Re: God Save the Queen

This is what the Focus On the Family folks want for the U.S. The motto for
the Republican Party is "Dumb and Dumberer".

"WaIIy" <eIvez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ifoc139t6o8frsh3sjooq15gnehvdge9f8@xxxxxxxxxx

No lessons on the Holocaust

By Telegraph Reporter Last Updated: 2:25am BST 03/04/2007


Schools are dropping controversial subjects from history lessons
- such as the Holocaust and the Crusades - because teachers do
not want to cause offence, Government research has discovered.

The way the slave trade is taught can lead white children as well
as black pupils to feel alienated, according to a study by the
Historical Association.

Freed prisoners at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland
after the Second World War Ignored by schools: freed prisoners at
the Auschwitz concentration camp

A lack of knowledge among teachers, particularly in primary
schools, is also leading to "shallow" lessons on emotive and
difficult subjects.

Some teachers dropped the Holocaust completely from lessons
because of fears that Muslim pupils might express anti-semitic
reactions. One school avoided teaching the Crusades because its
"balanced" handling of the topic would directly contradict what
was taught in local mosques.

The report, funded by the Department for Education and Skills,
said: "Teachers and schools avoid emotive and controversial
history for a variety of reasons, some of which are well-
intentioned.

"Staff may wish to avoid causing offence or appearing insensitive
to individuals or groups in their classes.

"In particular settings, teachers of history are unwilling to
challenge highly contentious or charged versions of history in
which pupils are steeped at home, in their community or in a
place of worship."

The researchers gave the example of one history department in a
secondary school in a northern city which decided not to teach
the Holocaust as a topic for GCSE coursework. advertisement

The report said teachers feared confronting "anti-semitic
sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim pupils".
Christian parents at another school complained about the way the
Arab-Israeli conflict was taught.

"In another department, the Holocaust was taught despite anti-
semitic sentiment among some pupils, but the same department
deliberately avoided teaching the Crusades at Key Stage 3 (for
11- to 14-year-olds) because their balanced treatment of the
topic would have directly challenged what was taught in some
local mosques."

The study said too many teachers "play safe". It called for
better training in how they should handle difficult subjects.

Emotive issues such as the slave trade can be taught too blandly,
portraying Afro-Caribbeans as victims and isolating black pupils,
the report said.

But when teachers down play the role of the white authorities in
abolishing the slave trade, white children can become alienated.

The report came as Britain marks 200 years since the passing of
laws which brought about the end of transatlantic slavery. The
anniversary caused angry protests and renewed demands for a
formal Government apology for Britain's role in the trade.

Earlier this year, a Government review of citizenship education
recommended that all pupils should learn about issues such as
slavery and the legacy of the British Empire. Children should be
encouraged to develop their own sense of British identity to
avoid social divisions widening between different groups, it
said.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/02/nschools02.xml



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