Australian History Wars - The Black Armband view. (1 Viewer)

[The Military Workshop]

Hi Guys,
This is a long one but as you can probably tell if you read it all fairly important to me. If you are an Australian you should definitely read this.
My son (16) has just started Yr 11 and when I attended the Parent briefing on the 2 year syllabus I noted "The Conflict on the Australian Frontier" would be studied for 2 months but WWI does not rate a mention. Whilst not so major the Australian involvement in Vietnam also does not get a mention.
Those in Australia would have heard of the History Wars and the "Black Armband" and "White Blindfold" versions of Australian history. Well based on the syllabus and reply of the history teacher it would appear "bad" history is more worthy of study than good.
Below is the first year syllabus and my emails between myself and my son's history teacher. You will notice race relations feature significantly. I can also predict the USA is not going to be portrayed very well.
For those USA forum members I would be interested to know if the US History syllabus spends a lot of time emphasising the the bad treatment of the native Indians.
Current symester
The nature of history and historical inquiry
Background study: Nineteenth century nationalism and liberalism
The Russian Revolution
The changing status of women

Future themes:

Semester 2 - Studies of Power: Colonialism / Mao’s China / USA as superpower

Semester 3 - Studies of Conflict: Australian frontier / Choice of 20th c war
(WWII, Cold War and Arab / Israeli War)

Semester 4 - Studies of Hope: two of US civil rights movement / Anti-apartheid movement / independence for East Timor / Indigenous Australia

For the benefit of non Australian forum readers the following is an excerpt from a book review that sums up the conflict. You can Google "conflict on the Australian Frontier" if you want to find out more. The period we are talking about is 1788 to 1930.
"The colonisation of Australia was different to the wars of conquest the British army was committed to elsewhere in that empire on which the sun never set. Armed clashes between indigenous populations and settlers were sporadic, rarely coordinated and, by comparison with other opponents of British imperialism, like the Zulu or Maori, of relatively low intensity. These clashes did cause casualties and can be described as warfare".
The following are the emails so far.

My 1st email to History teacher
Dear Ryan,
That course outline is only for the current year.
The main thing I noticed on the parent evening was the Conflict on the Australian Frontier is included and the point that World War One does not get a mention. I also noted the Australian involvement in the Vietnam War did not get a mention although the Arab / Israeli war is mentioned. I find this hard to comprehend in view of the ANZAC Day/Lest We Forget tradition.
Whilst I have no problem with the Conflict on the Australian Frontier being included I think WWI does deserve a mention and that most people would rate it more significant in terms of Australian history and the effect on it's people. The "conflict" and the "history wars" is all very interesting but is it of more significance than WWI ?
My background is my Dad was British army and at school Ancient History and History was my main area of interest. When we came to Australia I set up a business/shop and I sell books, handpainted metal soldiers of all types, resin Australian figure, and prints. We also do medal mounting and sell replica medals.
When I was researching my business I was quite surprised. There is the ANZAC Day / Lest We Forget tradition which is not backed up by either the education system or the Museum sector. If you wanted to take a class to a place to learn about Gallipoli (1st battalion to land was from Qld), Long Tan (Brisbane battalion), Kokoda etc you would find it very hard in Brisbane. It is a disgrace.
In previous years my two children at Mansfield (my daughter just finished Yr 12) have studied SOSE and had studied totally irrelevant subjects such as South American history (Incans and Mayans) and Ancient Mysteries of the Past ! Whoever sets up such subjects should hang their head in shame. Just how is a kid supposed to research Atlantis ! In relation to South American history I can only cynically guess that it is included because no kids from there are likely to be in the classroom.
Yet such important people as Napoleon and Churchill (so far anyway) don't get a mention. I don't think Monash or Blamey or the war time PM's are names taught to Aussie kids.
I often tell the story of the radio question I heard. Question was "Who was the American President when the atom bomb was dropped on Japan ?". The adult male replied Kennedy and his 2nd attempt was Nixon !!! That showed a total lack of awareness of when WWII was relative to Kennedy and Nixon.
You might care to forward this to history HOD.
Can you confirm WWI and the Vietnam War are not included in the Yr 11 and 12 syllabus and that this is state wide.
Thanks for your response.
Regards

Teacher Reply

Brett,

Thanks for you thoughts....they are always very much appreciated

Throughout their high-school experience students should have already been exposed heavily to WW1....Therefore rather than give them a repeat of this history we will be covering conflict on the Australian frontier, as it is these conflicts that have direct ramifications in a contempory Australian society. Particulary in an Australian society whose younger generations feel a strong need to reconcile with Aboriginal Australian people (the people who's forefathers were severely disadvantaged by the outcomes of conflict on the Australian frontier and the people who have experienced a trans-generational effect, because of the outcomes of these conflicts).

As far as Vietnam is concerned, Australian students do need to be aware of the bravery and loyalty of Australian troops fighting in this conflict.......There is still some room in this unit for adding in certain histories...However it would be important to let the students know about why the American and Australian troops were in Vietnam and how Vietnam has progressed into a modern nation after being colonised and oppressed by the French for so long and then eventually (through conflict) ridding itself of foreign control.

To me this just adds to the horror of the Vietnam war....Our leaders used the loyalty of our troops....the most loyal Australians in the country (the troops). To allign with American foreign policy.

I look forward to these communications.....My father seved in the Brittish Navy (during peacetime) and I am very interested in the history of various conflicts.

Ryan

My 2nd Message
Dear Ryan,
Firstly you are wrong that students "should have already been exposed heavily to WW1. You might want to check the SOSE curriculam for the past 5 years and I would welcome being contradicted on this point. That is why I mentioned the examples of Ancient Mysteries of the Past and South American history which were totally pointless subjects to study. Any WWI content tended to be brief mentions of Gallipoli around ANZAC Day.
Yesterday I read the book History's Children (History Wars in the Classroom) by Anna Clark. It was an interesting read particulary in relation to how students thought about WWI and Aboriginal history. Hopefully the school library has a copy.
In relation to your second para. that suggests to me they will be getting "the black armband" version of the "conflict". The main Australian content in the 2 year syllabus appears to be emphasising the bad aspects of Australian history.
Apart from the Conflict on the Australian Frontier is there any other Australian history in the current Yr 11 and next Yr 12 syllabus ? I note Indigenous Australia is included under Studies of Hope but apart from that is there anything Australian that will be studied ?.
I don't know how you perceive the syllabus but the feeling I am getting is that non Aboriginal history Australian history is of no significance to those who set the syllabus.
Personally I have a big problem with that.
Is the Syllabus set by the school or the Education Dept ? You might want to check with the Head of Department for this answer as I know you are not the one who sets the syllabus.
Regards
Brett Williams

If any Australian forum members are teachers or have kids at school I would be most interested to hear your views.

Will keep you updated as this is going to get interesting !

Regards
Brett

 

[Louis Badolato]

Brett,

The History syllabus is just as bad here in the United States, but for different reasons. Here, there is virtually no mention in textbooks of any of the bad things the US Government has done over the years (from the systematic genocide of native americans [they're still Indians to me] to the many attacks on our own population such as the brutal suppression of the whiskey rebellion and the breaking of the various miners' strikes with the use of the National Guard, and perhaps worst of all, the massacre during the depression of WWI Veterans (who had marched on Washington, D.C. to claim promised benefits from Congress) by an Army force led by none other than Douglas MacArthur and George S. Patton).

There is little study of important events, and no objectivity. I intend to teach my own children our history, both the good and the bad. I am very very proud of the great things we've done, like our contributions to defeating the Axis during WWII, how the Civil Rights movement in one life time raised African Americans from segregation to the White House, and the many times we have helped the people of other nations during times of crisis or disaster. I am also going to teach them how greed and prejudice have played enormous roles in this country's history, and how we have often forgotten our role as the arsenal of democracy and acted as imperialists.

Perhaps most disappointing to me, like the siituation you describe in Australia, is that there is little mention of the suffering and sacrifices made by our troops all over the globe. I don't care about the politics behind a conflict, when young men serve their country and in many cases make the ultimate sacrifice, they deserve to be honored and remembered. You want to complain about the right and wrong of a conflict, hang it on the politicians . . . they are the culprits, but honor the troops no matter what.

No nation is perfect, and I truly believe our record as a people is fairly exemplary, but it is very important to remember the mistakes we made, to try to prevent our making them again.

 

[damian]

I have thought about Brett's post and feel that what he says is going on in Australia is similar to what is going on in many parts of the world. It would seem that society is no longer interested in military history as such. This is upsetting for us as we are all in some way or other interested in these major events like WWII and Gallipoli. I suppose society has just moved on. Yesterday one of the nurses at work told me she went to the local library to do some research on WWII. The librarian had to ask her for the dates of this conflict. It would seem that people are more interested in following sport and celebrities these days. The events of 60 years ago just do not seem to be important to them.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Louis,
I agree with you about both sides of history being important but my issue is that the negative parts are outweighing the good, certainly at my son's school.

I have not gone into the English syllabus here but I can best describe it as it appears to have been set by a loony left lesbian.

However just like with everything else it is all the fault of the Americans !!! 1776 meant the English had to look elsewhere so in 1788 the First Fleet landed in Australia. So if the Americans had not rebelled then the Brits would not have gone to Oz and given the Aborigines a hard time. One person today pointed out Australia was lucky it was the British and not Spanish or Portuguese to settle here.

In one of the books I mentioned about teaching of school in Oz reference was made to the situation in UK. Apparently a lot of kids thought Adolf Hitler was the British PM in WWII.

Regards
Brett

 

[Louis Badolato]

Brett,

It sounds like your school board has gone to the left extreme, eliminating all references to the many many wonderful things Australia has done for the world, while in the US, the curriculum is sanitized to more or less eliminate any references to anything bad our government or industry ever did. Neither approach is healthy or helpful to the education of our children, and I totally agree with your objection and concerns.

 

[damian]

I went away for the weekend in Jan with my wife and kids and my sister in law and her daughter who is 23 and has just finished a degree in psychology. In the Sunday paper there was a very good full page article about Che Geuvarra. It was unbiased and gave both sides. It said some people think he was a great revolutionary and others think he was a cold blooded killer. So my sister in law says to her daughter. "Here is an article about Che Geuvarra." The response is "Oh Who is that?" To which she says "he was a Cuban revolutionary" My niece says "Oh that is interesting Where is Cuba? " "It is an island off America and it is still communist. What is communism says my niece?" Eventually I was asked to explain about the Cuban Missile crisis. So what you guys are complaining about seems to me to be pretty widespread amongst the young. They are just not interested. Paris Hilton and Britney or Amy Whinehouse are just more important to them.

 

[Simpson & his donkey.]

Yes Brett it is a shame about not alot of teaching in military history at schools today.I have Two young ones as you no and there teachers are only about ten years older than them.So they wern't exposed to alot of things about the wars in history as we were as kids.This may be part of the reason military history is not taught.At my kids school they have a painting of Simpson & his donkey on a wall and WW1 & ww2 are remembered every year.We go down and march every ANZAC day at Sandgate and the kids are there in there hundreds.So there getting the message in primary school but as you say it doesn't go to high school.Simmo.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Damian,
My kids are 16 and 18 and try as I might they have no interest in reading newpapers which I consider fairly important if you want to know what is going on in the world or has happened in the past. That way they would know Che was a 60's T-shirt designer !!

Simmo
The Gallipoili stuff is fairly well covered in a junior lavel but the Western Front does not rate a mention. As I said Kokoda and Long Tan don't rate a mention. My kids school flag is basically the UN Flag and the houses are named after former heads of the UN such as Hammerskold and U Thant. Yet as far as I am aware they have never been exposed to Australia's role in Peacekeeping.

Whilst discussing the history stuff with my kids the other night I said it was like not knowing who the first Aussie Prime Minister was. Well much to my shock they did not know even though this is one of the classic questions and has featured on a TV ad a few years ago. Even worse they were not winding me up !

 

[damian]

Damian,
My kids are 16 and 18 and try as I might they have no interest in reading newpapers which I consider fairly important if you want to know what is going on in the world or has happened in the past. That way they would know Che was a 60's T-shirt designer !!

Simmo
The Gallipoili stuff is fairly well covered in a junior lavel but the Western Front does not rate a mention. As I said Kokoda and Long Tan don't rate a mention. My kids school flag is basically the UN Flag and the houses are named after former heads of the UN such as Hammerskold and U Thant. Yet as far as I am aware they have never been exposed to Australia's role in Peacekeeping.

Whilst discussing the history stuff with my kids the other night I said it was like not knowing who the first Aussie Prime Minister was. Well much to my shock they did not know even though this is one of the classic questions and has featured on a TV ad a few years ago. Even worse they were not winding me up !

Well my niece said that she recognized the T -shirt image but she had always assumed that it was Jim Morrison from the Doors wearing a beret.

 

[Nathan]

G'day,

I'm 22, and so only completed my schooling a few years back (how time flies right? )

Our history curriculum was very similar to that of your sons. Although I recall learning about Vietnam specifically, learning about the French colonialism, the NPLA/VC/NVA kicking them out and the American support for the South - including the Australian involvement - it was a great subject.

Conflicts such as the Boer war and Korea had no mention whatsoever. I did study WWI re: the causes, the fallibility of the alliance processes... but at no depth... We did study colonial Australia, and the opposing views of Australia day (invasion day, etc.).

Having an interest in military history from a young age, I studied all of these conflicts anyway, however I do agree there is a distinct lack of 'general knowledge' in the populace today regarding Australia's involvement in times of War (and peace?).

I think there needs to be a careful balance between a Eurocentric curriculum and a libertarian one. Unfortunately we are experiencing a ‘mediocracy’ targeting the 'needs' and 'wants' of a self-serving generation. People would rather hear about Paris Hilton in the news than a terrorist attack, or world truth (hunger, disease, etc. etc.). This is not necessarily the fault of the generation that knows little better, after all, they did not make the advertisements and television that has come to shape and mould this generation.

The most successful cultural experiment would have to be MTV. Two decades ago you would not see adolescents dressing to mimic Southern Las Angele's 'gangsters' and all that rubbish.

Without sounding harsh or grinding anyone’s gears, I would also suggest the problem in the school’s history curriculum is also linked to the men and women who took part in the conflict. Upon return, I understand the ‘done’ thing was to simply move on with life and not talk about the war. I honestly believe many teenagers would really appreciate veterans having an open question and answer forum, or visits to classrooms to really portray the horrors and realities of the war. The conversation would not even have to be regarding the war itself, but of what occupied the lives of these courageous persons before they were called away – perhaps people will understand “it didn’t just happen” and appreciate that these people were just like them, young carefree ‘kids’. Text books can only teach so much, and these people have a very important message to instil into this generation before too much sand falls from the hourglass.

My $0.2

 

[Nathan]

I went away for the weekend in Jan with my wife and kids and my sister in law and her daughter who is 23 and has just finished a degree in psychology. In the Sunday paper there was a very good full page article about Che Geuvarra. It was unbiased and gave both sides. It said some people think he was a great revolutionary and others think he was a cold blooded killer. So my sister in law says to her daughter. "Here is an article about Che Geuvarra." The response is "Oh Who is that?" To which she says "he was a Cuban revolutionary" My niece says "Oh that is interesting Where is Cuba? " "It is an island off America and it is still communist. What is communism says my niece?" Eventually I was asked to explain about the Cuban Missile crisis. So what you guys are complaining about seems to me to be pretty widespread amongst the young. They are just not interested. Paris Hilton and Britney or Amy Whinehouse are just more important to them.

On that note - did anyone see that Miss Universe beauty pagent a few years back. This is the contestant and her actual quote.