Diversity training starts early
Cut On The Bias, which is one of my favorite blogs, has thoughtful yet nervous commentary on a scheme to teach (meaning, endorse) slavery reparations to kids:
A controversial African-American history initiative may be incorporated into the curriculum of public schools across the nation as early as September 2003. Twenty-four black scholars are currently finalizing lesson plans that focus on events such as the "Black Holocaust" and issues like slavery reparations that typically are not addressed by kids' textbooks.
Dennis Smith, a Milwaukee, Wis., teacher, is part of the elite group of African-American scholars from across the country who were chosen by the Thomas Day Education Project (TDEP) to participate in its 'Let It Shine' program. Both rely on federal grant money from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support their educational efforts.
Cut On The Bias notes that this is not the same thing as a pure celebration of heritage:
Smith seeks to trace the history of all civilization to Africa and show how it emerged from there; he wants to expose the "Black Holocaust" with a direct connection from there to black reparations; and he wants young black Americans to know "where they came from" so they will know "where they are now".
Interesting. You know, my ancestors in Ireland, Scotland and Wales didn't have an easy time at home and faced some very difficult times once they came here. I'm interested to learn about that, but I'm not "where I am now" because of "where I came from". I'm American, not Irish or Scottish or Welsh - although I'm proud of my heritage. I do think it fills in some gaps to understand your history...
But those are interesting things, not necessary things. I'm no more or less talented, intelligent, capable because I am from Scots rather than Russian or Japanese or Watusi stock. I think it would be great to teach all American kids about the history of all great civilizations, and in our increasingly mixed race classrooms for all children to know the ancestoral history of their Russian or Japanese or Watusi classmate. That should be about an appreciation of differences, however, not an effort to say that someone is now better or worse than another person now because of that ancestry.
And needless to say, there is already disagreement about the focus of the lessons:
"When people talk about 'the Holocaust' with a capital 'H', they usually refer to the holocaust against the Jews," said Neil Goldstein, executive director of the American Jewish Congress. "I don't know why one would need to take other people's terminology when it stands on its own." Goldstein said African-Americans suffered a "horrendous" fate both in their overseas transport to the Americas and on dry land as slaves. However, he disagreed with Smith's rationale for comparing slavery to the Jewish Holocaust..."What's particularly unique about the Jewish Holocaust is that there was an attempt to wipe-out an entire group," he said. "This was a conscious attempt to systematically exterminate all Jews. That's what was different about our particular experience."
Goldstein also disagreed with Smith's advocacy of monetary reparations for the living descendants of deceased slaves. "Survivors get reparations. There are no survivors who are living from the days of slavery," he said. "Descendants of survivors of the Holocaust against Jews don't get reparations...it's the survivors themselves."
Teaching any child his or her heritage is genuine education. Teaching them that they are determined by their ethnic group or by how their ethnic group has historically been treated - or that anyone in their ethnic group is owed money by the government - crosses the line into propaganda. It is of no use to schoolchildren to be taught that reparations for slavery should be given. That element of this proposed plan is nothing more than an attempt on the part of reparation proponents to bias the discussion, by teaching it in schools as "fact."