Indoctrination in education

Serenity Corbett-Richardson

To indoctrinate. Merriam-Webster defines this as "to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle." While its definition presents this concept as uncomplicated, it is quite the contrary. Even more complicated are the effects, which can jam the very cogs of our international relations. A commonplace belief is that indoctrination is somehow behind us, left in the ashes of World War II, or at least relegated to the corrupt nations of the world. This could not be farther from the truth. In fact, its tendrils weed themselves into the fabric of our society every day in perhaps the most innocent and sacred of places: classrooms. Between the pages of our history textbooks and hidden among the colors of our flags, indoctrination is underway.

Historical Indoctrination

One of the more subtle forms of indoctrination employed in state curricula is historical indoctrination. Historical indoctrination most obviously consists of the omission or embellishment of historical events from the curriculum, however, it can result from a plain and simple instructional bias.

A case of the former would be the seemingly valiant history of the United States' role in World War II.

"We tend to think of June 6, 1944, (D-Day), as an amazing day. And it was. But what is also transpiring that summer is the Soviets are enveloping and destroying an entire German army group center. Nobody knows about this," said Jayson Waller, head of the history department at Carlmont High School.

Although the United States' achievements during World War II are important to teach, the reason behind omitting the Soviet Union's "Operation Bagration" hints at more self-interested motivations.

"The reason why it typically is not taught is that the Soviets become an enemy of America by 1949," Waller said.

Although it is impossible to objectively teach history, as it is far too large-scale and intricate for a completely unbiased retelling, there are ways to provide a genuine history of the world to students. And with teachers as the vessels through which history is dictated, it is paramount that they deliver to students the most accurate view of history they possibly can.

"I try to be a referee with my students. I had a whole host of different teachers, professors, and graduate professors that influenced me. The vast majority of them were left of center politically, but they did a really good job of giving me a wide range of historiographical opinions," Waller said.

Additionally, another Carlmont history teacher, Jarrod

Harrison, explains the power teachers hold regarding what and how students learn history.

"Schools often allow teachers to implement the curriculum in their own way. From my perspective as a social studies teacher, I have more leeway than a math or English or world language teacher because there is no right way to teach history," Harrison said.

According to the College Board website, this "leeway" Harrison is referencing is the "flexibility to organize the course as you would like." The curriculum is a set of nine sequential units of study, with the structure of the class, like discussions and essays, being up to the teacher to configure.

Cate DeMaria, a sophomore at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia, adds the perspective of a student.

"There are the standards set by the state and what we are required to learn, and then there is how our teachers in Clarke County teach it, and what information they add or subtract. Typically, teachers will add disclaimers that what they are about to teach isn't their beliefs, the beliefs of the district, or might not align with our beliefs," DeMaria said.

While teachers may have little control over the more conniving goals of a tainted curriculum, they can act as "referees," as Waller calls it, in order to teach students not only the most truthful view of history but to also explain why certain biases are present in the first place. Doing so will lessen the biases that students may otherwise be afflicted with.

"I do not care if the students agree with my opinion because I do not give them my opinion while teaching," Harrison said.

All things being equal, it seems that the key to teaching history is that a competent person teaches it.

"There is always bias in the teaching of history; you cannot be entirely objective. But you can understand your own inherent subjectivity" Waller said.

32 U.S. STATES HAVE BANNED SELECT TITLES, WITH TEXAS BANNING THE MOST AT 801 BOOKS

SOURCE: STATISTA