The History Wars
September 3rd 2006 02:14
“John Howard has taken off the black arm band and used it to cover his eyes…”
-Greens’ Senator Bob Brown at Latrobe University, May 2006.
There is a big debate going on in Australia at the moment about how we teach history to school students. Prime Minister John Howard has said that we need to return to a “more objective approach to history.” His argument is that history teachers are teaching their own biased view of history.
Howard says that we focus too much on what he calls “the black arm-band view of history” where we focus on the mistakes Australians have made in history.
Learning from our mistakes is important though. Why do we learn about the rise of Nazism in Germany or the genocide in Rwanda if not to ensure that this never EVER happens again?
Maybe the problem is that John Howard never paid attention in history class. I mean let’s look at the legend of Gallipoli as a good example. Howard keeps telling us that this is one of the greatest moments in Australia’s History but if you studied the failed occupation of Gallipoli you would expect to learn several things:
Lesson one: You should never blindly follow a powerful ally into a war, no matter how close you are to them.
Lesson two: When you attack a country’s sovereignty, be prepared for the population of that country to do everything to oppose you.
Lesson three: Never trust a politician who tells you a war will be quick.
Lesson four: Always have an exit strategy.
We all know that those who do not understand history are forced to repeat it. Maybe John Howard needs to do some more study before he decides how the rest of us should learn.
-Greens’ Senator Bob Brown at Latrobe University, May 2006.
There is a big debate going on in Australia at the moment about how we teach history to school students. Prime Minister John Howard has said that we need to return to a “more objective approach to history.” His argument is that history teachers are teaching their own biased view of history.
Howard says that we focus too much on what he calls “the black arm-band view of history” where we focus on the mistakes Australians have made in history.
Learning from our mistakes is important though. Why do we learn about the rise of Nazism in Germany or the genocide in Rwanda if not to ensure that this never EVER happens again?
Maybe the problem is that John Howard never paid attention in history class. I mean let’s look at the legend of Gallipoli as a good example. Howard keeps telling us that this is one of the greatest moments in Australia’s History but if you studied the failed occupation of Gallipoli you would expect to learn several things:
Lesson one: You should never blindly follow a powerful ally into a war, no matter how close you are to them.
Lesson two: When you attack a country’s sovereignty, be prepared for the population of that country to do everything to oppose you.
Lesson three: Never trust a politician who tells you a war will be quick.
Lesson four: Always have an exit strategy.
We all know that those who do not understand history are forced to repeat it. Maybe John Howard needs to do some more study before he decides how the rest of us should learn.
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