He asked them to “immediately remove history curriculum and books that ‘unfairly communicate’ history ‘until a suitable alternative is developed.’” Instead, he would like to see a greater focus on civics and making sure that students understand democratic processes. Ford is a former history teacher for the Chicago Public Schools.
He said that the current history teachings are causing a racist society and overlook the contributions of women and people in the black, LGBTQ, Jewish and other communities. He stated: “Miseducation has fed and continues to feed systemic racism for generations. If Black History continues to be devalued and taught incorrectly, then it will call for further action.”
He is also sponsoring a bill that would force elementary schools to teach children about the civil rights movement.
Speaking on Fox News’ The Story, Ford said that at first, he wanted to ensure that students learn about pre-slavery and understand that black people were more than slaves. However, people from other groups then contacted him with concerns of their own about exclusion.
He said: "…once we started talking about making sure that we get the account of African-Americans in this country, Hispanics, LGBTQ+, the Jewish community, Asians, they all came and said, 'You're right, our history is not accurately accounted for either,' and the women really came out and said, 'It's so unfortunate that we are excluded in our contributions in American history.'"
The mayor of Evanston, Steve Hagerty, said that he did not feel qualified to decide on the matter, but he did voice his support for House Bill 4954, which would see to the establishment of commemorative holidays and raise the amount of time teachers devote to cover the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ‘60s.
Students need to learn from history, not pretend it didn't happen
There are lots of dark aspects of history, and slavery is just one of them. But students need to learn how it happened and how it was overcome so that future generations can do better, just like knowing about the destruction someone like Adolf Hitler could cause if allowed too much power is also a valuable lesson that may prevent similar horrors. They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, but how can students learn from history if schools won’t even tell them what happened? And it's not a stretch to think that soon they won't even be allowed to learn about the accomplishments of white men in history because of something they did that might be perceived as racist.
There will always be complaints about some aspects of school curriculum, but how does it help children if they are denied history classes until this lawmaker is satisfied with the version of history the schools are offering? Who will get to decide which history books are fair? And where does this leave literature and English classes? The fact that this is even being discussed by Illinois public schools is one of many reasons that many parents are turning to homeschooling to ensure their kids get a proper education and learn about what is really happening in our world.
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