I don't doubt that history classes contribute to racial tensions, but I am skeptical that racism would disappear if we just stopped teaching it to the next generation. Kids aren't racist by default because they have no reason to be. Why would they have a problem with other people based on superficial characteristics like skin color? But…
I don't doubt that history classes contribute to racial tensions, but I am skeptical that racism would disappear if we just stopped teaching it to the next generation. Kids aren't racist by default because they have no reason to be. Why would they have a problem with other people based on superficial characteristics like skin color? But as these non-racist kids get older, surely they would start to notice some non-superficial differences between the races. Things that actually matter, unlike skin color. There are many differences in culture, patterns of behavior, etc., that can be distinguished along racial lines. And so I think once these non-racists notice these patterns, some of them would start to become racist.
I don't doubt that history classes contribute to racial tensions, but I am skeptical that racism would disappear if we just stopped teaching it to the next generation. Kids aren't racist by default because they have no reason to be. Why would they have a problem with other people based on superficial characteristics like skin color? But as these non-racist kids get older, surely they would start to notice some non-superficial differences between the races. Things that actually matter, unlike skin color. There are many differences in culture, patterns of behavior, etc., that can be distinguished along racial lines. And so I think once these non-racists notice these patterns, some of them would start to become racist.