Schools Stop Teaching About The Holocaust To Avoid Offending Muslims

**NotSoSilentBob** · April 2nd, 2007, 12:10 PM

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article1600686.ece

From The Times
April 2, 2007
Schools drop Holocaust lessons to avoid offence
Alexandra Frean

Teachers are dropping controversial subjects such as the Holocaust and the Crusades from history lessons because they do not want to cause offence to children from certain races or religions, a report claims.

A lack of factual knowledge among some teachers, particularly in primary schools, is also leading to "shallow"? lessons on emotive and difficult subjects, according to the study by the Historical Association.

The report, produced with funding from the Department for Education, said that where teachers and staff avoided emotive and controversial history, their motives were generally well intentioned.

"Staff may wish to avoid causing offence or appearing insensitive to individuals or groups in their classes. In particular settings, teachers of history are unwilling to challenge highly contentious or charged versions of history in which pupils are steeped at home, in their community or in a place of worship,"? it concluded.

However, it was concerned that this could lead to divisions within school, and that it might also put pupils off history.

**NotSoSilentBob** · April 2nd, 2007, 12:13 PM

No lessons on the Holocaust
Telegraph Reporter
02/04/2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...nschools02.xml
Schools are dropping controversial subjects from history lessons - such as the Holocaust and the Crusades - because teachers do not want to cause offence, Government research has discovered.

The way the slave trade is taught can lead white children as well as black pupils to feel alienated, according to a study by the Historical Association.

Ignored by schools: freed prisoners at the Auschwitz concentration camp

A lack of knowledge among teachers, particularly in primary schools, is also leading to "shallow" lessons on emotive and difficult subjects.

Some teachers dropped the Holocaust completely from lessons because of fears that Muslim pupils might express anti-semitic reactions. One school avoided teaching the Crusades because its "balanced" handling of the topic would directly contradict what was taught in local mosques.

The report, funded by the Department for Education and Skills, said: "Teachers and schools avoid emotive and controversial history for a variety of reasons, some of which are well-intentioned.

"Staff may wish to avoid causing offence or appearing insensitive to individuals or groups in their classes.

"In particular settings, teachers of history are unwilling to challenge highly contentious or charged versions of history in which pupils are steeped at home, in their community or in a place of worship."

The researchers gave the example of one history department in a secondary school in a northern city which decided not to teach the Holocaust as a topic for GCSE coursework.

The report said teachers feared confronting "anti-semitic sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim pupils". Christian parents at another school complained about the way the Arab-Israeli conflict was taught.

"In another department, the Holocaust was taught despite anti-semitic sentiment among some pupils, but the same department deliberately avoided teaching the Crusades at Key Stage 3 (for 11- to 14-year-olds) because their balanced treatment of the topic would have directly challenged what was taught in some local mosques."

The study said too many teachers "play safe". It called for better training in how they should handle difficult subjects.

Emotive issues such as the slave trade can be taught too blandly, portraying Afro-Caribbeans as victims and isolating black pupils, the report said.

But when teachers down play the role of the white authorities in abolishing the slave trade, white children can become alienated.

The report came as Britain marks 200 years since the passing of laws which brought about the end of transatlantic slavery. The anniversary caused angry protests and renewed demands for a formal Government apology for Britain's role in the trade.

Earlier this year, a Government review of citizenship education recommended that all pupils should learn about issues such as slavery and the legacy of the British Empire. Children should be encouraged to develop their own sense of British identity to avoid social divisions widening between different groups, it said.

**imported_Coach** · April 2nd, 2007, 12:17 PM

are you (censored)ing kidding me?

**Unchained** · April 2nd, 2007, 01:01 PM

Don't you all know that things like the Holocaust, slaughter of the natives, civil-rights movement..etc never happened?
We have always lived in a world of rainbows and butterflies dontcha know?

amazing [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img]

**imported_trumpet1988** · April 2nd, 2007, 12:51 PM

I guess they should stop teaching evolution in science classes to keep us Christians, the Muslims, and the Jews happy. I strongly and completely disagree with the evolution theory but I should still probably learn science's take on it while I still do not agree with it.

My point is, stop not teaching things just to keep people happy.

Man what a thin skinned world we live in.

April 3rd, 2007, 04:25 PM

The CAIR is one of the most dangerous groups in politics today, most haven't heard much about them. They are gnawing away at these issues in courts, much like the ACLU. The "7 Imans on the plane" suit will be a trend setter.