By Beryl Wajsman, Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal
Monday, April 16, 2007
"In a time of universal deceit merely speaking the truth is a revolutionary act."
Some ten days ago a story broke out of London about a state-sponsored study that demonstrated some teachers in British schools at the Key Stage 3 level (11-14 year olds) have stopped teaching the Holocaust for fear of offending Muslim students. It was a particularly poignant moment for such news since April 15th is Holocaust Remembrance Day and April 19th marks the annual commemoration of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
As I delved into the research, what became obvious very quickly was that almost as troubling as the actions of the teachers, were the motivations of the UK's Ministry of Education and Skills in commissioning the study; the department's reaction to it and the response of many community organizations and leaders – including Jewish ones – in downplaying it. We have witnessed enough in recent years of intellectual rigour being dissipated to satisfy one form or another of political correctness.
The study was produced by The Historical Association, representing some 3,250 history teachers at the Key Stage 2 and 3 levels, and bore the Orwellian title of "Teaching Emotive and Controversial History". Since the essence of history is that it is emotive and controversial, the very fact that this study was commissioned pre-ordained the brakes that would be suggested.
In her story "Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims" that first brought this to public attention, the London Daily Mail's Laura Clark focused on three schools where self-censorship was being practiced. Not just on the Holocaust, but in teaching about the Crusades and Muslim participation in the slave trade. She quoted the study as finding that "…some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial. There is also resistance to tackling the Crusades because the balanced approach in class lessons often contradicts what is taught in local mosques." Orwell's warning that, "In a time of universal deceit merely speaking the truth is a revolutionary act" seems to be upon us.
In speaking to observers in London it was hard to get a read on just how widespread this phenomenon is. The best I could determine from several conversations was that there had been several dozen cases. But a hint of how broad this problem truly is comes from the words of the Historical Association itself which stated in its terms of engagement at the commencement of the study that, "The National Curriculum for History often include areas of study that touch on fault lines within and beyond Britain. Such areas of study include the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Holocaust and aspects of Islamic history. These areas are sometimes avoided by teachers to steer away from controversy in the classroom." The study itself found the following. "Some teachers are dropping courses covering the Holocaust at the earliest opportunity over fears Muslim pupils might express anti-Semitic and anti-Israel reactions in class." And in its conclusion stated that, "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."
Whether it is one case or a hundred, what is most troubling is that a western government should finance a study to look for ways to finesse the teaching of history instead of clearly and candidly avowing the principles of free scholarship and open debate. Indeed British officials are doing just the opposite. Schools Minister Lord Adonis re-affirmed that the national curriculum encouraged teachers to choose content "likely to resonate in their multicultural classrooms" despite Education Secretary Alan Johnson's assurance that "Teaching of the Holocaust will remain compulsory."
As disturbing as the Minister's position is the Jewish response. In speaking to Jewish leaders in London I was told that this was a "…tempest in a teapot…" The Canadian Jewish Congress took the extraordinary step of issuing a communiqu last Thursday that stated, "Within this study it was observed that a history department in a northern UK city recently avoided selecting the Holocaust as a topic for…coursework for fear of confronting anti-Semitic sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim students. (Teaching Emotive and Controversial History Section 4 page 15). Clearly, the attitudes among these particular students, which led to the school's decision, are disturbing and part of a broader attack from certain quarters on Holocaust education and commemoration. It is worthy of note however that our colleagues at the British Board of Jewish Deputies have successfully worked with the school in question to rescind this wrong-headed policy."
The facts are that the page cited in the CJC letter actually has three instances of self-censorship and there has been nothing worked out with the Ministry on its lenient guidelines for teachers. The problem is substantially greater than one school. Why the rush to absolution by the very people who should be most outraged? It would be much more heartening if Jewish leaders had the courage of Chris McGovern, history education adviser to the former Tory government, who commented that, "History is not a vehicle for promoting political correctness." Fear of facts is apparently as prevalent among the oppressed as among the oppressors. In either case, whether as deceit or self-deceit, it is a dangerous corrosive.
It is bad enough that this is happening in the land of Churchill who in the darkest hours of the darkest days swore, "Victory against all odds; victory despite all burdens; victory in spite of all terror." What would be worse is if we remained silent. As Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center, has written, "…now the successful, free society feels compelled to adapt to less successful, unfree ones. Where does it end? Can schools teach democracy to those told this is heresy? Can we even teach the value of tolerance itself? That, too, might upset those who have been taught intolerance."
The hard truth is this. If we choose to live free, then only in mankind's history; and only in our fidelity to its teaching; can we give future generations the power to withstand the evil that men do.
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