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VIRGINIA'S TEXTBOOK POLITICS
Washington Post
Feb 3 2014
By Editorial Board, Monday, February 3, 3:12 AM
IN CALIFORNIA, the Armenian lobby is celebrating passage of a
resolution in the state's House instructing the education department
to emphasize the Armenian genocide in its publications. "We did it!"
the Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region, alerted its
followers in an e-mail. "Just a few hours ago, despite heavy attacks
from the Turkish Lobby, we won a battle for truth and justice that
will be passed down to future generations." The letter then goes on
to solicit donations so "we can continue to build on today's victory."
In Virginia, as The Post's Laura Vozzella reported, legislators are
working on a resolution instructing the education department to buy
textbooks that challenge the name of the Sea of Japan, which many
Koreans believe should be called the East Sea. Newly installed Gov.
Terry McAuliffe (D) finds himself in a pickle. On the campaign trail
he promised to support such a change, but he has now discovered that
Japan -- whose companies are big investors in the commonwealth --
is unhappy about the idea.
All of this prompts the following suggestion: Maybe state legislatures
aren't the best place to write high school history textbooks.
We understand that public education systems ultimately need to be
responsive to the taxpayers who pay for them, and the legislators
in Richmond (or Sacramento) are representing those taxpayers. But
the history they teach should be based on the best judgment of
historians, not on such considerations as, to quote Sen. J. Chapman
"Chap" Petersen (D-Fairfax), the fact that "in Virginia, there are
a lot of Koreans. There are very few Japanese." Or that Armenian
Americans outnumber Turkish Americans in California.
We're not doubting the importance of teaching about the Armenian
genocide that began in 1915. We also think Americans can benefit
from learning about the history of Japanese imperialism in Asia. We'd
be fine if the General Assembly instructed the education department
to embrace such controversial subjects and to write curricula that
encourage exploration and debate on historical issues that continue
to reverberate in modern times.
We doubt, though, that elected officials should be drawing textbook
maps or writing lesson plans -- whether they are about evolution,
climate change, Armenia or that body of water between Japan and Korea.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/virginias-textbook-politics/2014/02/02/08b2e4b2-89cb-11e3-833c-33098f9e5267_story.html
Washington Post
Feb 3 2014
By Editorial Board, Monday, February 3, 3:12 AM
IN CALIFORNIA, the Armenian lobby is celebrating passage of a
resolution in the state's House instructing the education department
to emphasize the Armenian genocide in its publications. "We did it!"
the Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region, alerted its
followers in an e-mail. "Just a few hours ago, despite heavy attacks
from the Turkish Lobby, we won a battle for truth and justice that
will be passed down to future generations." The letter then goes on
to solicit donations so "we can continue to build on today's victory."
In Virginia, as The Post's Laura Vozzella reported, legislators are
working on a resolution instructing the education department to buy
textbooks that challenge the name of the Sea of Japan, which many
Koreans believe should be called the East Sea. Newly installed Gov.
Terry McAuliffe (D) finds himself in a pickle. On the campaign trail
he promised to support such a change, but he has now discovered that
Japan -- whose companies are big investors in the commonwealth --
is unhappy about the idea.
All of this prompts the following suggestion: Maybe state legislatures
aren't the best place to write high school history textbooks.
We understand that public education systems ultimately need to be
responsive to the taxpayers who pay for them, and the legislators
in Richmond (or Sacramento) are representing those taxpayers. But
the history they teach should be based on the best judgment of
historians, not on such considerations as, to quote Sen. J. Chapman
"Chap" Petersen (D-Fairfax), the fact that "in Virginia, there are
a lot of Koreans. There are very few Japanese." Or that Armenian
Americans outnumber Turkish Americans in California.
We're not doubting the importance of teaching about the Armenian
genocide that began in 1915. We also think Americans can benefit
from learning about the history of Japanese imperialism in Asia. We'd
be fine if the General Assembly instructed the education department
to embrace such controversial subjects and to write curricula that
encourage exploration and debate on historical issues that continue
to reverberate in modern times.
We doubt, though, that elected officials should be drawing textbook
maps or writing lesson plans -- whether they are about evolution,
climate change, Armenia or that body of water between Japan and Korea.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/virginias-textbook-politics/2014/02/02/08b2e4b2-89cb-11e3-833c-33098f9e5267_story.html