You know at all levels of education and even polls and questionnaires there’s a problem with pigeonholing responses. The slave scenario aside, no matter what the hypothetical, the question should be more open ended to encourage critical thinking. A much better question would be “How would you react?” then “How would you react if not following Hammurabi’s Code was punishable with YOU being flogged?” “...killed” “...family killed” or “the slave explains he was stolen from his family and he asks for your help to escape but that could mean punishment and death to you and your family...What would you like to believe you would have done? Do you believe that’s what you would have really done?
I taught American slavery and some of the black kids felt like my heavy emphasis on the violence made their ancestors come off as weak which would invite the questions what is weakness and who’s really being weak. I spent a long time on Nat Turner and successful slave rebellions in Haiti. And made every effort not to soften any violence and death. I explained how rape and torture were used as psychological weapons. How the skin was ripped off their backs when they were whipped. How some slave owners allowed for funerals while others would have the slaves work around a family member’s corpse rather than slow down production for a single day.
History is mostly one horrific event after the other. Never received a complaint on content. I don’t know what “curriculum violence” is supposed to mean. History is violent af. Don’t blame the messenger. But don’t be a moronic teacher that assumes the administering of punishment was the only possibility instead of recognizing the reality that the truth and morality is open ended and (yes) nuanced. The Nat Turner story and the reality vs the myth lends itself to many critical thinking questions. Plus, I love the story. Believe me my students heard the name Nat Turner a hundred times for every time they heard the name Abraham Lincoln. I had some incredible stuff on Harriet Tubman, as well. And scathing hateful lectures on Andrew Jackson. I roasted that piece of **** non-stop lol. I ridiculed the text and “Jacksonian Democracy”.
I didn’t give a **** what they told me to teach. I was an anti-America machine!
|