More views needed in history lessons

To the editor

   In the Feb. 6 issue of the Beacon, Charles Molinari stated "We need to teach our children that with injustice as part of the history and culture of our country, there is far more beauty to behold in the freedom and liberties that have created the seeds of social, political and economic reforms, which in turn, have changed the world forever."
   This in response to the "unbalanced rhetoric" of Nigerian activist Sowore Omoleye, who spoke to Hillsborough High School students on the topic of human rights.
   He went further to recommend that the district social studies supervisor invite U.S. Rep. Michael Ferguson to discuss U.S. human rights initiatives for "balance."
   While we applaud Mr. Molinari’s desire for presenting our children with multiple points of view, we can’t help but wonder if he would have called for "balance" had Rep. Ferguson and not Mr. Omoleye been the original presenter.
   The reason? Mr. Molinari’s "We need to teach our children …" is not a call for balance but instead is a position quite consistent with that of Rep. Ferguson regarding U.S. human rights initiatives and abuses.
   The sad truth is that this position is the one supported by most textbooks and social studies curricula in this country.
   What we really need to teach our children is how to find and evaluate multiple sources of evidence in order to develop their own positions about the U.S. role in upholding and abusing human rights throughout the world, among other things. We need to provide students with resources from a variety of points of view as opposed to what passes as history or social studies in typical textbooks.
   We ask Dr. Michael Rossi, district social studies supervisor, to add "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" and "Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong," by James Loewen, "Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History," by Richard Shenkman, "Not So!: Popular Myths About America’s Past from Columbus to Clinton," by Paul F. Boller and "A People’s History of the United States," and "Declarations of Independence: Cross-examining American Ideology," by Howard Zinn simply to balance the existing textbooks.
   Unless and until our children learn to think for themselves and see the world beyond the blinders of the typical American curriculum, citizens of this country are destined to construct misguided arguments for war like the one presented also in the letters section of the Feb. 6 Beacon by Michael W. Klueber.
   By maintaining the status quo we not only run the risk of sending ill-prepared students into the world, more importantly we run the risk of cheating our children out of a future altogether.

Ann Kindfield, Ph.D.


Peter Kindfield, Ph.D.
Zion Road