Misinformation in History Class and Elsewhere

Misinformation in the classroom is widespread, since many textbooks are whitewashed, and many teachers are uncomfortable dealing with the truth. Using the links and videos below, educate yourself about some things you may have been taught wrong. At the bottom, take a look at the top five things that you weren't taught in history class.

(click on the image above the description for the link to the article)

This article from the NY Times talks about how slavery is taught in schools and why it matters.

This is a letter that Christopher Columbus wrote back to Europe to describe his findings. There are many exaggerations and lies about the Natives, and this is some of the first racist misinformation.

This is an article that focuses on how segregation is mistaught in schools.

NATIVE AMERICANS ON THANKSGIVING

FIVE THINGS YOU WERE TAUGHT INCORRECTLY IN SCHOOL:

  1. There were actually over nine hundred concentration and death camps over the course of the Holocaust, contrary to how history lessons make it seem like there were seven or eight.

  2. The Japanese experimented on Chinese civilians during WWII, similar to what Dr. Mengele did to Jewish and Roma people at Auschwitz-Birkenau, which you are more likely to have heard of.

  3. The Irish Potato famine was caused by the British, and is considered a genocide by many. The British took all of the potatoes from Irish farmers and left the Irish with the blighted ones, killing an eighth of the Irish population, and causing a fifth to leave.

  4. The Challenger's explosion could have been prevented. It was extremely cold the night before and the people in charge knew that the temperatures might interfere with the safety of the lift-off. But, they had already delayed the lift-off once, so for PR reasons, they continued with the mission and ended up killing everyone on board.

  5. Indigenous children in Canada were taken from their homes in the 1960's and forcibly put up for adoption. It was only sixty years ago, yet we never hear about this! Most people are aware of the residential schools that were a nightmare for many Indigenous people, but not many know of the other horrors that happened to the Native community more recently.