1. What have you learned about slavery at home or in school? - I've learned that slaves would be whipped or beaten if they learned basic things such as reading or counting.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States? - I think I have received an accurate but not robust education about slavery in the US
3. If not, what has been lacking? - I think that we never dove deep into the conditions the slaves were living in
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1) What have you learned about slavery at home or in school?
In school I have learned about the horror and abusiveness of slavery. In History I have learned about slavery as it relates to the Civil War. We were taught about it as both a cause of the war, and also as a part of the economy, where plantations basically had free labor. In English class we have been taught about slavery in books by Frederick Douglas and in Mark Twain's Huck Finn. These books give a little bit of a different view of slavery from the history lessons.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States?
I think we have received an accurate education about slavery in the United States. I don't know if it has been robust. I think what the article says is true, "slavery is treated like a dot on a timeline." We learn about it as part of the Civil War, or from the point of view of a slave like Frederick Douglass, or through fiction like Huck Finn. If robust means that it gets taught as its own lesson in history, the way World War I or II is, I don't think it is robust.
3. If not, what has been lacking?
We don't learn about it from the beginning right to the end of slavery and the lasting effect in the United States. We don't learn a full lesson about how it started and who started it. Or what it was like to be a slave owner, and how could slave owners not look at it as wrong? Those are some of the ways it is lacking.
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1. What have you learned about slavery at home or in school?
In my years of high school, middle school, and at home, I have learned about the start and end of the horrible era of slavery. School and self-research has taught me the deep-rooted history of slavery and racism that existed during those times in the US and the ones that still exist across the globe today. I have learned about the hate groups rooted with slavery as well.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States?
I would say I have definitely learned the accurate and horrible truth to slavery as I progressed through school and reading books published at that time by slaves, after they have been freed. I have been taught with a wide variety of sources to teach me the cold hard facts about the treatment of slaves and their bondaged lives.
3. If not, what has been lacking?
I do not see any lack of teaching about slavery in my high school.
1. What have you learned about slavery at home or in school?
I have learned a lot about slavery at home and in school. School has taught me a deep history of slavery, including how it started, ended, and everything in between. I have been taught about hate groups, how slaves were nearly powerless to escape their role, and society’s view on slaves in different time periods. At home I have done some research and learned about primary sources and how slaves really felt during the time period. My parents also helped establish the basis that slavery was bad and gave me a general overview of it before I learned about it in depth.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States?
I think my education has been robust and accurate in regards to slavery in the United States. In between History class and English class, I have had a wide variety of accurate and unbiased information taught to me. I believe this is in part due to the teachers that have taught me the information and how great of a job they have done. I also think the curriculum on slavery is very informative and in depth without shadowing anything for the sake of innocence. We also read a book called The Narrative of Frederick Douglass and learned a lot about the life of a slave and what they went through.
3. If not, what has been lacking?
If anything has been lacking I think it would be not enough primary sources being taught in history class.
1. What have you learned about slavery at home or in school?
I have learned both in school and at home that slavery was a huge issue that continued for numerous years that negatively affected many black men, women, and children all across the world. My parents told me about the racism and inequality black people faced. In school, my teachers told me about how prominent slavery was in the U.S. and other states. Also, in school, I learned that many white people felt superiority at the time and would treat black slaves poorly by whipping them or beating them. Many of these slaves were treated as less than a human and were not given the proper rights they deserved just because of their skin complexion.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States?
Yes, I feel like I have received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States because I read the book Frederick Douglass which highlighted the negative effects of slavery on black people. Douglass explained firsthand his experiences with slavery and how horrific slaveholders could be to their slaves. In class, we also just recently watched the movie 12 Years a Slave which portrayed the disrespect, harmful, and unjust treatment that black men and women faced each day by white slaveholders.
3. If not, what has been lacking?
Overall, I feel like the school does a good job of teaching students about slavery.
1. What have you learned about slavery at home or in school?
Since I can remember both at home and in school I have learned about how horrible slavery was. At home I learned about the basics of slavery in the US and how it worked. For example my parents told me that it had to do with racism and that black people were unfairly treated and held as slaves in the souther states. In school, I learned much more details about slavery. For example I learned about how families were seperated, how the slaves were treated as less than human, and many other ways the white southerners dehumanized this group of peopole just because of the color of their skin.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States?
I would definitely say that I have recieved a robust and accurate education about slavery in the US. In fact I have watches 12 years a slave what was very informational about the life of slaves. I have also read the Fredrick Douglas auto biography. Therefore, I have learned about firsthand experiences that slaves, or former slaves have encountered.
3. If not, what has been lacking?
I do not believe it has been lacking anything at all.
1. What have you learned about slavery at home or in school?
In school, I was taught about what happened with slavery and was given the facts of what happened in all of its brutality. At home, I was able to gain a further understanding of it and how to react to it.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States?
I feel as though the education I have received about slavery has been very robust and accurate as there has never been a time when I have been told something about slavery that I was not taught in school. So if I am missing something about it, I wouldn't know.
3. If not, what has been lacking?
Nothing has been lacking in my experience except maybe if we were able to have more personal stories of slaves' experiences to further understand the mindset that they were put in while enduring such an awful situation.
1. What have you learned about slavery at home or in school?- What I have learned about slavery at school was that it was abusive and tedious labor that slaves had to go through. They had no say in what they could do and were owned by white people. It was very common to have slaves back then especially if you owned lots of lands. Many slave owners were harsh and cruel. The brutality that came with it is awful and shameful that you could look at another human and do that kind of thing. But there were rare instances when people didn't treat their slaves awfully. But many people treated them less than humans and saw them like that.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States?- I believe living up North I have received a robust and accurate education. I have read a book that entails details and what life was like as a slave. Frederick Douglass being an educated slave teaches people who read it how terrible it was to be a slave and the pain and anger that comes with it. I also learned that in the south slavery isn't a widespread topic that's talked about.
3. If not, what has been lacking? I think learning about it in English class is more beneficial since there are books that can further educate and see the point of view of slaves.
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1. What have you learned about slavery at home or in school? I have learned a lot about slavery both in school and at home. I have learned in school about the brutality of how slavery was based on movies that I have watched and books I have read. At home, I was taught the basics of why slavery was bad.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States? I honestly think I have. Previously I never understood that it was possible for slavery to be as bad as people said. I never understood it because I didn't think it was possible for humans to treat each other like that. I now think everything I have learned about slavery is 99 percent true and accurate.
3. If not, what has been lacking?
The only thing that might be lacking is that I've seen all these movies from what seems is the victim's pov. Although it is probably the truth, I wouldn't mind hearing a story from a slaveholder to understand why they did this and getting a better understanding of how humans can possibly treat other humans like this.
What have you learned about slavery at home or in school?
in school and at home I have learned a lot about slavery. I think the most part obviously is where slavery was and what it did. but as I have gone higher in school I have learned more and more about what happened to the slaves If they messed up or tried to escape the verbal abuse that the slave owners used. even the mental abuse treating them right for a little just to whack them back. all in all I have learned a ton and it has been very influential in my thoughts about the past.
2. In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States?
I believe I have, because teaching too much and going into too much detail can actually hurt more than it helped but we need to learn enough so that we can understand the mistakes of the past
What have you learned about slavery at home or in school?
The majority of my knowledge about slavery has come from school. We have talked about slavery in mainly two classes. My English class and my history class. In English, we read Fredrick Douglass's 12 years a slave and it gave us a very in-depth point of view of what life is like as a slave. On the other hand in History class we learned about how and why slaves were used. We learned about how they were a huge part of the South's economy before the civil war. I have learned very little about slavery outside of school.
In your opinion, have you received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States?
I think I have definitely received a robust and accurate education about slavery in the United States. I have learned in-depth about what daily life entails as a slave and how traumatic it can be. In US history we have learned what jobs slaves have to do many physically demanding jobs like digging ditches and clearing new land or working on the farm.
If not, what has been lacking?
I think what's been lacking is the lack of information about who has owned slaves. For example many presidents and other powerful people during the time of slavery. We do not get much information about things like this and I think it would be something that they should add to US history classes.
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My paternal grandmother passed on stories about slavery that she heard from her born enslaved in Georgia parents to me when I was a boy.
My paternal grandfather passed on stories that he heard from his born enslaved in Georgia father to me when I was a boy.
Slavery was passed over in my Chicago South Side public school K-12 education as beginning with the Civil War then ending with the Emancipation Proclamation along with the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.
Reconstruction was represented as having fixed every American color aka race problem. While Jim Crow was described as a former Confederate States of America benign non- violent economic, educational, government and political problem.
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In 1964 my G3-8 NYC Public school history books mentioned us twice. 1. Brought to America as slaves. 2. The cause of the Civil War. (So white kids said MY family died to free YOU). By High school not much had changed. It was announced 1971 that we would study countries in Africa. All we did was study the raw materials that made each country valuable to a colonial power. Nothing about the people or the culture. That didn't really happen until I got access to a college library. But today with the internet we shouldn't be blaming schools for what kids don't know.
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Slavery in school was talked about just very briefly and I learned that it was awful and they were not treated fairly at all. I learned it in history class and the things they had to do back then was awful and we all take so much for granted we are so lucky we live here in a free country. It needs to be talked about because it was real life events that did happen. Yes it is hard to talk about because it is such a horrible thing to put anyone through. They could not live a normal life and did not get opportaunuties like the rest of us do. I feel that all schools should talk about it a little bit more. Everyone should be on the same page. If it was talked about more I think people and students would have a better understanding of it because it is a lot to take in. My school taught the same thing about it over and over again and it was just super quick so we did not get a big chance to talk a lot about it. The teachers back then we really mean about it like they talked about in this artlicle. A history teacher said that if south wins then they would be the slaves and they were so shocked and the teacher goes on saying it was a joke. That is messed up and he should not of said that.
I learned that slavery didn’t get a lot of opportunities to be a free American. They constantly brought up when that where talking about slavery are the Underground Railroads, and the harsh and labor conditions . And it was really hard how they live and got treated.
I have learned about slavery. I recall learning about it in elementary school briefly but I don't recall learning much about it in middle school. For some reason I feel teachers might feel the need to "breeze through" the topic which is definitely not the solution. Maybe they fear it might make some people uncomfortable and even though I'm sure it does, it still needs to be taught and we need to talk about it. Slavery was a part of our past as a nation and to not include it is disrespectful even if it wasn’t a good part of history since it can be a learning point for the future.
Learning about slavery can be a sensitive topic. Schools teach the same things over and over again when it comes to slavery, they only scratch the surface, and don't acknowledge everything under it. To fully learn about slavery, a teacher that is fully devoted to slavery and the civil rights movement is required. The things that are constantly brought up when talking about slavery are the Underground Railroad, the harsh living conditions and labor, and the civil war, which are elementary school topics. As we progress in our school career what we learn about slavery should also progress because we have become wiser and can understand the topic in a more mature way. The only time I dug slightly under the surface when learning about slavery was in 7th grade, we watched a limited series called "Roots" which really took a dive into what slavery is like, and how it affected so many people and their families. Even if it has to be taught through a screen and not directly, it's still a way to fully indulge in what slavery was like. Slavery might be a sensitive topic, but it's important to teach the realities of of such a unforgettable time in not only American history, but world history.
The only student response that was similar to my experience was the student in New Hampshire where they talked about how the state's rights were being infringed on, in my experience, there was no protection of the slaveholders or presenting ‘positive’ aspects of slavery. Huckleberry Finn and The Narrative of Fredrick Douglass were the most effective books that helped me understand slavery. There haven't been any books or content that have been inaccurate but presented as accurate, understanding the bias of a document is part of the curriculum. Slavery in elementary school was talked about in a non-serious manner, they talked about the underground railroad and the heroes that escaped slavery. I think that young children should learn about the reality of slavery when they are old enough to digest the information and truly learn from it rather than the teacher feeding them the information that they will blindly believe. I think textbooks should be used in a topic such as slavery because it is not a by the book topic and the money behind the textbooks could dictate the content. I think textbooks shouldn't be used to teach all aspects of slaver because they just scratch the surface. My teachers don't use textbooks to teach about slavery instead they use books like Huckleberry Finn, the Narrative of Fredrick Douglas. Teachers use all sorts of media to teach about slavery so that we see all aspects of the topic and we learn what truly happened.
Throughout my educational career, I have learned about slavery and civil rights. These things have been addressed both in English and History. In English we have talked about slavery through the works of The Narrative of Frederick Douglass and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as well as watching 12 Years a Slave. In History, we have talked about the impacts slavery has had from different point of views; from people in the north, people in the south, and the slaves themselves. Everything we have read in English and in History has been the truth about what actually happened. We were even taught that slavery still exists today in different forms. I believe that this topic is important and cannot be understated. It is a part of our history and cannot be erased. I disagree with the fact that textbooks should be used sparingly. If they can help teach students about slavery, then the textbooks should be used. We have not used the textbook a ton to learn about slavery, for the most part, we have used videos and/or we read through documents. I think that schools across the nation should get on the same page and teach slavery the same way, so that there are no mishaps. I believe that the state government would determine those requirements. I think it is possible to have a national consensus on the reality and legacy of slavery, however, not everyone might be on the same page as the south might have a different opinion on how slavery should be taught than the north does.
Question 5 I think instead of adressing slavery with the idea of being afraid to frighten the kids. Teachers and parents should allow the kids to be frightened because it was a scary time, slavery wasn’t a positive thing, the only way for kids to learn about it is to be frightened. Children need to know about how slavery really was, they should watch those disturbing videos, read about the hardships that slaves had went through. Slavery is a big part of American history, it’s something that no one wants to be repeated. We can’t have these kids believing that America was great throughout all of its history, because mostly every state has apart of history that they are not proud about. I believe that slavery should be taught statewide, and no little detail should be left out. The government needs to forse this rule to the teachers.
Question 2 Personally I don’t remember learning about slavery in elementary school, and slavery is definetly a subject a child would remember. So that just goes to show how slavery wasn’t addressed that much in elementary school, for me at least. I think children don’t need to be protected from the horrors and realities of slavery. Slavery was such a horribale thing, that there is no correct way to teach without bringing up the horrors. If you don’t bring up the horrors children aren’t being taught the full history of slavery.
Question 3 I am currently a junior in highschool and so far, when it came to learning about slavery in highschool, I’ve been taught with videos, rather than using a textbook. I felt like i learned more watching the videos than i would have if we used the textbook. It gave me a visually, and the visual of slavery is very sad, to see the way that African Americans were treated is horribal. But those videos gave me that extra imput that most students aren’t given.
Throughout my high school career, I have mostly learned about slavery and civil rights through school and my parents. I have read many books and gone over multiple topics that address slavery in English and history class. Slavery is a very harsh topic to discuss but is one that has had a tremendous effect on our history. Many teachers go over it by showing movies and reading books such as Frederick Douglass and 12 years a slave and discussing what went on. I have done projects and read articles and journals of real slaves lives to get a feel of what they went through. In English, I also learned about present-day slavery and talked about human trafficking and how in many places all over the world slavery still exists and society doesn’t even realize it. When I was younger and first learning about it my mom would help me understand it better and she would enforce how serious it was. Every year in school I learn a little more about slavery and I believe that my school and teachers have done a very robust and accurate job of giving me an education about slavery in the world.
In my personal opinion, I have learned a lot about slavery both in school and at home. However, my main knowledge of slavery comes from the education I am receiving at school. I feel fortunate enough to be learning about slavery in not one subject but in two. Usually, students just learn about slavery in their history classes but I am fortunate enough to learn about slavery in my History and English class. I have learned a lot about slavery in both of my classes, however, I feel as though the bulk of my knowledge comes from what I have learned in my English class by watching movies, reading books, and having insightful discussion questions. I have learned about the horrors and hardships of slavery, I have been taught how and why slavery came to be. I have analyzed and research what I feel to be every aspect about the slavery system, from the slaves to their owners to what life was like for both of them and how society plays a huge role in slavery, and why we let slavery become such a huge industry, why people were dependant on it, how it boomed the economy and the creation of machines like the cotton gin, how those machines ruined the lives of slaves and benefitted others. I have learned about things that are connected to slavery that one wouldn’t imagine being tied to it. I have discovered why slavery was so important in the United States and how it not only affected the U.S. but how it affected the whole world and how it has shaped every aspect of the human race.
In all of my years of high school slavery is a topic which has been discussed at different times in each year. My freshman year I vaguely remember learning about slavery in my history class. However it was not until my sophomore and junior year I learned about the horrors that occurred. In both my english classes sophomore and junior year I read about the brutality in which slaves faced. The books To Kill A Mockingbird, The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn allowed me to fully understand the extent of slavery. In my opinion I think I have received an accurate education about slavery in the United States, yet I do believe that it is something that should be discussed more in middle school. With such a heavy topic like slavery it can be difficult to educate those who are ill prepared and immature. But it is something which needs to be talked about at a younger age.
Headline: Slavery Taught in Schools
One of the students said they made a pros and cons list, supposedly no pros came up. This is why there are still issues, we need to face everything head on. The white race had excellent workers and they were always there. Those are the pros, they may not be nice but there they are. In school learning about slavery as a kid throughout school, I have felt guilty for being a white male.
Slavery is an incredibly difficult subject to teach, especially to younger kids. Until kids reach a certain point of maturity, it does not seem right to tell them about all the horrors of slavery, but it is also not right to make light of the issue either.
In elementary school, we are taught that slavery existed. We learn about people like Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, and ending slavery, but we didn’t really learn what the slaves went through. Teachers told us they were forced to work for white people and that they were treated unfairly, but they don’t go into all the horrific details at that age. By middle school, we learn some more of the awful things they went through, but we still don’t know the full extent.
This year in highschool is the first year I have truly learned about slavery. Between reading through the 1619 project and learning firsthand about all that African slaves went through in my AP World History class, I have learned a side to slavery that I have never seen before. Of course I knew that slavery was terrible, but I didn’t know all the specific bad things that the white owners forced the slaves to go through every day. Although it was hard to learn and hear about, I am glad that I now know the full extent so I can better understand what it was like and all the current issues today still revolved around slavery.
Yes, I have learned about slavery. I recall learning about it in elementary school briefly but I don't recall learning much about it in middle school. For some reason I feel teachers might feel the need to "breeze through" the topic which is definitely not the solution. Maybe they fear it might make some people uncomfortable and even though I'm sure it does, it still needs to be taught and we need to talk about it. It wasn't until this school year I really learned about slavery and what happened during those tragic years. I think its unfortunate some people never had proper lessons on slavery.
@Bailey Hughes
I believe teachers don't understand its something that needs to be talked about more at a slower pace. I do think they breeze through it because of that tension in the room.Its a topic that they will teach us about but not give us all the details that we need.
what I know about slavery is that it was very bad because white people had black people working for them I agree with people on this article teachers rarely about slavery but it's important for people to know about slavery because we need to know about the past. for students study about slavery.
They should teach everything but over time like, they should start at 5th with the minor thing and start progressing forwards. I feel like it should be mandatory to learn about slavery and the teachers could determine the requirements. They don't have to think all the same they should just know what they have learned about.
I learned in school about slavery
with the history teacher he talked to us a lot about that
the teacher disliked those who suffer most in the quente that had brown skin
Looking back at my education on slavery in school i agree with most people on this article, teachers rarely teach about slavery. In the article it states that, "They focus on a handful of heroes like Harriet Tubman". This reminds me of the time that i was in class and we got to the slavery unit and only spent a week on it. Slavery wasn't even on the test which means we did not learn enough content for it to be on the test.
Looking back at my education on slavery and the treatment of black in the United States, it’s always been straightforward about how they were enslaved from their original country and then brought to America to work terrible work and being maltreated horribly and put in chains. But as I got older and my education level increased we learned more and more about the extensive torture they received and really made me realize what was really going on over and over again. But high school education really made me realize the slaves before and after history and what they went through after the “liberation”.
Being the person in charge of teaching students about such controversial topics can be a stressful task.When children are younger they are obviously going to be more sensitive to such extreme ideas.
When I was in 6th grade, I learned that the civil war was based on economic wants and needs from the southern states. There wasn't any student discussion, just a straight forward lesson. Once I got into 8th grade, I had a better understanding of the real meaning of the civil war, but I never really comprehended the extreme hardships faced by slaves, until Roots. My 8th grade history teacher played the tv series Roots for us everyday of class. That's when I then understood the true horror of our nation's history.
As an elementary schooler and even 6th grader, I think I was too young to know what i learned in 8th grade. Kids need to come to a certain age of maturity before they are hit with such important topics. That doesn't mean we should hide our history or try to shape it into something that it's not. Your information will be formed to fit the needs of the provider. Trying to adjust your eyes to what they want you to see. Slavery left a dirty mark on our nation that still has effects to this day.
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The truth of slavery in America is often swept under the proverbial rug. Perhaps it stems from the shame of our past, but more often than not tiptoeing around serious issues results from discomfort. In my eyes, doing what’s right is more important than doing what’s comfortable.
Just this month, I learned some of dark truths surrounding our free country. About the slaves the founding fathers owned. About the laws American heroes ignored. About the cruel things Abraham Lincoln said to black men.
I never would have guessed that these things occurred, because our outdated textbooks and streamlined American History curriculum gently glossed over them. Being ashamed of the past is one thing, but ignoring it is unacceptable.
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@Matalin Bloomfield I agree with you when you stated "perhaps it stems from the shame of our past, but more often than not tiptoeing around serious issues results from discomfort". I believe lot of teachers do not teach this topic because majority of the rich and higher power are whites. They don't want us to know that during slavery era it was the same way whites were higher power to everybody else. This is like this all over the united states our textbooks don't tell us the whole truth about slavery and they try to sugar coat it.
To start, the title of this article does not fulfill the true contents of this article, and quite frankly I do not think any name could do it justice. Anyways, for me, a white male in Illinois, my education on slavery is very barebones. Most of the knowledge I have learned about slavery I have learned in my free time as I enjoy the study of history, however I can say that I had a better education than most, as for me slavery was certainly taught as the cause of the Civil War, albeit still a footnote in the school curriculum. Slavery, overall, I believe to be the least taught things in school other than [REDACTED], and I chalk this up to our American nationalism. As our history has progressed, patriotism, the support of one's country because of the good it has done, has been replaced by nationalism, the support of one’s country because it is their country, due to all the horrible things America has done over it’s extremely young lifespan because people find patriotism more and more difficult, seeping into our education as the less savory parts of America are removed.
No matter what it is, there will always be bias in everyting you learn. Teachers are human and see things differently therefore they teach things differently. The topic of slavery is very contrevesial and sensative and trying to get kids who can barely count or tie their shoes to grasp its severity is almost impossiable. They cant comprehend it and may be tramatized by it. Giving young kids the breif version is a good way to approach it but there en the issue lies. Teachers assuame that kids already know the story so for most of middle and high school it isnt taught in depth and many go on, ignorant of slavery's autracities. We cover the Holocoust better in school than slavery and slavery lasted longer and has more of an affect on us day to day than WWII as a whole. Slavery could be an entire year long class and most of the time its condensed into a couple lessions. Its an injustice to our youth.
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No matter what it is, there will always be bias in everyting you learn. Teachers are human and see things differently therefore they teach things differently. The topic of slavery is very contrevesial and sensative and trying to get kids who can barely count or tie their shoes to grasp its severity is almost impossiable. They cant comprehend it and may be tramatized by it. Giving young kids the breif version is a good way to approach it but there en the issue lies. Teachers assuame that kids already know the story so for most of middle and high school it isnt taught in depth and many go on, ignorant of slavery's autracities. We cover the Holocoust better in school than slavery and slavery lasted longer and has more of an affect on us day to day than WWII as a whole. Slavery could be an entire year long class and most of the time its condensed into a couple lessions. Its an injustice to our youth.
@Yates Kirby
I agree. Everyone has bias they don't even know they have. It's just a fact of being human. However, I wouldn't say slavery is controversial. Slavery is something that has been ruled by basically the entire population as an abomination to mankind. There is nothing worse on this earth than the act of enslaving millions of people and then freeing them only to have them be racially discriminated towards right after. No one (with a sane mind) wants that again.
Teaching such a sensitive topic like slavery can be a daunting task for most teachers, especially those who teach younger children. So I think sheltering them is necessary until they reach a level of maturity. Talking about Harriet Tubman and Abraham Lincoln in earlier grades is an important part of the story of slavery, and that story can be built on later in education.
We need to teach children about the horrors of slavery at just the right time. Teaching children about slavery early will amount to kids either not taking it seriously or taking it in the wrong way.
Going into specifics should be brought in when you are old enough to truly understand it, just like many other gruesome topics in history. We wouldn't teach the Holocaust to a second grader, so why would we do the same for slavery.
Slavery is a stain on American History. One of the greatest hypocrisies this country has had. Ever since its promise made in 1776 for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This complex subject should be brought up when children have a better perception on reality.
When I was younger, the topic of slavery was downplayed by a lot of my teachers to “shelter” us from how horrific it actually was. We were told that slavery was bad, Harriet Tubman helped the slaves, and Lincoln freed the slaves. Now, being a high schooler taking U.S History, my teacher has taught slavery more in depth. We have not only learned what slavery was and how it impacted America at the time, but also why slavery continued for so long and how its effects can be seen throughout history and even today. Although high school teachers definitely do a better job of teaching slavery, I wish we spent more time on the topic since it arguably possesses the most impact on America.
In my middle school is when I learned the most about slavery and it was discussed pretty frequently. But, now in high school I feel like we don't talk too much about it or get taught that much about it. Maybe it can be discussed from time to time in a history class but other than that it's not really talked about.
In middle school we learned about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, and a few others. , personally don't think I've been taught about all the horrific and morbid things that happened during that period of time. Of course we didn't learn about it in middle school because we were younger and didn't really need to know about that but now that we're older and more mature I feel like high school would be a perfect time to talk and understand the seriousness of it and the real history behind it.
Slavery has been a very taboo topic in every school I’ve gone to. It has always been presented as a bad event that is now over. Nothing more. I learned about Harriet Tubman but not the atrocities she saved the slaves from. I learned about the founding fathers’ ideals but not about the slaves they owned. I learned about discrimination but not the black men and women beaten in the street after the war.
The most in-depth conversations about slavery happened in my 7th-grade history class. That class was very special to me but it shouldn’t be the outlier. Other schools should be going in-depth about the horrors of slavery. There are so many things that I wish I’d known, especially being a black man. Ever since that history class, I have found other ways to learn about slavery or any other major historical events. I did a sort of play last year that focused on the Wilmington Race Riots. I find it to be insane how misinformed many people are about slavery. The article highlights how uninformed people are about the basic information of slavery, let alone the in-depth parts. We need to change this to not repeat our past mistakes. The article talks about how misinformation starts at a young age. If we can get rid of this taboo and teach our children what happened in America then we might be able to decrease the amount of racism we have today.
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@Akye Nixon-McCray
I totally get what you're saying. It's so important that we talk about these things so that they don't get forgotten. All to often slavery is glossed over as an unfortunate outlier in our amazing country's otherwise fluffy and bright past. Nobody wants to seem unpatriotic so we just continue to intake and spread these false ideals. By not showing the scars, craters, and ugliness of Americas past we are only becoming more jingoistic and risking these atrocities being completely erased. We need more classes like your seventh grade class, and we need more lessons teaching about the not so squeaky clean parts of our history.
Most people bash technology, mostly our phones. We use them to text, play games, call, remind us to do simple tasks that can easily be forgotten, etc. When it all comes down to it, I’ve learned more about the horrors of slavery in the comfort of my own home than at school or in text books, on guess what? My phone. The whole point of school is to learn where they don’t want you on your phone a lot, but sometimes our phones can teach us what schools cannot or will not. School sometimes hold back or modify what they teach, for the sake of our so-called “innocent” minds, instead of teaching us what really went on. Our phones on the other hand, tells us the bad and the ugly of slavery, the truth, not the half truth, but they do give a warning for younger audiences, or those with a weak stomach.
During school, slavery was never really discussed. We probably talked about like 1 or 2 times a year (usually during black history month). We really talked about Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and others. Everytime we talk about black history it’s mainly about those two. I have mainly learned about slavery from church and from my mother.I believe schools need to consider teacher more about slavery because there are many african american students that don’t know the importance of their history. I know some history but I don’t know a lot. If we talk deeper in black history people can fully know the importance of what happened.
Throughout my years in school, slavery is rarely discussed in lessons. I strongly believe that the topic should be addressed more and implemented in classes. When slavery is discussed, it’s the same stories told over and over again, I believe they should make it more meaningful. Also I’ve heard that it makes some colored students uncomfortable with how the teacher describes it. Slavery should be dressed more. Schools should make students feel comfortable and accepted for being themselves.
@Kimberly Hernandez I totally agree, for me it's usually talked briefly about during Black History Month. It's far more important than for it to be talked about for only one month, it's what shaped us into what world we are today, and how far we have come.
Throughout school, slavery has never really been a big topic. We maybe cover it for a week or two, but it's never a big focus. When I've learned about it, I only learned about important people during the time period, like Martin Luther King Jr, or Rosa Parks. We never learn about slaves, or all of the horrible things they went through. I think schools need to prioritize teaching all of the things slaves went through as well as important people during that time, so that people can fully understand the issue.
Couldn't agree more, we only ever get the highlights and never go deep into it. We are always told that we will learn more as we get older. Well we are older now and we want to learn more. We need to be taught that there were more than a handful of people making a difference from all backgrounds and all colors.
I think that they tell us the sort of truth about slavery so that we don't think bad about people like Lincoln and Jefferson but we need to know from the get-go that the truth is bad and unfair. We lack understanding of the exact roles that people like Lincoln had and their motives.
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Throughout all my years in school, slavery is one topic that is rare to be discussed. We heard all the stories about Rosa Parks and MLK, we learned about the biases against black Americans, but slavery, was not something we spent a great deal of time on. The first time I ever even heard about slavery, was in Elementary School. Of course we were taught the cruelty of it and how unfair it was, but we never went into much detail. The thing that best helped us kids gain information on slavery, were the stories. They really helped us understand everything black Americans were going through. It was such a horrific time in America but ultimately, it only made our nation stronger. Slavery is just one piece that makes America the way it is.
As a young black student, my experience with the topic slavery is very uncomfortable. I find myself mad and uncomfortable because of how people treated people, and the response from students. The reason for this feeling of uncomfortableness is because of my white peers who think they are superior even though the black community has proven them wrong many times. Some feel that it is ok to make racist comments, and that is not ok at all. It’s important censor some aspects of this horrible time to elementary students, but reassuring that it is not ok to treat people like dogs. This’ll ensure a safe and comfortable environment for everyone.
Slavery has always been a topic that was brought up in class as I was growing up. As much as I wish I could say that it was to the proper extent, it wasn't. Throughout elementary school we were taught the basics of slavery, white europeans "took" africans and brought them to the new world to "farm. I was taught that slaves helped to grow the economy, and after slaves were "freed", segregation occured. I don't think that it was until I was in 8th grade that I learned how magnificently all of the words I put in quotes were under exaggerated.
In 8th grade, I learned about american history. My teacher showed up a TV series called "Roots". Roots followed the life of Kunta Kinte, an african who was enslaved and brought to the colonies. It followed his life as a slave, and his descendants that came after him. It was eye opening. For the first time, I saw how truly ruthless whites were when exploiting africans from their homeland. I saw how horribly slaves were abused in america. I saw the abysmal living conditions slaves were given, and how not much changed after they were "freed".
I am very lucky that I had the opportunity to watch Roots, and am very lucky that I still have teachers who are willing to teach us about the true aspects of slavery. This year, my english teacher was kind enough to teach us about black history month. She is teaching us the unfiltered history of our country. I am hoping that this lesson will help to properly inform my peers about slavery.
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There is definitely a slavery illiteracy among students. Many textbooks that are for student-use usually depict major historical figures of the founding of America in a good light, with no mention of the fact that they were slave owners themselves.
Like the example of slavery being depicted as a small dot on the timeline, my 8th-grade history book only covered slavery in the Civil War and made it seem like an issue only in the South. Slavery was only adequately covered for me this year in my English class and my AP World History class.
The 1619 Project helped display the real impact of slavery, especially on the lives of African Americans today. Without it, I wouldn’t have realized the hypocrisy and irony involved in the founding of America based on the information in my school textbooks like the fact that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Constitution knowing it wouldn’t apply to his family.
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I’ve known about slavery for a long time. Been taught about slavery since I moved at age eight. My English teacher brought up the topic of slavery for Black History Month and spoke about how much it was being hidden, I was confused.
I know that history is manipulated in textbooks, but I can’t recall a time when slavery was put into words as anything less than a tragic part of history (We never read many textbooks.)I’ve never met a teacher that tried to make slavery less of an abuse on captured people and more of a strict servitude. For eighth grade my history teacher showed us the movie Roots, a story of a captured African who was sold as a slave and his descendant who were given the label as well.
Reading this article I find myself asking why, both in a genuinely curious tone and in an aggravated tone. “History is the story of narratives” is what my dad always says, but this narrative clearly needs to be rewritten. To know the truth about history is to understand the sufferings of everyone, and if you don’t know their sufferings how would you emphasize, how would you connect?
I can understand why slavery and the tragedies behind it are hidden from children. The same reason violence is rated PG 13 in a movie. But after reaching Middle school, when we start learning about big war, there's really no reason to hide it. No good reason anyways.
Slavery has always felt impersonal to me, I never felt attached. But it's never been anything less than a violent part of history.
I first learned about the Civil War in elementary school. My school was private and sheltered, and there was not even a textbook we read from; the teacher lectured us instead. We learned all the typical Civil War things: causes, battles, and almost as an afterthought, slavery. Slavery was said to be, in a very euphemistic, roundabout manner, "a method of forcing people to do work even if they did not want to". This lacking definition does not even begin to fathom the horrors of slavery. And this was my basis for thought on slavery for almost three years, until I was halfway through middle school and learned the truth.
I believe this has been the experience of many other American kids as well, except some never learn the truth. They continue to think of slavery as a simple phrase - "forced labor" - without ever having to think about the beatings, lynchings, and other types of physical and mental abuse slaves had to endure. It is even more repulsive to think that some kids were told that slaves were "sad" that slavery ended or have to hear racist comments from teachers while learning about this topic. History needs to be taught properly. There should not be any confusion over how terrible slavery was - the entire truth must be told. And even though this might scare some kids, it is necessary for them to undergo the shock. They need to know and understand the past, so it stays out of our future.
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Throughout my years attending school slavery has not need taught correctly. It’s been downplayed and brushed over because teachers either didn’t want to expose us to such inhumanity at a young age, or because the history books don’t give much detail into slavery at all. Much of what I know about slavery I’ve had to learn on my own outside of the classroom. Each year they tell the same stories, The railroad, the civil war, Harriet Tubman, and that Lincoln freed the slaves which isn’t even true. I think the education system needs to be updated and go more in depth about slavery because it’s such a major part of American history, and to only have 20 pages out of almost 1,000 is unacceptable.
@Katlyn Anderson Yeah I agree, I think they need to break the truth to us a little earlier in school than later.
Throughout my school career, I learned about the same slavery stories over and over again. Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, the book Uncle Tom's Cabin, Sojourner truth, these names and stories must've been said to me about a million times. I didn't really go in deep into slavery until 10th grade AP history. If it weren't for that class, I wouldn't know nearly as much about slavery as I do now, but if I wouldn't have taken that college level class, I wonder if I would've ever been taught it in high school. Slavery seems to be something that every teacher skips over because they assume you've heard about it before or just that they don't feel comfortable going into the horrors of it. They cherry pick which stories and what images of slavery they show to us, and for what reason I’m not sure. To compare it to the Holocaust, I’ve have talked about the terrors of concentration camps a million times, I’ve seen movies, read book, seen pictures. It seems as though we are scared to show the inhumane acts that happened on our own soil. We are so open about demonizing Germans, but don’t have the guts to do it to ourselves.
@Olivia Moore You make a very good point that people seem almost afraid to teach or mention slavery. Teachers gloss over it, try to ignore it, or teach it plain wrong. This is likely because it strikes so close to home. Topics like the Holocaust are as horrific as slavery, but are taught less because teachers teach a warped, wrong version in which "some slaves were 'sad' that slavery ended". This should never be the case.
The fact that it is such an uncomfortable topic should make us talk about it even more. The only way problems with race relations and the way history is taught will be fixed is if reasonable people sit down and talk about them in an open way where they can express their opinions. Students should be able to do this in a classroom, discussing how and why slavery was so wrong, and learning the full truth about its evils and the Civil War. Doing this, we can educate kids about the truth and help them learn from history's mistakes.
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@Olivia Moore
What you’re saying makes me realize that it’s true, slavery isn’t as openly talked about as the Holocaust because us Americans are responsible for a lot of it. It’s because of us that black people couldn’t vote until the 15th amendment, 251 years after 1619, the year when the first group of slaves was brought to America. If it was another country that caused the oppression of millions of human beings, the whole topic wouldn’t be so under wraps. But it shouldn’t be. I’m not saying slavery is our fault directly, but we should be more open about the topic.
I’m glad that you’ve started learning more about the ancestry of America in history class, a class that previously skimmed over the topic in lower grades like you said. To my astonishment, it’s been my English class that has really opened my eyes to the importance of the topic. Thankfully we haven’t gone over any of the “cherry picked stories” and instead have delved into deeper topics and smaller, less focused on areas. If you’re interested, New York Times has a 1619 project that showcases the beginning of slavery on a deeply personal level with podcasts and stories. I was surprised to learn that the project only debuted last year. It’s taken this long for someone to finally take the chance to open up discussion about the beginning of slavery. Anyway, that’s just a suggestion. I’ll also be mindful about your Holocaust comparison in the future whenever we review the topics in class, thanks.
I think that I was taught about slavery in school, but it wasn't a prioritized topic. We glanced at slavery just long enough to say it was bad, but we had whole units and spent weeks of time doing projects on the Holocaust or even the Bolshevik Revolution. Both of these other historical events are important to learn about, but because slavery was domestic and that is the topic we don't talk about as much, it raises some questions. It seems like we try to avoid it to make us feel better about our nation. We are fine demonizing Germans or Russians and talking about all the faults of their nation, but when the finger is pointed at us, we want to gloss over it. I do, however, think that it is important to foster a sense of national pride, something I think this generation has next to none of. But, I think that hiding from our past mistakes is not an effective way to have justified pride in our nation. We should be able to talk about our mistakes and move on from them so that we don't repeat them again. Incorrectly representing slavery doesn't promote national pride, it just keeps us from acknowledging how we can keep from ever repeating the atrocities of the past.
@Brynnan Brooks Everything in our past is an important part of our history because without it we wouldn't be where we are today. Our world is built off of historical events big and small. Unfortunately many people revered as leaders throughout the history of America have been given false identities through a lack of information.
When you are young people feel that you aren't ready for the cold hard truth. They want to preserve your innocence for as long as possible. You are taught the history of our nation but only the G-rated information that makes the country look good but they never seem to teach you the rest of it once you are old enough to know.
As you said it is important that we don't hide the mistakes of our past. Even though they are mistakes we must remember them and learn from them. Once we start forgetting the mistakes we've made in the past we are bound to start repeating them. Everyone knows the old saying. "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."
Slavery was taught in a way that made it seem mellow in elementary school. I wasn’t aware of how awful it truly was until well after the fifth grade. In elementary school, all we were told was that Harriet Tubman was a hero of the slaves, and that slaves were taken to plantations to “work”. As we’ve grown up, the truth has been revealed on how horrible the conditions were for slaves. The conditions included being whipped and abused, chained tightly together on ships, and even more brutal acts. People still discuss slavery as if it wasn’t a big issue. Young children are shielded from the truth. They need to understand America’s history, even if it includes topics that make them uncomfortable. Though these things may upset children of a younger age, it will help build sympathy, humility, and other important personality traits. They will understand the truth behind the past, and learning these things will pave a knowledgable path for their future. America’s past in slavery isn’t a fun topic to discuss, but it is important for everyone to know the truth.
When I was in elementary school, slavery was very vaguely brought up. I went to school on a military base for the first 10 years of my life, we covered the basics. I do remember talking about slavery in elementary, but i never understood how severe it was until about seventh grade. I feel like children should learn about slavery earlier. When you are younger you have more empathy for others. As you grow you lose some of those feelings and it’s hard to realize that it’s not just an “ehh” topic. Slavery is something all students need to learn.
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@Brooklyn Harcrow that is very interesting. It would be interesting listening to what slavery is, especially from somewhere that is most likely slightly biased. In public schools I think being unbiased is the most important thing they go for, to not shame the white people.
I have learned about how brutal the boat life was for slaves as they were transported from continent to continent. A lot of people make the assumption that slaves only had a horrible life while enslaved in America, but that is not the case at all. Men were placed in the very bottom of the boat in a small area causing them to experience death and starvation. The women and children were separated and all three groups were given a very limited amount of food. In my opinion, this may have been worse than the life they would eventually have in America. Conditions were horrible, there was no personal space, and it was straight up inhumane like their life would eventually be like in America.
I think to make a bigger stride for slavery to be taught better in schools, we must find the people who expierenced slavery and are still around today. We can gain information from them, which we almost know is true. From there, teachers must be as straightforward with the students as they can. In order to do this, teachers have to wait until at least middle school to explain these historical events because the younger mind just isn’t ready to understand how tragic the events were. Overall, there must be a change and I think these are the beginning steps that must be taken to accurately explain these horrific happenings.
Slavery wasn't really talked about very much at my elementary school. Although, when we did start learning about it we were protected from a lot of what really happened. We were taught about the hero stories and successes of slavery. We weren't taught about the whole story. I personally believe that we should be taught the good and the bad, but we don't need to teach kids in elementary the bad things until they begin to mature.
I think that slavery should have more podcast from former slaves or from professors. I think there should be national requirements so that we are all taught the same context and not different depending on how bad it was in some states. I think it is possible since more people are starting to care for the education of slavery and it would be good if we all talked about it.
What do I think should happen so that slavery is more accurately taught in schools? I think schools should find more than a few sources of literature. I believe that they use sources that "cherry pick" the good details, or rather, the less harsh details that happened during slavery. I think kids would benefit from learning about the raw, genuine actions and abuse that slaves had to face. In Germany, the same concept of diluting and altering events happens when the children of Germany learn about the Holocaust. I think that the pain that slaves faced should be talked about in a more realistic way, instead of it getting swept under the rug. Reading direct writings from slaves would help us better understand their perspective.
Being in high school I can honestly say that I do not remember being taught much about slavery through elementary and even through middle school. I know that it was talked about, but it was never conveyed in a way that was accurate and straight forward. When I was younger I believed that slave owners took care of their slaves and cared for them as long as they could still work and were making them money. I was never told all of the gruesome parts and tougher to accept details, which shouldn't be taught at a young age but I think it is very important that schools stop sugar coating the details of the transporting and care of slaves. Some people may have a hard time handling it, but that is what makes it easier to sympathize with and understand more about it.
Although they teach us about slavery at school i feel like they sugar coat things too much. Every time that slavery is actually brought up it is never talked about in depth. I feel like they should talk more about the point of view of the actual slaves. Everyone knows about how the white (mostly in the south) had African American slaves but when that is taught they leave out a lot of information and detail. Slavery is a real world problem and i believe that it should be talked about more briefly.
@Destiny Campos
I agree. Slavery is not something that can just be ignored, we need to go into good detail about it so we can all be well informed. It's about time slavery is discussed regularly so we are all comfortable with the topic.
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I learned about slavery from my fourth grade teacher, we learned that slaves were a group of people brought into america to work for rich people. We were not taught of the horrors of the middle passage and we did not know about the abuse and violence. It is not taught well enough in american schools today, they are trying to make it seem as if it wasn’t that bad because we were at fault and they don’t want us to be at fault. We neeed to teach about slavery in the 2nd or 3rd grade so we know early on about our history as a people. The atrocities committed do not need to be hidden from young eyes. Though it may be shocking to them, they need to be taught the truth.
This story surprises me, no student should have to do something they do not want to. Even though the teacher may have been trying to help their students, I don't believe he did it the right way. There are certain ways to approach difficult topics, and it seems like this teacher overlooked it. To embarrass a student like that is just not ok.
In my experience, I am glad that teachers have taught students about slavery throughout the years, however, I think that it is a topic that is glazed over and it is seen as something everyone knows about at this point, but it is never talked about in depth. In a lot of my history classes, I feel like teachers avoid details about slavery as much as possible and never emphasize such a flaw in a majority of Americans' thinking that was more of a stigma in history, but is still shown today through prejudice and social inequality. The more slavery is talked about-- and not just brief stories about Harriet Tubman-- the more people will realize that they need to be more accepting of others, even if they are not similar to them. We live in a nation and world full of hate and distorted thinking against those who do not fit into a certain "category", but utilizing school to delve more deeply into a subject derived from preconceived notions will ultimately benefit everyone in understanding and respecting others, thus creating a domino affect in tolerance for diversity.
When teaching about slavery, I believe we shouldn’t sugarcoat it. Using the textbooks to describe and teach about slavery is great; however, society has changed in the understanding and knowledge of slavery. It only shows a portion of what it was. Basically the north was a working region and very industrialized, while the south held the slaves. In contrast to those particular ideas, the north AND the south both had slavery just alike. I do believe textbooks should be used sparingly when teaching about slavery. I do think teachers should use textbooks to back them up; however, they should be able to speak freely and not by the textbook on the view of slavery. Not teaching what really happened and the whole truth about slavery is only keeping the next generation from knowing what their country came to be founded on. Like the article said, history isn’t alive anymore if history isn’t taught correctly.
I feel like slavery should be talked about way more realistic rather than being sugar coded. I feel like the more informed you are the better you will be at making informed decisions. I feel like there should be a teaching requirement for learning about slavery, I think it should be nationwide so everyone is getting the same information on a critical topic. We are teaching kids that everything is sunshine and rainbows, and some things are horrific and inhumane; we don’t need to sugarcoat the truth.
I think that slavery should be talked about more in depth to students because only telling them the surface gives them false information. They will pass this information around never knowing how wrong it is until later years which isn't good. We shouldn't be sugar coating such a horrific topic. It happened and yes it is very horrible that it did but the whole process is a very large part of history in our country and each student should have the opportunity to know the things that happened. I don't think that everyone should have to teach it the same way but there should be some guidelines to follow; teachers shouldn’t be allowed to teach just the good and skims of the bad. It should all be mixed in the way it happened in history.
When in elementary school, like a lot of other students, I learned a very watered down version of slavery. We mostly talked about the heroes, like Harriet Tubman, and spoke about the underground railroad. Though despite all the talk of it, I knew kids that thought the underground railroad was an actual railroad up until middle school. I believe that we should teach elementary students more about the bad parts of slavery and how they affected African Americans. Although we shouldn't teach the more gruesome aspects of slavery to young kids, I think teachers should not brush over the negative parts of slavery. I think that a lack of a true understanding of slavery could lead toward more racist ideals in a kids’ life.
I feel like I was taught slavery in school not in a way that glorified it in anyways, but was definitely not taught about the complete horrors of it all. I think that in some sense it is okay to teach about some of the good stories that occured during slavery like Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad and such, because it does show that even through the toughest times humans have shown to persevere to obtain what is good. However, I don’t think our schools should just skim over the many horrors that happened during slavery. It doesn’t have to be immediately dropped on the younger children because they may not fully understand the whole of the information, but I think definitely before the end of high school the information does need to be learned. This is because stories of all the bad that happened is what help us recognize and prevent atrocities like slavery from happening again.
I think that slavery is not taught well enough in our American school system. It is introduced to us at a very young age, while we are still in elementary school, but as kids we cannot understand the effects it had on people. Many teachers find a way around teaching it at such a young age because they don’t want to scare the kids. I think if we changed how and when we introduced slavery it would help new students better understand it. I think slavery should be introduced in the 3rd or 4th grade, where students learn about how the slaves were taken from their home and sent to America. Then later on in 5th or 6th grade students would learn about why slavery was a thing. Teach them about why people wanted to own slaves. After understanding the background the teachers could later discuss the civil war, and how slavery was abolished. I think teaching it in order, and having a background before jumping into the civil war would really help students to better understand slavery.
In order for slavery to be taught more accurately in schools, I feel like they should teach more about every little thing. In this very small period of time we have been learning about it in english, I have learned more than I did in all my history classes combined. I almost feel like some teachers are scared to go into detail thinking it would be insulting to some people. I think it should be at least a statewide, if not a nationwide requirement to teach everything about slavery. I don’t know who would make this a requirement, but it should be. I believe it’s very possible to have a nationwide agreement on how real and important slavery is to our country. There are so many things people don’t know that they should.
Growing up in a public school I feel like we did not learn about slavery like we should have. I personally don’t remember even talking about it and the effects it still has on today's society. There should be nationwide requirements set up that teachers must follow to properly educate young people. This was a very important time period for our nation and it needs to be taught correctly to everyone. Another standard that needs to be put in place are the stories about how awful the slaves were treated, not just the heroic stories about Harriet Tubman escaping through the Underground Railroad. The people who need to make these requirements are the same people who tell the teachers what we need to be learning every year in order to stay on track with graduation. This was a very important time period in the US that it deserves to be taught correctly.
"In the first article, Tiferet Ani, a social-studies specialist, suggests that teachers should use textbooks sparingly when teaching about slavery. What do you think? How do your teachers use textbooks and other sources to teach about slavery?"
I think that Tiferet Ani is completely correct about the textbooks. When slavery is taught strictly out of a textbook, it loses it’s seriousness. Students don't really understand and connect with the issue, and therefore it has the opportunity to repeat itself.
As a student in the United States I have been taught about Slavery, but it has never given me the full picture of what really went on during this time period. When we are taught about slavery they never go in to great detail of what really went on, they just give us the short text book version that summarizes this time period. I feel like people would have a better understanding of this if we spent more than a week on the topic. I feel like they would also understand how slavery has affected American society today as well as how it has affected African Americans.
In my opinion, what I have been taught about slavery is mostly truthful, but it has definitely been censored. For example, I was not taught that the main issue of the civil war was slavery. Living in the south, I think that southerners do not want to talk about the south’s role in the civil war and in slavery. I think that is important for all students to know the gruesome truth about slavery. If everyone grew up understanding what slaves went through every day, I think this generation might respect black culture more, and we would better understand what happened during the civil war.
I think that slavery should have a nation-wide curriculum. In the south, where slavery was most common, the racist views that were seen then, can still be found today. I think that that impacts how it is taught and may be taught as more of a benefit. The government’s national education committee should set a curriculum with resources for teachers to correctly educate students. Slavery and the Civil War are often skimmed over, and may put teachers in an uncomfortable position, so if there was something set in place, there would not be the issue of false information or the tainted views being put in impressionable youth’s minds.
How was slavery framed and talked about when you were in elementary school? Do you think that young children need to be protected from the horrors and realities of slavery?
In elementary school, learning about slavery is not taught as brutual as it is. We are taught that African-American people are forced to work for white people, and they didn’t enjoy their life. We aren’t told about the awful conditions and all of the little extra stuff that went on. It wasn’t until middle school when we started to learn about how brutal it was, and then we really learned it all in high school. I think that children should be protected in elementary school from the really gruesome, awful things, but they should still learn about it. Although we learned about it all, no one will ever feel the pain and struggle that slaves really had to go through.
I don’t think that slavery has been taught very well. Many people have a false picture of how horrible the conditions were. I think that the African slaves were treated horrible and inhumane. Although many people were killed and treated badly, it is unfair to treat people as if they were still in that time period. It isn't right to judge people based on what their ancestors did. At the end of the day we are all people, and no one that is alive today was a slave or has owned them.
I don’t think textbooks should be used when teaching about slavery. A vast majority of the textbooks used in school are old and outdated. They’re not up-to-date on recent developments and recent research that could help to inform kids and give them a better understanding. When I took U.S. History last year, the textbook had a small section on slavery. And even then it was just about abolitionist and not about slavery itself. Textbooks only teach about the heros and people that did something, they don’t necessarily teach beyond the subject itself. However, that’s how most schools teach slavery, via textbook.
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The fact of the matter is, writing about slavery, talking about slavery, and learning about slavery is hard. It's awkward. Especially when your class is overwhelmingly white and you live in the south. This is why we have failed our students and not taught them about a vital part of American history. We failed because success would make us uncomfortable and until now, we have been okay with comfortably failing our students.
Recently, I have been reading many articles from "The 1619 Project". Through these articles, I have learned much more about the realities of slavery than I have learned from any textbook in school.
This whitewashing does not stop at slavery though. After thinking about the classes I have taken, including AP US History, it came to me that nearly all of the history taught in American schools is whitewashed. That's not to say that there isn't mention of minority groups, but usually, when minorities are mentioned, it's because they were related or conflicted with white people in some way. This is a failure of our education system and I am confident that if students were educated about the culture, traditions, and history of other cultures, they would grow up to be more compassionate and learned adults.
Ignorance may be comfortable, but exposing the truth, though it is awkward and painful, is the right thing to do. We owe it to the people this nation enslaved, the people who helped to build this nation, to make sure that they are not forgotten from history.
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It is our older generation who are the most uninformed. I know enough about slavery to get into a deep discussion with someone. I believe I'm well informed about what took place in the Americas during the 1600s and have thoroughly read the book of Olaudah Equiano's autobiography which outlines how he opposes pro-slavery. But telling the truth about slavery in American public schools has not been something America is willing to do. Many teachers feel ill-prepared, and textbooks hardly even skim the surface. There is so much pain to explore why even bother?
I asked my dad about this, and he said he was never taught the cruel punishments that went on in America. He knew that slavery happened but was not well informed on the small dark ships they voyaged on, or the big chains they wore. Just four years ago, textbooks told students “workers” were brought from Africa to America, it did not say men, women and children in chains. It is why, last year, a teacher asked students to list “positive” aspects of slavery. It is why, in 2019(yes one year ago), there are teachers in schools who still think holding mock auctions is a good way for students to learn the terrors of slavery. Misinformation and flawed teaching about America’s past fills classrooms from an early age.
This is why I believe future education holds the power of what we know, think, and learn about our nation's past.
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@Soen McCormick
Building off of what Soen said. What wasn’t taught in school was how people acted or felt during this time, besides the chains or the punishments. As the article states a quote from Mr. Hall which reads “Like they loved their dogs” Talking about enslavers feelings towards their slaves. But love is not used as a word that represents appreciation of slaves, but rather the love of feeling superior, the capital gains, or the love of degrading people. Why would our schools not teach this to us? Are we embarrassed of our past that we created and indulged ourselves in by enslaving another race? Much like Germany’s embarrassment and refusal to teach of their own actions in the events of World War 2 towards the Jewish people.
Inadequately. We have been misinformed in our early years of school on the subject of Racism, and in highschool we are allowed a peak of what slavery, and racism meant. Yes they teach us the common things to be found in textbooks like, slavery was bad because it was an abusive and violent era for Black americans, and even when it was abolished by the 13th amendment, Racism continued on and kept a divide between White and Black americans. But what isn't really covered or taught is, how the people running the plantations felt about what they were doing or why they were doing it. Yes Slavery gained them huge fortunes of wealth through the selling of crops. Slavery was the main cause of the Civil War, and what is not taught to students is that after the Civil War ended, White Southerners and their sympathizers adopted the “Lost Cause” Idealology that softned the brutality of enslavement and justified its immoprality in White Southerner’s eyes. But choosing to teach this to children at young ages should be up to the parents because, as they say, “Ignorance is Bliss”.
I started learning about slavery I would say at a young age. The youngest I could say I remember learning about it is 6th grade. But the year that I got the most learning about it was 8th grade. In my 8th grade class I had a really good history teacher and he was always good at breaking everything down and going into detail. Throughout the year we watched a TV show called Roots and basically it was stories of these African Americans becoming in slaved and being captured from their families and the torture they went through. But it was throughout there whole life and throughout the show you see then grow up in this terrible life of slavery and how much their lives were changed ruined drastically because of family and friends dying and being tortured around them. Also having to go through the pain of being captured and probably never seeing your family again. But it showed what really happened to these African Americans throughout that time and slavery and let me tell you, they don't sugar coat it. That show really showed me the realistic lives of that time…
@emma p I share the same experience of having a very good history teacher in middle school that made the horrors of slavery understandable for a room full of white middle schoolers. That being said, only through independent study and reading did I learn about the hardships that African Americans have gone through, from lynchings and sharecropping to disenfranchisement, segregation, police brutality. Only from my interest in politics have I learned about the issues still facing the African American community today, most of which can be traced back in some way to slavery.
Even if we teach our students about slavery, which does not seem to be the case in many places, we are neglecting to teach them about what came after. If I were relying on my formal at-school education, I would think it was all fine and dandy after the 13th Amendment was passed, but this couldn't be further from the truth.
In order to change things, we have to know they exist. Because we are not learning about the issues that have faced the African American community, there is no way that we will be informed enough to hold our elected officials accountable for helping them. These modern issues are a result of the hundreds of years that we kept African Americans in chains, selling them as property. It is our duty to educate ourselves and make changes because this is not what the African American community deserves.
@emma p It wasn't until 8th grade where I became increasingly more aware of slavery and the effects it has on society as well. My whole life, I had heard bad surface details about it, but that's just it, the topic of slavery never really reached below the surface for me until I was at the age of 13. It's almost unfathomable to think about what African-Americans lived like even 100 years ago, and I think that's a large reason for why kids don't start learning about slavery until they're at a more mature and developed age.
I also watched the television show 'Roots' in middle school, and getting the chance to really see how African-Americans lived during the time of slavery opened my eyes to just how detrimental and debilitating it was for human beings. I think that the rawness of that show definitely helped depict slavery in a real way. I'm personally glad that it wasn't sugarcoated, because I feel as though kids need to learn the truth of American history and every role that slavery played in it.
In elementary school, slavery might have been mentioned for one day. A child had a burning question, and that question was expertly avoided. In middle school, you start to talk about how white rich families bought slaves to do their dirty work. You’re taught that slaves didn’t really do anything other than pick cotton and eventually fight for their rights. But that is obviously not correct in the slightest.
Only in high school do you begin to scrape the surface. Or, in my class’s case, you get a month of deep understanding of the subject. A month where you learn about everything that you were forced to mislearn for years. Zintel says it perfectly. Slave owners loved “being superior” and “degrading people.” They didn’t just love the economic gain.
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@Mason Evans I disagree, I felt like I had a decent grasp on the idea of slavery and what it was about by the 2nd grade. I feel like the main learning gap came with differentiating the civil rights movement from the times of slavery. To my seconds grade mind that time period was all just blended together, I didn't understand the difference between Segregation and Slavery and I didn't know if MLK was a civil rights activist in the 1900's or 1800s. This was all clear to me however by the time I escaped elementary school and I remember watching all of roots in the 8th grade which about summed up my learning of slavery until now.
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Part 2
America is built on their backs, but nobody sees that aspect of our history or slavery because it’s never taught. They deserve credit for everything that they’ve done just like we give it to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and all the other greats. Slaves deserve to be recognized among those greats. What’s sad is, I only found all this out this year. From one teacher. In my fifteen years, only one teacher has taken the time to acknowledge and address this topic how it’s supposed to be. The article addresses textbooks as inadequate, but textbooks aren’t supposed to teach. Teachers are. Slavery is a big part of the past, and it isn’t scary to teach unless you know you’ve been racist or are being racist. It shouldn’t make people feel guilty because if it does, then what does that say about them?
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Throughout school slavery has been included in some unit each year, whether it was History or English. I always respected and appreciated learning about this important aspect of U.S. History, but it wasn’t until recently I learned that I have only been taught the celebratory aspects of slavery. I’ve only learned about the heroic abolitionists and read stories about the brave men and women who escaped from slavery. As I’ve grown older and more passionate about people, cultures, and history, I believe it is important to know every aspect of why slavery took place, what the conditions were, and why it was absolutely necessary for the captives to gain freedom. As gory and uncomfortable learning about torture and cruelty may be, it is important for future generations to know that a bloody war wasn’t just fought over State’s Rights or economic reasons. The Civil War was fought for people to truly be people--so that one day, anyone of any race, gender, economic background, or religion may be able to experience equality and freedom. We still have a long way to go and we won’t be able to change the present or build a better future if we don’t know the full truth of the past.
@Lauren Carr I also learned about slavery in almost all my History and English classes. I also agree that I have recently learned about slaves shaped the US and have benefited the US in many ways. I do think it is important to see slavery and culture from all different aspects also.
@Lauren Carr I agree, my English or history classes have always had a lesson about slavery since a young age. I think its important we learn this history because it lead us to where we are now and shaped the U.S. Yes it is a hard topic to teach but I do still thinking teaching it is a necessity and helps us understand what took place and how life was.
I have learned about slavery through youtube videos, documentaries, and lesson readings in school-approved books. I have mostly taught myself about slavery as sometimes my teachers don't really cover as much information as I would like them too. The things that I don't find helpful are group discussions on slavery as I don't learn much and is better learning on my own.
I remember that slavery in elementary school was framed as black people who escaped to freedom and abolitionists who helped them. They never talked about the darker sides to it or even put a slight mention in it. I believe that young children shouldn't be protected from the horrors of slavery and should know what it was and how it changed the course of US history.
I think that teachers should have a better teaching plan when slavery gets brought up in the lesson as many students aren't that aware about how slavery changed the United States. I think there should be national requirements about this issue so students are taught about it better and so that it could never happen again in the future.
@Stephanie Cueva I agree with you because I also think they should have a better way of teaching about it because it is a hard topic to talk about and if the teachers aren't giving the full story and detail, how are we supposed to know what really was going on?
@Stephanie Cueva
I can relate to your comment. Throughout my younger childhood, I was never really taught about slavery. I was never taught the horrors of it, and how it has shaped America into what it is today. I was given little information, that came across as lighter, never really diving into the subject.
I think most teachers and parents want to shelter their kids from the terrors of slavery. They even want to shelter them from our own history, because deep down, some people are ashamed, or even embarrassed that our country was founded from such inhumane acts.
Slavery in the U.S. is not a light subject and it should be taken seriously. I have done a lot of my own research aout the subject, and I wish I didn't need to. Schools should dive into the subject and properly educate students.
The topic of slavery has only been talked about in my Social Studies classes. When learning about slavery it was first around eighth grade, that I can remember, but since then I have taken multiple history classes and I feels as if the topic of slavery is skirted around they mention it but it’s as if the topic doesn’t want to be tought to us. I think that I have been tought the basics of slavery and I know just the main story that they want us to know. But recently in my English class is the first time I am getting a true look into what slavery is, and what really went down in our founding years. I am learning how African Americans did so much for the founding of America and how they were the true back bone and helped this country thrive.
I haven’t ever been taught about slavery at home. I come from a very white family, you could say. My mom's family is from West Virginia and my dad is a first generation American with his family and their heritage from the United Kingdom. So Slavery has never been something we need to discuss until I began to really learn about it in my current English class.
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@Taryn Connolly Continued:
This class has really made me think and question a lot and so I ask those questions out loud, leading my dad and I into deep conversation. I don’t think slavery is fully taught like it should be in schools because some schools can be heavily while populated and the course work and even the textbooks can be catered more towards the main group of people using them and are only filled with what people want them to know. They may be telling the truth and what people claim as history but even the written and decided upon story for history has multiple truths that aren’t always told.
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I learn about slavery approximately 28 days out of the year. During Black History Month each year, I usually have one teacher who decides to spend the month of February teaching about slavery and the progression of how African Americans have lived in America since then. Although I'm glad that my teachers tend to dedicate this month to teaching slavery, I wish it seemed like less of an obligation to Black History Month and more of a genuine desire to teach it. Sometimes I wonder if we didn't have a month dedicated to this if I would learn about slavery at all.
I think the first time that I've truly learned about slavery from a historical point of view was this year in my tenth grade AP World History class. We went pretty in depth into how it started and learned what happened in the time period where it was considered legal in the US. We read documents and journal entries from former slaves, and we learned about the large scale effects that it had on Africa. I think I was pretty lucky to be able to learn about it this year after reading this article and seeing how many people couldn't say the same.
What disturbed me the most when reading about what people had to say about being taught slavery in school is that a few of them were shown or asked to describe the "positives" to slavery. This is so ridiculous to me, and I think it shows that many American teachers are the ones who need to learn about slavery before we can.
Over the course of the month I have learned a great deal about the history of African Americans and also the lives of those who were enslaved. I went to a presentation where this man went duke, only 50 years ago, and was one of the first African American men to graduate their engineering program. This surprised me that only half a century ago segregation was still a prevalent thing in the United States. He then went off and talked about how growing up he never left his community because he had everything he needed in his neighborhood, a grocery store, car wash, barber shop, everything. He also stated that he didn't want to leave his community because “quite frankly” he said, “I wasn't welcome anywhere else.”
Hearing him talk opened my eyes and ignorant ears to the fact that segregation wasn't something that ended several hundred years ago but is something that my grandparents were apart of. Knowing the history even before this presentation, I would never understand why anyone, no matter the color of their skin, would want to treat another person with such disrespect.
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There are always two sides to every story. Often times which side you hear is dependent on who tells it. Or what tells it. I started learning about slavery as an 8th grader, before that all I ever really knew was that it was a thing of the past... a horrible thing. In 8th grade I was really able to dive deep into when and how slavery came to be and how it was abolished by the former president Abraham Lincoln. I was taught that the founding fathers were “heroes” and was shown in the textbook for middle school social studies/history that Abraham Lincoln was the sole reason for slavery ending.
As a sophomore in high school now, I am just beginning to learn the real, full truth. Or, the other side of the story. The side that was never told to me. The side told by the people who experienced racial discrimination and slavery first hand: African Americans. The side that says, Abraham Lincoln actually described black people as a “troublesome presence. The side that says all slaves had the chance to be freed, but only if they left their home country, the place where they had grown up.
In almost all cases, slavery is a quite uncomfortable topic to converse about. It’s much easier to hear the easy side of the story. The side where the white people are the heroes who saved black people and freed them forever. But is the easy side always the right side? Most certainly not. Slavery is something every school needs to talk about. It’s not a case where we should hide from the truth.
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From elementary school, slavery is watered down. People have no clue about the hardship that they went through. The point of teaching slavery isn’t to raise guilt or make anybody upset or uncomfortable. It’s to be knowledgeable about a big part of U.S. History because that is what it is. In fact, the U.S. is built on slavery. Ten out of twelve of our first presidents were slave owners. Mr. Stewart addresses this in the article, so it’s not a secret. Yet, people don’t know about it. When the Declaration of Independence was written, the colonists claimed to be the slaves to England. Funny, right? They knew how it felt to be oppressed, not-heard, treated horribly, but they had no problem doing it to others. People don’t know that, and that’s wrong. Abraham Lincoln is thought of as a hero to African Americans and slavery, but when he invited those five black men to the White House, he told them that once they are free, they should leave. Leave as in go to another country because seeing them makes white people suffer. Yes. The white people suffered so much..Oh, but all those abused and oppressed black people were just fine. That’s wrong! It’s wrong that people don’t know that aspect of history, too. And, honestly, it isn’t fair. Cotton, tobacco, textiles, etc. The U.S. had lots of it to use and sell and buy. Trade was good for us back then. Why? Because of all the black people that, for some reason, were treated so poorly.
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In my sophomore year of highschool I gained a well rounded comprehension revolving slavery from my AP US History course which aided me in understanding the importance of this topic within American history. From the attempted enslavement of Native Americans through the Ecomienda system, to the switch to African American slavery leading into the civil rights era, our country was founded upon the basis of this caste system. African American slavery began as early as 1619 where molasses was farmed in America, and from there was made into rum which was then traded for slaves in aArica who were brought back to America. This system became known as The Triangular Slave Trade and transitioned into the major period of slave trade within America from the 17th to mid-19th century. African Americans were seen as property and were solely made to work for their white masters and faced cruel conditions. This continued 1863 with Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation; however, their hardships continued on into present day. From Jim Crow laws, hindering POC of their human rights, to white supremacist hate groups like the KKK, leading into the civil rights era and even the present day, Black Lives Matter movement. Learning about this topic in depth gave me some insight on just how substantial slavery truly is to American history and the impact in which it left behind. It is important to understand the reality of historical downfalls in order to know why we must not repeat history.
@Zain Zeitouni
With the classes I am taking right now, I am learning content very similar to you. Being in AP World at the moment, I've also learned about the beginnings of the slave trade, why it occurred, where it occurred. We learned about the one date of 16q9, and went into some depth of the brutality of the middle passage, and learned about the triangular trade, but that was about it. Out of all of our notes, there was just one single bulletin which stated "In 1619 the first African slaves were Brough to North America in Virginia," but that was it. It was only until my English teacher made us read "The Idea of America" by Nikole Hannah-Jones where I really learned just what the significance the year 1619 had on the rest of American History. In all of my life, I'm certain that this one essay has taught me more about slavery and the history of black people in America that I've ever know. I learned so much from that essay which I would have most likely never would have thought about in my life, and I'm so glad that I was able to read it. My words won't be able to do it justice, so I recommend that everyone interested go's and reads it themselves.
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Growing up in school, I feel that I knew slavery existed in the country, but didn't quite understand the gravity of that fact or it's implications on society today. I think that as I have gotten older and advanced through school I have gradually learned more about these things. Slavery in the United States is so much more than just a thing that happened. Slavery is about a deeply rooted racism, and even deeper selfishness that dominated and continues to dominate the hearts of American people. This attitude, although not in the form of slavery, still manifests itself today. Through continued education about slavery and what it's existence actually means, we can work to correct this.
Slavery in School
Personally, slavery has been quite a big topic throughout my years of learning. It has been common knowledge that slaves were brought into America to practically everything for the white people, but not until recently did I learn some new jaw-dropping knowledge about the way our country was founded. After doing some homework about how our country was founded on slavery, I learned something new. Apparently, Abraham Lincoln, who we think of as the great emancipator, which he was, was also something else. He originally only wanted to free the slaves as a war tactic, and even called in a meeting with about 5 black free men who were abolitionists. He told them he wanted to free the slaves, but that they were still a troubled race and wanted to send them back to their country of origin instead of granting them citizenship and equal rights.
And on top of that, one of our Founding Fathers was a bit hypocritical when it came to slavery. While everyone fighting for independence from the British empire owned slaves, they make a very hypocritical argument by telling England one of the reasons they wanted to be separated was because they felt as if they were treated like slaves, even though they relied heavily on slavery and could not get anything done without it.
So this brings me to the summary, our nation was FOUNDED on slavery, and without them we never would have come as far as we did, making them some of the most important founding fathers of our country.
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@Avery Hodges You are completely correct, "It has been common knowledge that slaves were brought into America to practically everything for the white people". Except, this knowledge is incorrect. African women, men, and children were brought to America and enslaved IN America. They were not slaves in their own land. Once, they were stolen from their home land, sold, labeled as property, forced to work under extremely poor conditions, and degraded culturally, physically, and more, is when they became slaves.
When it comes to historical events or matters, I believe it is best to tell kids the full truth of what happened no matter the cruelty or severity of the event, because as kids it will resonate with them more. For me, slavery has been taught as cruel, oppressive system where people, because of their race, were relegated to a
life of servitude to their masters. This teaching is an accurate representation of slavery was for black slaves, and should be taught in all schools, especially considered the great amount of narratives claiming “slavery wasn’t that bad”. I’m glad I was taught the horrors and history of slavery and black oppression in the US as it is relevant today as race continues to be controversial in America. I think it should be a required to teach both that the civil war was caused by disputes over slavery, and the subsequent attempts by the South to downplay the role of slavery and their continued oppression of blacks. That being said it important to put slavery in the economic context of the time. During the 1600s-1800s slaves or serfs were used for most agrarian economy’s i.e. France, Russia and that the supply of slaves were coming from African Nations selling African people. So while being very horrific, in many countries slavery was used to support agricultural economies. Basically, I think it’s important the entire story of slavery is taught in the US, because its legacy doesn’t seem to be going away and people need to be taught the truth
@Thomas Wahlman I agree with you one hundred percent learning the truth behind our country’s founding roots is so important for every citizen of American to learn. Yes it was quite a hard and curle time and might be much for the younger ages but I believe that at some point the truth needs to come forward. Your right slavery was so important and useful to a countries economics, such as slavery in the United States. By having slavery the United States was able to use that money to pay off the many war depts to prevent the young nation from going into bankruptcy and failing as a new nation. It is important to tell the whole story that way the legacy as you say can be placed on a better track and be used not as a dark or shameful point in our history but as a learning point not just for the United States but for the whole world about what we did wrong and what efforts it took to fix it.
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Growing up, i did not really know what slavery was until later in elementary school. It honestly wasn't until high school that i learned about how bad slavery actually was. Before high school, my teachers told us the basics of slavery, and not a whole lot about the really terrible aspects of it. When we really started to learn about it in high school, we were finally taught the truth behind slavery and how cruel it was. I feel like slavery is a part of our history that most people want and try to forget. But i think that it needs to stay relevant to ensure that something like slavery will never happen again in the future. When it comes to using textbooks to teach about slavery, i do that that textbooks should be used sparingly with slavery. Textbooks will help get the major points and information across, but students need to more than what the textbooks say because the textbooks don't give all of the information. I do think there should be a better curriculum when it comes to discussing slavery because it is a very important part of our history.
Pt. 1) Throughout my years in school, I do not feel as though I have been properly informed on the subject of slavery. It wasn’t until I researched and analyzed historical documents, as well as, empathize with people represented in narrative writings, that I was able to grasp a better understanding of the matter. In a world characterized by emotional instability and censorship regarding sensitivity, I do not think that it’s possible to obtain open discussion on such a heavy subject. There are holes in the vast majority of people’s minds regarding the history of slavery, due precisely to the way it’s being taught in school. Growing up in early elementary, I was presented only with that of the heroic tales of abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman or Frederick Douglass. It’s not to say that these activists were not a vital part of American history, but I think that by exposing the raw truths of the realities these innocent people endured, we (all people of America) would develop a greater admiration and appreciation for all of those affected.
I learned about slavery in my classes but they never really was much depth to it, there was the concept of slavery and the effects of slavery but never any actual history of slavery. I feel like there needs to be more representation of slaves in our education system to fully grasp an understanding of how slaves lived.
@Jesus L. I agree that in the history curriculum there should be more information about slavery, because it is important to know every aspect about how our country was formed into what it is today.
Pt 2.) In one reading published by Olaudah Equiano, I was enlightened about the “accursed trade” and the journey African American slaves took aboard the Brookes, a slave ship destined for Barbados. To be educated of the conditions these people endured, being degraded, dehumanized and objectified, my heart ached. I could not imagine preferring death over something, as one aboard desired. To jump out into the open waters to drown, rather than withstand the close and inhumane quarters goes to unveil the brutalness of it all. I truly think that if we were more accurately and honestly educated, we’d be able to better understand both early American history, as well as, that of our present day society. It takes vulnerability and boldness to do so, but I am confident that we can reach a place of truth.
In many history classes throughout my schooling we have learned about slavery but I have noticed that we rarely go in detail of what actually happened. Discussions of slavery tend to be very brief and the curriculum primarily focuses on what was happening as a result of slavery, such as war, rather than the struggles that slaves faces and the culture during that time. It wasn’t until this year that my class began to dive deeper and discover the cruel lifestyle of African Americans in the 17th century and hardships they had to overcome. I think we should implement curriculum in the education system that starts teaching about slavery in elementary and middle school to create a basis of understanding for young students.
Like many of my peers, in elementary school, we just learned that slavery is bad. We learned about Harriet Tubman but that was probably it. I feel as though schools should stop shielding students from the truth. Giving them even just a basic version of the horrors that went on would make a huge difference. To this day, I still don't know much about slavery. The only time we really delved into slavery was eighth grade. Even then the unit was focused on Thomas Jefferson. This was the first time that we weren't focused on Abraham Lincoln, we got into the living conditions and punishments enslaved people went through. We talked about the Confederacy and the Union and had a Socratic Seminar. Textbooks should only be used sparingly. Instead, we should bring in historians who voice multiple perspectives to get the whole story.
Much of my experience learning about slavery came in elementary school, meaning that what really happened to slaves was sugarcoated or ignored entirely. Our teachers giving us the impression that slavery was really not so bad made it hard for our young minds to understand why slavery would be such a big deal to some people, or be anything other than an occurrence in history that allowed us to prosper here in America. In middle school, we learned more about the hardships slaves endured, such as the conditions they subjected to on the middle passage and the punishments they could be given at any time, but it never resonated with us. What we learned in elementary school had desensitized us to slavery and made it difficult to understand the reality the slaves went through.
The problem with slavery being taught has more to do with education standards in general here in America rather than with slavery itself. Like many other subjects and topics being taught, I think there need to be stricter, standardized guidelines when it comes to the discussion of slavery. We need clearly defined points that will give everyone in the country the same base of information about slavery and then advanced classes that go more in-depth about slavery if students wish to chose them. This will ensure that everyone is taught the same, proper information and we do not have curriculums that vary wildly and provide some with an entirely inaccurate understanding of the history of slavery.
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Personally, I haven’t learned very much about slavery at all. Every year that it gets brought up, the same lessons get taught. We learn about Harriet Tubman along with the other abolitionists, and other people who escaped slavery. Although this is great to learn, we need to be informed on the real truth about slavery. I understand beating around the bush in elementary school to prevent scarring young children; however, students are old enough to be taught about slavery by high school. Younger children should still be taught that black people were captured and held as slaves and that there were abolitionists who did what they could to stop it. They need the framework, so that when they get to high school, they can learn more about what happened. I’ve been taught about the Holocaust multiple times. Each time, my teachers go in depth, despite the gory and horrific details. Yet, when it comes to slavery, they tend to brush right over the topic. It’s easier to talk about an issue that happened in another country than it is to talk about an issue that happened in your country, and I think that’s part of the problem. However, in order to move from the past, we need to learn from it, and in order to learn from it, we need to know the truth.
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Honestly, I have learned very little about slavery in my schooling career. I feel as if they would beat around the bush on how bad it was, it’s like our history classes would focus more on the wars and different movements but little on slavery and how it effected us and the world today. There’s a lot more focus on today’s problems or things that aren’t as important as slavery. I think there should be a stronger curriculum about it. Let’s not put what people went through behind us, let’s show how it impacted us and how were building off of it and growing from it.
I did not learn about slavery until maybe elementary. Slavery was something, in elementary school, that we acknowledged was wrong, and that it shouldn’t have happened. In middle school, people often joked about it but I did not really understand why they did. My teacher often described what slaves went through in heavy detail. She made scenarios for us to see how it would be to live at that time and showed us real people who made differneces. It really changed how I see the world.
I have been taught about slavery, but in the previous years. I remember the brief things about slavery and the most imoportant things, not exact details. I think slavery is taught well in our schools but I feel that we are so focused about our current problems that we forget everything we learned about slavery. In school, we talk about slavery in certain grades and classes but once we moved on from those grades and classes it becomes less important to us. Slavery was a very harsch and rough thing people had to face and we tend to try forget those hard times and be grateful for the freedom we have now.
I did not learn about slavery until my 8th grade year. Being in middle school, people often joked about it but I did not really understand (This is not a topic to joke about). In the beginning of my 8th grade year, I was in for a shock. US History introduced me to things I could never imagine. My teacher often described what slaves went through in heavy detail. She would bring in food and make scenarios for us to see how it would be to live at that time. It really changed how I seen the world. Now, as a sophomore, I have had more experiences with the teaching of slavery but not to the extent that I was in 8th grade. I believe that this topic is being erased from our teaching curriculum and not taken seriously. Kids my age still make jokes about slavery and it is really unsettling to know that something so tragic in our country is seen as a joke.
(1/2) I did not learn about slavery enough until this year. Slavery was something, in elementary school, that we acknowledged was wrong, that we acknowledged that shouldn’t have happened, but we wrapped up the story there- right until “good ole” Abe Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation.
And that was it, at least for elementary school. I don’t blame my teachers- I think they did the best they could with what the curriculum allowed. But the truth and brutality and oppression that continued after slavery wasn’t talked in much depth until my 8th grade English class when we read Crow and watched Wilmington on Fire. We liked to teach that slavery ended nicely with the Civil War. We knew there was segregation afterward, but we never talked about the terrorism that spread throughout the South, the holocaust. I didn’t even know there was an era after the Reformation that was called the Great Nadir- the lowest of the lows- until I listened to the 1619 project (if you haven’t listened to it, please do. You will be rewarded).
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(2/2) We often teach racism and slavery as things of the past. We teach them things that aren’t white people’s problems without realizing it. Guys. Racism exists today. Because we have ignored the impact of these things on our history for so long- waiting for all the way up until the end of middle school- we have a disconnect to its implications. We should be making not a pro-and-con list of slavery, but a list of ways that it still exists today. We should be making lists of things that we realize are racist. We should be learning about our past, not covering it up for the sake of filling students with the lie that America is a perfect country. We. Are. Not. When Germany went through the Holocaust, they had memorials, they have laws that are enacted today to prevent oppression from ever slipping back into their country. What did we as America do? Threw it under the rug. I bet you didn’t even know that America had a successful coup d'etat. I bet you didn’t know that the Reconstruction was working in Wilmington. I bet you didn’t even know that black people were massacred all threw its streets when the white people overthrew the black people in power. I bet you didn’t even know because Wilmington is my hometown, and I didn’t even know about this until I was fourteen.
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