Dear Principal,
As students, we receive textbooks as a source of information and to teach us important facts - but what if some significant information was left out? If we were to leave out pieces of our homework, we would earn an "incomplete" for a grade. Leaving out parts of history in high school textbooks, in my opinion, would also be considered incomplete. I fully understand the concept of censoring certain topics or areas that are covered by young/grade school students to prevent fearful or shocked responses, but students at a high school level should be mature enough for the truth. At 18, we are allowed and encouraged to sign up for the military and potentially give our lives at war, but we're being deceived about our own countries history? That doesn't make sense to me. Before this weeks discussion, I had never heard of the Rape of Nanking, nor did I have any idea that other forms of genocide were taking place during WWII. I was also unaware of violent actions that took place in Russia in the early 1990's. Russian civilians were abused and murdered by their own military, which we were never informed of. History can be a very touchy subject to talk about, and discussing devastating events could offend or make students uncomfortable, but I feel it is necessary to teach these aspects so we can have a better understanding of our past.
Sincerely,
USH student
Katie, "With knowledge, Power." Governments have often tried to prohibit certain segments of its population from "learning"...be it the slaves in ancient Egypt, the Women in 17th, 18th and 19th century Europe, or students of today. Some of the brightest minds in history were "self-educated"...so don't depend on acquiring all of your knowledge from what the government of the day deems acceptable...develop a thirst for knowledge that can only be quenched by exploring beyond what's put in front of you...often the truth (true knowledge) will be obscured by the vanity, greed, and self-preservation of others.
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