Justin’s Coda

The Full Measure of the Meaning of History

In case you missed the comment Justin added to his podcast posted yesterday, I’m posting it here. Thanks, Justin, for your commitment to teaching and learning and for your willingness to speak out in these strange times:

“Thank you for having me! After our conversation, I was reminded of an additional point that remains important in the whole debate regarding how we teach history and social science.

Often, politicians and other influential figures argue that teaching the history of oppression that marginalized groups faced and still face in the United States creates discomfort and especially forces White students to feel a sense of blame.

To that point, I argue that the study of history itself is one that often creates moments of discomfort. I don't imagine that many feel indifferent to the countless ways that enslaved groups of people in the United States suffered.

History represents a multitude of stories that often involve tragedies, atrocities, and injustices. The only way that we can ensure that they never happen again is by studying them which is why it is paramount that K-12 education accounts for diverse perspectives.

I would also argue that much of the K-12 core curriculum includes counts of atrocities and feelings of possible discomfort from a White American perspective. For instance, Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor represents an American loss. It is portrayed as an event that should be memorialized and we commemorate the loss of American lives. This also means that we feel discomfort or at least some negative emotional response when we learn of the death of American soldiers but we use that as a means of discussing ways to remember the tragedy and to ensure that it never happens again.

I don't see Florida eliminating the discussion of Pearl Harbor or 9/11 or any other American tragedies from their curriculum yet there is a need to eliminate these discussions on tragedies and atrocities for minority groups.

History requires difficult, often somber discussions, and we should ensure that we are having those discussions across the board for people of all identities, not just White American identities.”