual History. All people should know about important people and events in history and the fact that they are black, white, gay, straight, men or women is besides the point. I’m not against kids learning about Harvey Milk but they had better be able to know where San Francisco is on a map, which Native Americans lived there, and the impact of the Gold Rush first.[/quote]
But this is the point. Instead of my underfunded and lacking public schooling in Maryland, using a 1970s-era text book where every figure was white and male, the history we are encouraging be taught today would be MORE accurate and encourage more analytical thinking. The railroads west just didn’t magically appear–the Chinese labored and died to make them. That is part of our history. That is why SF has such a high Chinese population. I think the past focus on only one group has further pixelated the picture–if you teach a comprehensive version of history it is more wholistic and inclusive of the over all struggle to build America–even when the groups sometimes struggled against each other.
One other comment: I don’t think the school systems will have to have sex ed in first grade in order for elementary schools to incorporate the contributions of individuals into the curriculum. The books like “Dick and Jane Have Two Mommies” or whatever get the point across fairly well without going into the details.
High schoolers could definitely handle sexual orientation as one aspect of a given historical figure and, in fact, I think that’s where this material would do the most good since most teen suicides I am aware of happen during the high school years (duh) and many are attributable, at least in part, to peer hazing and feelings of alienation.
