History Lesson

The Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 BBC News had an interesting article titled History Lessons Stymied in Lebanon.

Modern history is no longer a part of the curriculum in Lebanon's educational system. As the articles stated:

"Lebanon has a long and varied history, but schools steer clear of teaching about the country's recent past..."

It turns out that the kids aren't taught modern history because the adults can't agree on it. And the division does not stop with just modern history. From the article:

"Even the country's ancient history is a thorny issue here. There are dozens of the government-approved history textbooks that offer different takes on the past. Depending on their religious affiliation, schools can choose books that describe the French as colonialists or liberators and portray the Ottomans as conquerors or as administrators."

This issue was caused by the diversity of beliefs in Lebanon and was a direct result of a bitter civil war that ravaged the country for over a decade. Deep sectarian divisions still exist in the country, as well as religious and political hatred. Because of this, there has been no agreement on a common textbook with a common history.

As Ohaness Goktchian, professor of political science at the American University in Beirut says in the article:

"We are raising another generation of children who identify themselves with their communities and not their nation. History is what unites people. Without history we can't have unity."

Goktchian concludes:

"In Lebanon we don't share values and traditions. And we have an education system which contributes to the divisions among us."

As we start to prepare for adopting new teaching materials in a few years - once the state legislature decides on the year - let us be grateful we don't face the problems Lebanon does in the area of history.

Or do we?

Essential question: What determines the content of a history book sold nationwide?"

Photo: from article listed above.

Questions About Textbook Adoption

An article came across my desktop that points to an event that is drawing closer for our District: finding textbooks that present unbiased material yet still meet the needs of our students as well as meets the new state standards. The article below summaries an original article opinion editorial by Tony Blankley, which is here.

Are Muslims Influencing Textbooks?
by Marcia Segelstein

Conservative columnist Tony Blankley writes about some disturbing information he came across while researching a new book about the distortion of history and religion in textbooks.

The Council on Islamic Education is the primary Islamic group that vets textbooks in the U.S. The head of that group calls his work a “bloodless revolution inside American junior high and high school classrooms.”

We’re not talking about being sensitive not to offend, or being inclusive in discussions about world religion. We’re talking about outright distortion.

As one of his sources of information, Blankley cites “The Trouble with Textbooks – Distorting History and Religion,” by Gary A. Tobin and Dennis R. Ybarra. In it, the authors draw attention to how Christianity and Judaism are presented quite differently compared to Islam.

In “Holt World History,” for example, students read that Moses “claimed to receive the Ten Commandments from God,” while “Mohammed simply ‘received’ the Koran from God.” Another textbook, “Pearson’s World Civilizations,” says that Jesus is “believed by Christians to be the Messiah,” while Muhammad “received revelations from Allah.” Another textbook, “McDougal Littell World Cultures and Geography,” says that “Judaism is a story of exile” and “Christians believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah.” But when it comes to Islam, there’s no question of stories or beliefs. It simply states that the Quran “is the collection of God’s revelations to Muhammad.”

Hardly equal treatment.

The book being reviewed, The Trouble With Textbooks - Distorting History and Religion by Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra (pub. Aug., 2008), does sound interesting, and seems to be receiving good reviews. I haven't found it in our public library yet, but perhaps one day...

We will have to be aware of many issues in picking a textbook for our students to use: political bias, gender bias, religious bias, political correctness bias, while keeping in mind the history and worldview of our country. It will not be an easy job.

Essential question: What evidence of 'unequal treatment' is currently evidenced in our District's textbooks?