Posted on 07/13/2005 8:32:15 PM PDT by CaptIsaacDavis
Modern History from the Soviet Viewpoint? Call me blind but do I see flat out liberalism at these schools or is it just me?
Bump.
Any Rockvillians touch this thread please ping me.
My Son-in-Law teaches Modern History in Md. (Frederick County) and he uses some of the Soviet Union text books as an example of how people can be easily misled in a Totalitarian Society where there is no freedom of speech, or a free press.
I lived in Montgomery County MD. until 1992, I left because of the Democrats raising my property taxes
I would love to read a copy of that translated book. I will have to check booksellers and ebay. It would certaily be good for a laugh. I would hope any teacher who uses it in a history class does explain that it is only good for comparison to reality and for a laugh
Oh wow. I urge everyone to click on the above link and read a bit......its really a hoot.
I'd like a copy, too. I collect Soviet and cold war doodads (you know who won when the opposition starts selling all it's stuff on E-bay :lol: ).
LQ
The selling of items related to the old regime is/was sorta like capitalist system training. LOL See all thse "Hero of the Revolution " medals had value after all.
The scariest part is that Montgomery County's politics make Arlington's look mainstream.
Me too. Went to RM for a year then the folks moved up to Gaithersbug and so I transferred to Wootton.
Believe it or not, RM was listed recently as the 9th (10th?)highest rated school in the country. LOL! How things have changed.
Anyhow, there was a Russian bookstore somewhere off Twinbrook Pkwy near NIH. During the Cold War one could always count on a few Soviet embassy cars being in the parking lot. When I walked in there I always imagined everybody to be KGB ;-)
Do you know of this place? If so, do you remember the name? I can't remember the name and it's bugging the heck out of me!
Compare and contrast? That's the EXACT same thing I was taught in publik screwel!
The only part of the Soviet textbook that's a different characterization is the strange bit about England siezing Manhattan from the Dutch. Other than that, it seemed more POSITIVE than American textbooks.
When you probe the directory of this school system's social studies curriculum there is no context at all as to where this book is coming from (and a very heavy left-wing bias in other areas by the way). I personally would be less concerned if they were having kids read a Cold War book on Communist quotations (by a realist here in the U.S.: there were a number put out by certain top military analysts in the 1970s and 1980s: Brassey's defense publishers was the publisher if I recall) in proper context (e.g., to illustrate the inherent evils of Leninism and Stalinism, or the absurdities and failures of Marxist thought). Here, the premise is that they are using a Soviet textbook, not on Cold War history, but on the Civil War and its aftermath -- that is, skipping the totalitarian, ideological, or world view contexts entirely to jump right into using base propaganda to offer an "alternative" viewpoint on the Civil War and its aftermath. What's next an Iranian version of U.S. history? How on earth is any of this useful for PUBLIC educational purposes -- in 2005?
All of this "comparativist" history and social studies nonsense has got to go...It's obviously not working in a country where public school children, even in top school systems, still graduate with huge gaps of knowledge about simple facts and dates in U.S. and Western Civ. history.
I just finished reading the book:
Rising Tide
The untold story of the Russian Submarines that fought the cold war
Gary Weir & Walter Boyne
2003
http://www.risingtidebook.com
Rising Tide tells the Soviet side of these secret operations. Drawing on newly available
archives as well as interviews with a dozen former Soviet Commanders
Its a little one-sided at times. But the US Navy not about to open there files to conform
some of the clams. But it seemed very convenient that they could stumble across a US
missile boat on patrol to trail it.
In:
Appendix One: The History Of The Russian Navy According To Gorshkov
Who is considered the creator of the modern Soviet fleet.
Parts are good but when it comes to US history. Well it sounds just like a lefty liberal
talking. Give this appendix a read if you want to see what these poor kid are reading
My daughter is in eleventh grade in Rockville. This beautiful young woman is in ROTC, belongs to the NRA, trains Thoroughbred horses, drives tractors, acts in movies, does historical reenacting for a hobby, and is on the honor roll despite taking AP classes. She would hugely enjoy taking this class and reading this material. And if the teacher acted up or got a little bit left-of-center, as they tend to do, she would rip him a new one. She seems to have no hesitation about standing up in class and telling it exactly like it is.
I don't get it.
What is wrong about contrasting their interpretation with ours?
It sounds fasinating to me. He isn't getting rid of the US textbook, just using it as a teaching tool to show what our enemies were saying.
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