LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Elizabeth Savage Kamke wrote:
> The request for information about books on the holocaust for elementary
> schools reminds me of something that happened at one of our local trendy
> bookstores., I asked the perky 21 something bright looking girl at the
> counter if she had a book on the holocaust that she would recommend for a
> sixth grader. Holocaust? What is the holocaust? What? I couldn't believe
> that she had never heard of the holocaust, and even when I attempted to
> explain it, she had no idea what I was talking about. Scary, huh?
A few moments of reflection and a consideration of demographics might help
explain the fact that she had never heard of the holocaust. Your perky counter
girl was born around 1980. She probably studied American history and world
history in much the same way as I did although I'm almost 50 years older than
she is. American history began with the European explorers, colonization, the
Revolution & then skipped to the Civil War. If her teacher were efficient, she
might have reached the Reconstruction Era and, perhaps, even the
Spanish-American War. Then, since the end of the school year was near, the
teacher quickly covered the military history of WW I and WW II, perhaps
mentioned Vietnam.
World History had a strong emphasis on ancient civilizations, the Roman Empire,
the Age of Exploration, the (European) Renaissance, and the military history of
WW I & WW II (if there was time to read about them at the end of the year).
History was taught as a sequence of events -- not of causes, effects, and
connections. So, your perky clerk learned enough to pass the tests and quickly
forgot the "facts" she was "taught."
One of the privileges we have as L-M coordinators is to get books into the
hands of our "perky, bright young" students that help them make connections to
the history of the world. Historical fiction, biography, drama, poetry, music,
art works -- the kinds of reading/learning that can evoke an emotional response
as well as an intellectual one.
Your 6th grade student might learn more from books such as _The Devil's
Arithmetic_, by Jane Yolen, Kathryn Lasky's _The Night Journey_, & similar
books. You can find bibliographies on numerous websites.
Even the moon landing is ancient history to today's students and the Civil
Rights Movement is "celebrated" on Martin Luther King's birthday -- students
are taught precious little about the century that preceded the march on Selma
or the other persons who staked "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred
honor" to procure precious liberties that are now taken for granted.
Aleene Nielson
Former L-M Coordinator, Teacher, Prof.
LearningOpportunitiesUnlimited
ablanca@bigplanet.com
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