Pretty much every history class not so subtly points you to the conclusion that the US had racism, it was bad, but we defeated it so people complaining now are just spoiled.
…when I was a kid. That shit is probably way worse now.
That’s more a Yankee standard education. The semi-former Confederate states are more along the lines of it was good, but good got defeated, so we have to keep up the good fight.
That different parts of your tongue taste different things.
When I was little, we did an experiment where we were supposed to “feel” which part of our tongue we were tasting things with, and I was like, “pretty sure I taste it everywhere”. That teacher was fired for her anger issues at the end of the year, and that was certianly one of the moments where it came out, haha.
The annual lie: Next year isn’t going to be as easy as this year!
Middle School will be harder than Elementary School.
Junior High will be harder than Middle School.
Senior High will be harder than Junior High.
College will be harder than Senior High.
Working a real job will be harder than School.
I frequently wanted to kill myself, the idea work would be even worse than school really didnt help because school was absolutely awful. So it will only get worse isn’t a great message.
“They won’t take late work”
You don’t want that to go on your permanent record.
Me coming up with excuses for missing work in High School: “Um, my parents both died in a horrible accident, I got cancer, and my dog ate my textbook.”
Me coming up with excuses for missing work in my job: “Yeah, I didn’t do it.”
And at work, you give yourself an A and go for a C.
I don’t know if its a lie exactly, but probably the most damaging thing was being conditioned into not defending or speaking up for myself.
I got attacked, thrown into a main road. I was told it was my fault for making myself an easy target because I was playing in some woods after school.
I so rarely ever defended myself because of how scared I was of the punishment being worse than the bruises. I used the internet to escape from it and my parents threatened to take away my PC if I ever got an after school detention. I felt like defending myself was wrong.
The only times I did defend myself was when it was extremely bad and I no longer cared about the possibility of punishment. A guy was sexually assaulting me and I punched him in the face so hard that he completely stopped, almost like his brain rebooted for a good several seconds. Then his nose started dripping blood over the floor.
Teacher was fucking furious with me. When asked why I did it I just looked at the floor and muttered “I don’t know”. I was probably about 14, I didn’t really know what sexual assault was, like maybe if he had been ripping my clothes off? I just knew I didn’t like what he was doing and wanted him to stop.
that we have 5 senses
This is only relevant if you went to school after M Night Shyamalan blew up
In Germany, a lot of the times it’s taught that we barely did colonialism. Like, “colonialism was bad but it was mostly other countries”. Meanwhile, in reality, German colonialism saw the first mayor genocide of the 21st century.
Those poor mayors.
I’ll add to that: And that germany improved the lives of people in the colonies because they build railway and Electricity
Also: the classic “people didnt know the nazis would do such things.” “Austria was the first victim of the nazis” both ofc wrong. Austria participated actively in all crimes germany did and the centiment that germany and austria should unite was wide spread in both. And OF COURSE THE PEOPLE KNEW WHAT THE NAZIS WERE PLANNING TO DO!
The group leader in dachau also told us “the gas chambers here were luckily never used” Another good one is about reunification that it was all peacful and happy and sunshine, unlike its actually gutting out the entire industry and economy of east germany.
I read it as the first mayo genocide and was ready to cheer
You want to get rid of all mayonnaise?
On the 5th of May.
The bavarian socialist republic was a chaotic murderouse revolutionarny group that had to be crushed by the military because they were murdering people just for the fun of it and it was not supported by the people.
The exact opposite is the case. The people were big in support of it, it would have lead to full pure democracy but the SPD corrupted and destroyed they saw it as a threat to their perfered order of a none direct democracy with still clear societal seperation of wealthy and the rest
Columbus discovered America.
At least this is what I was taught when I was in elementary school back in the '90s.
I have no idea if it’s changed thus far.
It’s especially funny since dude never even touched USA, but USA is racist/genocidal enough to worship dude anyway.
I fucking hate Columbus day.
Let’s pop open the diaraies of his crew mates and him and do a read a loud, then! Let’s talk about it.
I passionately hate Christopher Columbus and the worship of him.
I also despise the fact that it’s a national holiday here in the States. I’m not even sure precisely what it is that we’re celebrating.
I mean if we’re going to commemorate explorers why not Marco Polo or Ponce de Leon or Lief Erikson.
I was taught Captain Cook discovered Australia, he wasn’t even the first European
Everyone knows it was Cap‘n Crunch
He wasn’t a captain either
Neither was Cap‘n Crunch
Columbus was the first European to explore Cuban isles. Lief Erickson explored Newfoundland about 400 years before I believe.
Indigenous people discovered and settled the Americas >20,000 years ago.
And animals knew about it before that, if we don’t want to be specist.
It was the old world civilisations discovering the new world for the second time, and for the first time that lead to wider contact. (Columbus himself died before it was found to be a whole continent)
That a, e, i, o and u were the only vowels. So what’s the vowel in sky?
I got marked incorrect for answering “a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y”
I remember learning “a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y too” in 2nd grade (at least >10 years ago)
“Communism is when the government does stuff.”
I remember my first description of communism from a teacher in 5th grade.
“The government can force you to work in any field they decide. If they need dentists, they might just force you go to dentists school for 4 years. If after that, they decide they need plumbers, they will send you to plumber school and you will be a plumber. You don’t get to choose. If you don’t like it, they will send you to Siberia, which is a bad place.”
In theory, they could have done something like that, but outside of wartime conscription, why would you?
For basic practical reasons, a communist government is still broken into a million organisations, which operate and hire just like anywhere else.
In the future we will spend days pining for Siberia to escape the heat waves.
Yeah they don’t teach this in social studies and any school in America.
They actually teach what socialism is and what communism is. That’s where I learned it.
And why I know the difference between the two and what the definitions are both of these things.
In German schools, horseshoe theory is pretty much taught as a fact.
In light of German history, I guess that’s to be expected.
It’s not indisputable fact, even if a lot of people agree with it.
Checks and balances in the US government. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Constitutional rights being unassailable.
All these are lies. I think it can be fixed, but it won’t be easy.
That’s less a lie and more ‘teaching the ideal.’ The problem isn’t learning how the system is supposed to work. That’s how you learn to be a mechanic. You learn how an engine is supposed to work so you can spot where it’s gone wrong. The issue is more one of there are millions of people and they get 10 minutes on how it’s supposed to work and then only 3 of them go into politics and learn how it actually works/doesn’t work. Democracy requires more than a one week chapter on civics, once a year. We all have to be mechanics, or at least be prepared to try.
I think it can be fixed
I mean, good luck. The Principle-Agent Problem is a classic of sociology, particularly with respect to business. If you can solve it, there’s a Nobel in Economics waiting for you.
Democracy is an attempt at aligning in the interests of the plurality principles with their government agencies. But there’s obviously a whole lot of flaws with democracy generally speaking, even before you get into the particulars of the American system.
I do think that the Lockean Social Contract, as the foundation for any governmental system, is a more interesting and more well-thought-out concept to explore than the mythology surrounding the American three-branch system. Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent does an excellent job of breaking down how a public body can be turned against its own interests. Zinn’s People’s History gives a ton of insight into the underbelly of the American political beast and how people respond to industrial and state oppression. State and Revolution does an excellent job of describing the role of the state in society and how it can best be dismantled.
But the endless debate around whether US Government works as described or intended really loses the forest of social economy for the ideological tent post trees. Fetishization of the US system only contributes to its rot and our own downfall.
You mean Chomsky, the pedo-ally?
The very same.
The United States was founded on principles of liberty and equality for all.
While I was taught that in elementary school, I was also taught about the 3/5ths compromise as early as middle school. By the time high school rolled around I was being taught about reconstruction and the corrupt bargain of 1877. I guess I’m lucky I got a good education in the north because I am aware that’s not necessarily the standard nationally.
I was also taught these things in the south, living in North Florida. As part of a 1 semester Florida history class in middle school, we also went into each of the spanish conquistadors and how they murdered their way across the continent.
My AP history teacher gave us copies of Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States as a supplemental to our textbooks. She was an awful teacher overall, but I appreciated her trying to make sure we had multiple perspectives.
Then I went to an elite east-coast private college, where I almost failed US History because I called the professor out for teaching Lost Cause bullshit.
Any academic peddling lost cause bullshit is a complete joke. Just curious, were they from the south?
Of course they were.
He also characterized the 2000 election as “a perfect tie” that could’ve just as easily been decided by a coinflip instead of the more historically agreed upon view of the Supreme Court ratfucking Florida’s recount.
Yeah we talked about colonialism in my middle school.
However, it was discussed as a fact of history and we went into detail about the slave trade triangle and all that.
And we did it without politicizing it. It was facts-based rather than pushing some weird political narrative about how america is heroic, or america is evil. Fancy that… just teaching history.
Sometimes moralizing is necessary. In Canada we had one teacher go into detail on the kidnapping of indigineous children and the residential schools they were sent to where they were often beaten or raped. I’m glad that teacher did that since many of my contemporaries were not aware of that history and some remain oblivious into adulthood. There’s nothing worse for a nation than people having a false sense of pride in it (as we’re seeing in the US currently).
In Canada we had one teacher go into detail on the kidnapping of indigineous children and the residential schools they were sent to where they were often beaten or raped
That isn’t moralizing dude. That’s just telling facts.
The moralizing/politicizing part is when you tell the kids that it’s their fault and they should feel bad about it. It isn’t, and they shouldn’t.
Technically, it was founded on the principles of liberty and equality for all. Just not the practices of liberty and equality for all. it was an aspiration, a goal of our forefathers.
But the way they teach it in school is pretty deceptive— as if it was all accomplished magically on that day in 1776, when, even today, it’s a constant struggle— a goal that we’re much closer to, but still remains elusive. that’s the part they don’t teach.
it was founded on the principles of liberty and equality for all.
No. Not at all. Give me a break. No women, natives, enslaved people, etc.
But the way they teach it in school
Nah, I was taught the latter way in school. They pretty explicitly told us about the 3/5 compromise, the lack of voting rights for women, etc. Really, its pretty hard to avoid the idea that all people were not seen as equal in the eyes of the constitution when ratified, when you know that we have a whole unit on the civil war coming up.
it was an aspiration, a goal of our forefathers.
I just do not believe this. These are people who regularly raped their slaves, and then enslaved the progeny.
It was an aspiration for white men specifically. It took centuries for the definition of humanity to expand from that perspective.
If we didn’t have this lie, people wouldn’t be as mad when they found the parts where it is untrue.
Texas History
In USA I think it’s all the religious stuff deifying the founding enslavers. Let’s be honest these people were genocidal enslavers, rapists, etc. The “revolutionary war” was largely so that they could maintain slavery and their disgusting privilege. These people are idiotic fash, not the geniuses they’re portrayed as. They were fighting for evil.
This understanding of the history of USA almost completely explains most of its history.
The “revolutionary war” was largely so that they could maintain slavery
The civil war obviously was. The revolutionary war was back when the British were still pretty heavily involved in slavery, though. Is there evidence this was a specific driving factor?
Fighting for evil? I know one example is not enough, and ignores completely the plight of native americans from the founders. But to say they were fighting for evil I would say is a mischaracterization.
Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen (Muslims); and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan (Mohammedan) nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
How could someone evil write something this cool?
Most likely, everyone dead by 1950 was a total bastard, if you measure them by modern standards. If you go all the way back to the 1700’s, that’s could include tolerating or participating in slavery, and of course colonial atrocities.
The American founding fathers were radical progressives for their day, though.
I also can’t say that for certain; John Brown, comes to mind.
The best president is probably FDR, who was also dead by 1945.
Edit: Because it’s kind of funny for me, I’m leaving the John brown part, but you definitely meant people in power.
There are plenty of bright spots if you look.
Three Cue Reading Comprehension.
All because phonics had been taught for so long that cheaper options for textbooks began to become available due to copyrights ending.
