Teaching our Kids the Hard Lessons of American History
Written by: Dr. Sarah Hanisko, Cross-published at AnotherMomMess.com
I remember September 11, 2001 in bits of imagery and flashes, things I said as I watched, and the discussion we had the day after in my American History class led by one of my mentors and professors Dr. Bill Allison. I remember the sadness and fear I felt as our country was attacked by foreign enemies. I was in the middle of earning a degree in history and anthropology, and strangely enough had focused on American history and terrorism. I was shocked by the events, in the sense that I didn’t know I would see an attack on our country in my lifetime.
Now 20 years later, our Capitol was attacked by citizens of the United States. My daughter, who has time and time again said without prompting that Trump “Doesn’t seem like a nice man” or “He’s mean.” And now we are having the discussion about what happens when our institutions and history are under attack by white supremacy. That’s exactly what this has been folks, and if you say you’re surprised and that “This isn’t America” I have some bad news for you.
This is exactly the United States of America.
While we don’t want to admit it our country was built on the backs of slaves. Our systems and structures are designed to keep anyone we see as different or less from gaining a voice, being heard, and basically not dying because of the color of your skin. If you doubt me I can point you to various primary and secondary resources supporting this, including our Constitution. Did you know that “Pursuit of Happiness” actually means “Pursuit of Property?”
Now the question is, how do we teach our children that they are safe? How can we show them that we will protect them from harm as best we can?
We start with educating them on our history. And I’m not talking about the sugar-coated elementary school version we all received in school. We also need to teach them about the dirty, ugly, vicious parts of American history.
We have a duty to teach them about racism.
We have a duty to teach them to respect opinions only if they don’t respect another person’s existence. I’m going to be flat out blunt here. There are absolutely some opinions which I will not respect, ever. We pride ourselves on free speech, but there are also consequences to hate speech and acts.
What we saw on January 6, 2021 was without any doubt an attack by white supremecists and conspiracy theorists on our nation’s Capitol. This environment has been allowed to fester and grow during the last four years. It is shameful, it is disgusting, and it should be fought in every corner of our country, starting in our homes.
Start with kid’s books on slavery in America. There are many that were featured on Reading Rainbow which touch on the subject without being overwhelming for children. Teach them about Jim Crow, Separate but Equal, and the Civil Rights movements of the 1960’s.
Teach them about what Hitler and the Nazi’s did in Europe. Help them to experience the good an bad parts of humanity in the stories of those who survived the Holocaust. Jojo Rabbit, a film by Taika Waititi (Rated PG-13) is an intriguing and emotional experience of youth in Nazi Germany. If you have not seen it yourself please watch it before you show it to your kids. There are some topics and scenes that are heart-wrenching in the film, despite it’s humor.
We have a duty to fight white supremacy. We have a duty to tell those who hate that they will not overtake our nation and turn us back to the dark ages of human interactions. And above all we have a duty to show our children the glory and sadness of what American history really is.