Posted on 03/15/2017 8:53:44 AM PDT by rightistight
Professor Jennifer Harvey took to the New York Times yesterday to ask: Are We Raising Racists?
She begins her article by recounting how dismayed she was that her daughter admired George Washington. Her daughter was signing the praises of the first President, which surprised Dr. Harvey.
I was dismayed, she writes, that the peace- and diversity-centered curriculum she gets at her public school had left her with such a one-dimensional view of history. Her 7-year-old daughter, she felt, needed to know the whole story.
Eventually, her daughter asked her about news. Professor Harvey, after discussing ethics violations with her 7-year-old, said, Well you know how youve been running around here celebrating George Washington? We always talk about George Washington fighting for freedom. But George Washington also owned black people as slaves.
Dr. Harveys small childs intrigue turned to horror.
Along with the conception of George Washington, Professor Harvey starts to wonder what affect society is having on children. And she pins the blame on parents of white children.
She explains, We know the youngest children internalize racist perceptions of themselves and others And lets be frank, its parents of white children, like myself, who tend to rely on these sincere, but ineffective, strategies.
Instead of teaching toddlers and small children to just be nice to everyone, we need to have them recognize racial meanness and understand that white kids have a particular responsibility to challenge racism.
One-dimensional, generic teachings are tempting, Dr. Harvey writes. They feel easier and safer. Thats the only reason my daughters school would settle for partial truths about George Washington.
But raising children who are resilient for justice and able to do their part to create an inclusive society takes more, especially now.
re: However, if you were a Mayan or Aztec priest at the peak of those empires, human sacrifice was quite the norm. It was also common among some of the Norse cultures.
I understand, however, I will be judgmental here and say that I don’t care if human sacrifice was the norm and was accepted. It was wrong in any context.
Why am I not surprised that is the professor in question...
She looks to old to have a seven year old...probably her wife’s kid...
Is there anybody historical figure worthy of this professor’s admiration? Just because you admire George Washington doesn’t mean he needs to be flawless. We’re not putting him up for sainthood.
Need any help doing that? I have some time I can free up.
*Groan, facepalm, ect.
Yes, really is that bad.
All kidding aside, what this "professor" should be horrified at is the fact that she has studs in her face that make her look like a circus or sideshow freak.
Just sayin'.....
LOL!
But, "it's" obviously gut-hooked on liberalism.
“We cannot judge the past by TODAY’S cultural norms”.
Brilliant post. Maybe the next step the LEFT will demand in the outlawing of THANKSGIVING DAY. After all, those Pilgrims
were ivading the land of other people. They even burned women accused of being witches at the stake. People who committed the “crime” of ADULTERY were branded with an “A”.
Others went so far as to actually revolt against the current government, and today we hail them. Should we cancel the celebration of our INDEPENDENCE?
That “professor’s” student deserve a full tuition refund.
We can imagine that those in the future, looking back upon us, will find some of our currently accepted behavior repugnant by their standards. We can predict this, but we cannot predict exactly what will be so condemned by our descendants.
But not Thomas Jefferson.
I said most.
I noticed. I chose to point out the unexpected (!) exception.
I warn neoyankees here that delight in demonizing my southern history that they won’t stop with us
And they won’t
My cousin is a retired teacher in Rhode Island. Yesterday she told me she substituted in a first grade class in a Catholic school. The students are studying the Civil War! She said they asked if she knew how old George Washington and Abraham Lincoln would be if they were still alive. She didn’t. They knew, and told her the answer!
“I’m so glad I’m not teaching today. The Civil War in first grade”!
Of course we don’t know what else they will be learning about it but at least they just aren’t learning how to feel good about themselves.
Then she better not tell her daughter that Washington chopped down a cherry tree, or her daughter will become catatonic.
-PJ
Back then you could not free your slaves if you were in debt.
Debts had to be paid out of the estate and slaves were part of the estate; to prevent your slaves from being separated and sold off you had to have enough assets in livestock or other property to cover all debts.
I know of one case where the owner could not get out of debt in life but had tried to protect his slaves as best he legally could in his will by granting them the option of choosing among the buyers.
whew. Mom’s a hideous nut case and dad was probably a turkey baster.
Eww! I see a turkey baster in her past...
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