Speaking as a history teacher, I have a startling confession -- I hate Black History Month. Hispanic History Month, too. Ditto all the other special months that "celebrate" homosexuals, disabled individuals, women, Asians and the oppressed minority du jour.

I also hate special days and weeks for different groups. I'm also not particularly fond of Constitution Day and the federal mandate imposed upon me as an educator to teach about the Constitution on a given day in September.

Does that make me a bigot? Does it mean I hate everyone but for white men? No to both questions.

Instead, it means that I have a problem with agenda-driven history and curricula. And while I don't like the reasons for dropping the designations of special months in the Philadelphia School District, I do like the result.

Consider what I teach -- World History. Now this may come as a surprise to some of you, but history is generally taught in a somewhat linear fashion due to the shocking reality that time itself is linear in nature. As a result, I find it somewhat absurd to drop a less on on the Constitution in the middle of my unit on the early river valley civilizations. Similarly, Dr. King and the civil rights movement really fit better in May when I deal with the contemporary era of history, not back in February during the French Revolution. And as for the noted (alleged and presumed) homosexuals of history, I gladly deal with them in their respective historical context.

In a history classroom, content should not be balkanized in the name of promoting pride. I may have to deviate from a strict chronology from time to time (I deal with Alexander the Great before the Roman Republic because he fits better in the context of Greek Civilization before I chart the rise of Rome, which I concede began over a century before the Macedonian conqueror's death), but a chronological approach does make sense in a subject built, in large part, on chronology.

More to the point, the history of each and every one of these groups is the common heritage of all humanity. Properly taught, history provides us lessons on the common struggles and triumphs of various people's around the world, leading to the global society in which we live. Decontextualizing these groups and their achievements undercuts that message, no matter how much the advocates of these groups claim otherwise.

"It is appalling that a school district would drop months that recognize and educate our school children about the history and contributions of America's diverse fabric," said Malcolm Lazin, executive director of the homosexual advocacy group Equality Forum, in a news release.

"GLBT History Month is important for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) students and for the mainstream community," he said. "The GLBT community is uniquely disadvantaged because it does not learn its history at home or in public schools.

"It is important for young people to have role models, know their history, and take pride in the national and international contributions of their community," Lazin said.

I'm sorry, but that is dead wrong -- the diversity of the fabric is only seen when the threads are blended together to create the whole, while unraveling those threads destroys the fabric. These "separate but equal" months and celebrations, like "separate but equal" schools, do an injustice to our students and sow division, not unity.

Posted by: Greg at 09:50 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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