Just a question from a Canadian. Are kids today in the USA going to be taught about the neocons,

[applegrove]

ALEC, and the rest of the right wing movement in the usa, including the taking over of the economics field by the right? Does what is left of the public school system teach such things? Or are they going to be allowed to remain stealth events in the history of the USA?

[freshwest]

1. I doubt they'll be mentioned, because that's a lesson in civics. They're eliminating the rest of our

History as we speak. The kids won't know about unions, minorities or whatever. There's a few threads just regarding Thomas Jefferson, who amazingly, has been removed from the TX text books:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11241639

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/125131094

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002328878

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1163231

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002596960

Between that and charter schools, privatization and all of that, they are pushing for a theocracy. No, they won't be telling our history nor none of their dirty deeds through history.

[gateley]

2. Well look at you! I was going to go "probably not, some aren't even being

taught evolution" but you've nailed the civics and provided the links! I stand in awe.

[freshwest]

5. Oh, I try. Where's Applegrove, though?

[freshwest]

6. Amending that. One of the best resources is being taught in Tucson, AZ!!!!!!

In a Democratically held district, with US Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07) no doubt helping:

National Zinn Education Award Given to Tucson’s Mexican American Studies Director Sean Arce

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2012/04/02/national-zinn-education-award-given-to-tucsons-mexican-american-studies-director-sean-arce/

Another source for teachers:

http://zinnedproject.org/posts/category/explore_by_theme/labor

One of our members is also helping his students by providing progressive texts in Texas. So allthough I sometimes get rather negative, we're not done yet. If we have more Democrats in office we will have more of the information on the scoundrels to teach future generations not to fall for this. It's going to be hard to do with the challenges facing us, but there's a momentum buidling for change from the ground up.

[Cleita]

3. Only if their parents teach them. I doubt if they will get something that informative in their

American history classes. I never really learned American history until I left school although I had classes in it all through school. For some reason or the other, our schools feel they have to sanitize what happened so what they get is mostly patriotic, flag waving propaganda.

[bayareamike]

4. Probably not in public high schools

but in college (although in many cases this is changing as well) there are many good, anti RW professors fighting the good fight. I went to UC Berkeley though, so it's entirely possible that my experience was an outlier.

[treestar]

7. In my experience, that would be under "current events" as

"history" only went up to about what the oldest generation alive now could remember.

"Current events" - not much time spent on it. And that was back then. Now it would probably be considered wrong to discuss politics at all - it would be considered trying to influence the students.

Now I am curious - in Canada, what is taught about the US? Is it under "World History" or does it get more attention? Are there separate courses for it? I know we never learned "Canadian History" (maybe some colleges would have a course) but then there is the entire superpower thing where US history maybe affects Canada more.

[applegrove]

11. We learnt quebec history in public french immersion even though I was in Ontario. We learnt Canadian

history all along. Including a discussion on Quebec trying to separate. We had a course on American history (at least a term) and british history (at least a term) in high school. Never took any canadian history in university.

[treestar]

12. Cool. What are the highlights of Canadian History?

It sounds rather dull (in a good way).

[applegrove]

13. Expulsion of the Acadia's in 1753 because they would not pledge loyalty to the british - so these

people who had built & diked the most incredible farms on the bay of fundy in Nova Scotia for 200 years got sent back to France or sent to Louisiana. Les filles du roi: orphaned women sent to New France (Quebec) to marry the men in the settlement in the 1600s. Louis Riel who was a Metis (half french, half native) who ran two rebellions in Manitoba and was hanged in the 1800s. Potlatches in British Columbia, where the native people of different tribes would have gift giving contests and the most generous chief would win the battle (they smoked salmon three months out of the year and thus had all the protein they needed for a year then and thus spent the rest of the time making art - one of the richest cultures the world has ever seen).

[laundry_queen]

14. Interesting.

We didn't have anything on American history at all, except the odd comment about comparisons between Canada and the US. I went to school in Alberta. We did a LOT of Canadian history in junior high (especially Quebec history - I was in French Immersion as well), but high school seemed to me to mostly be European history and a lot of stuff on the early 20th century (World Wars, Depression). I DO remember a lot of discussion in 10th grade about the Gulf war though, since that was current events. Lots of debate about that. It was probably the most we focused on the US.

[Fumesucker]

8. They certainly don't mention the business plot against Roosevelt..

The one revealed by Smedley Butler..

So my guess is *no*, corporate schools will not teach about ALEC and the other things you mentioned.

[Selatius]

9. They did not teach the history of American labor at all in my high school.

The US population has essentially been lobotomized as far as being socially conscious of its labor history. You mention the Ludlow Massacre, and nobody in the room would know what you're talking about, and brownie points go to whoever in the room has heard of the Pullman Strike or even what May Day is all about.

Very few people know the struggle of their fathers to build them a better life and home, and that's probably the greatest tragedy of American times. I'm not saying I'm bitter about this observation, but I'm not sympathetic to any fellow worker who says we don't need unions anymore and that they're a thing of the past. Let's see if you're tooting the same whistle when they decertify the union and then start slashing pay and benefits and firing people at will.

[retread]

10. No. Depending on the age of the child, they will be "lucky" if they are able to receive a free

public education.