Even Loewen in Lies My Teacher Told Me, mentions how that "in 1992, Los Angeles exploded in a violent race riot, triggered by a white suburban jury's acquittal of four police officers who had been videotaped beating a black traffic offender...Almost every child in America saw this..." (336). Loewen may present the "cliff notes" version in order to succinctly argue his point that children are not as sheltered as parents would like them to be and that they know not all police officers are "friendly," but even he finds it important to mention.
Combining these two arguments just shows me that the LA riots of 1992 are very important to American history. Why aren't these discussed more in our high school classrooms? Much could be learned from the differing opinions and controversy. But it's just that -- the differences and controversy -- that makes textbook boards and school districts steer away from putting much more than a brief mention of this in curriculums. Loewen describes how this could offend parents and funders, so it's just left out. What about those people offended because it's left out? Publishers can't please everyone, but at least they could provide more objective and broader-exploring material for the next generation to learn from. It would be more interesting, too.
I have learned a lot just from these two books -- Lies and Twilight -- and think it would be beneficial to put such material in cirriculums. Kids need to be allowed to form their own opinions on race and politics. If they are show all sides, they are better equipped to do so, better equipped to be the good citizens that textbooks claim to be trying to mold, because they can think fro themselves and make knowledgeable, informed decisions and opinions. Controversy sparks interest and interests can help motivate students to actually learn!
Josie,
ReplyDeleteNice post. Glad you liked Twilight LA.