Son is learning about India and Pakistan's history but no mention of Bangladesh

[Anonymous]

I have far bigger concerns in regards to school curriculum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am actually surprised they are teaching anything more recent than 1945.

I am a second generation multiracial kid, not Asian.
I went to a W school in Montgomery county and never learned a thing about South Asia (or really Asia except maybe some pap about Chinese culture or the Japanese vs Americans in wwii in the most surface terms).

I am still probably ignorant as most of what I know comes from small articles and Midnights Children. My advice is to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The advice to teach at home and if you have time go to class is great. I would have loved to hear about your family’s history in class. Elementary is too young to understand the complexities of sectarian interactions - what I do know is it is a complex subject. Bring or send food to try. That will make an impression and hopefully create curiosity. Good luck.

But they aren’t learning about Bangladesh right now. There’s probably students from India and Pakistan. I’m sure Bangladesh will be in history class at a later date.

In this W school you didn’t learn about Southern or South East Asia? Or China? Was that just elementary school?

I remember my first report in third grade. We all went to the library to pick books on someone we would like to do a paper on. I picked Mao Zedong for some reason I’ll never remember.

I watch history documentaries and realize how little I know.

I think we spend 6th grade learning about Africa but just geography and like what crops were produced. Fourth grade we spent the year on Maryland. 5th grade was some US topic. In high school I took us history for two years, European history and 1 year of us government. I can’t recall any sort of other history courses being offered at the honors or AP level. In middle school I took a summer course on world geopolitics and there now that you mention it I did learn about South Asia there but that is a specific non school activity that I chose to pursue.

Not saying any of this is good in terms of my schooling. But I am trying to say that US school leaves out everything Not just Bangladesh. My kids now in their mediocre school learn almost nothing. My son in his middle school magnet just finished a unit on Ancient Greece and they seem to not have mentioned the Peloponnesian war. I’m not sure they covered Aristotle. In English my daughter is learning what should be termed marine biology, though of no substance. Again not good, but I would kill for your problems. But maybe I also can calibrate you that things seem to be improving at least in your school district?

I think they have to be very general because it would take a lifetime to learn the world’s history in detail. I do not remember the Peloponnesian war but couldn’t tell you if they talked about it in high school.

Also if you go into too much detail it becomes confusing and overwhelming and the child might lose interest. I took a course on the Vietnam War and all it was about is discussing the different battles , where the battles took place, who was in charge, etc. General information on what was happening before the war, how did it start and when, what countries intruded on the civil war besides France and US. How did the US lose so badly.

The excessive names of majors and secretary of state and Vietnamese leaders. Combine that with a droning voice reciting this and it’s maddening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I sympathize, OP, but it's already a huge step that they are even learning about India and Pakistan in elementary. Would not have happened a generation ago.

But four generations ago they'd need to be able to name its principal exports and imports in order to pass an eighth grade graduation exam. Geography was pretty hard core back in the early 1900s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Surprised they can teach Pakistan without mentioning Islam. I mean, it is the major reason for the divide.

+1 I'm confused by the OP for this reason as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sympathize, OP, but it's already a huge step that they are even learning about India and Pakistan in elementary. Would not have happened a generation ago.

But four generations ago they'd need to be able to name its principal exports and imports in order to pass an eighth grade graduation exam. Geography was pretty hard core back in the early 1900s.

There was never a point where 8th graders had name the principal imports and exports of every country to pass exams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sympathize, OP, but it's already a huge step that they are even learning about India and Pakistan in elementary. Would not have happened a generation ago.

But four generations ago they'd need to be able to name its principal exports and imports in order to pass an eighth grade graduation exam. Geography was pretty hard core back in the early 1900s.

I have a relative who grew up at the turn of the last century, and yes, geography was pretty hard core. His education led him from a farm to a US government agency that stationed him all over the world. However, I have his textbooks and the equivalent of workbooks (really just textbooks that students wrote in) through the equivalent of middle school. Huge focus on geography and grammar. Zero foreign language (which we have at our elementary starting in K) and math was pretty basic- there is no way he got to calculus in high school. You can only learn so much in a certain amount of time and the emphasis in each generation changes.

When I was in school we never got very far in geography or history. It felt like we did a few units on the Greeks and Romans and Medieval times, but mostly we got bogged down in the years 1776-1800 + state history. If my kid even got vaguely close to talking about Asia, it would be an improvement.

[Anonymous]

Bangladesh isn't nowhere. Most of you have clothing made in Bangladesh.

OP, I recommend your child do a project to present a lesson on Bangladesh to the class, and grow the project every year through high school. Ideally it would satisfy an existing work requirement, but since grades in Elementary School don't matter anyway, it's a good thing to do anyway for your kid and their classmates' education.

Teaching about home culture is a common activity in MCPS, and one of the benefits students get from our diverse population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sympathize, OP, but it's already a huge step that they are even learning about India and Pakistan in elementary. Would not have happened a generation ago.

But four generations ago they'd need to be able to name its principal exports and imports in order to pass an eighth grade graduation exam. Geography was pretty hard core back in the early 1900s.

I have a relative who grew up at the turn of the last century, and yes, geography was pretty hard core. His education led him from a farm to a US government agency that stationed him all over the world. However, I have his textbooks and the equivalent of workbooks (really just textbooks that students wrote in) through the equivalent of middle school. Huge focus on geography and grammar. Zero foreign language (which we have at our elementary starting in K) and math was pretty basic- there is no way he got to calculus in high school. You can only learn so much in a certain amount of time and the emphasis in each generation changes.

When I was in school we never got very far in geography or history. It felt like we did a few units on the Greeks and Romans and Medieval times, but mostly we got bogged down in the years 1776-1800 + state history. If my kid even got vaguely close to talking about Asia, it would be an improvement.

Calculus may have been less popular for high school graduates in 1900 (and "high school graduate programs" was a far more elite status then than now when we strive for 90%+ graduation rate), but algebra and geometry was much more intense than normal college prep algebra and geometry now.

[Anonymous]

Is this for real? OP is upset that an American elementary school isn’t teaching about Bangladesh? Seriously? Twenty years ago, I remember being annoyed with a group of Italian tourists walking into a 711 in Charleston, SC and demanding recent copies of Corriere della Sera. But now this tops my list of the most small-minded provincial complaint I’ve ever heard.

Wowza! I’ll just be happy if they teach about the American Revolution!

[Anonymous]

How can he be learning about Pakistan without learning about Islam?

Is he lear ing about Partition? Are they referring to East and West Pakistan, before the civil war that created Bangladesh?

Would you be willing to come in and share about your family's story?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sympathize, OP, but it's already a huge step that they are even learning about India and Pakistan in elementary. Would not have happened a generation ago.

But four generations ago they'd need to be able to name its principal exports and imports in order to pass an eighth grade graduation exam. Geography was pretty hard core back in the early 1900s.

I have a relative who grew up at the turn of the last century, and yes, geography was pretty hard core. His education led him from a farm to a US government agency that stationed him all over the world. However, I have his textbooks and the equivalent of workbooks (really just textbooks that students wrote in) through the equivalent of middle school. Huge focus on geography and grammar. Zero foreign language (which we have at our elementary starting in K) and math was pretty basic- there is no way he got to calculus in high school. You can only learn so much in a certain amount of time and the emphasis in each generation changes.

When I was in school we never got very far in geography or history. It felt like we did a few units on the Greeks and Romans and Medieval times, but mostly we got bogged down in the years 1776-1800 + state history. If my kid even got vaguely close to talking about Asia, it would be an improvement.

I don’t remember learning about my own state. I played a game with my second grade about states and capitals and nicknames. In fourth grade they had to take a blank US map , the states were numbered and they had to list every state and Capital. She remembered them all. I will never learn the Midwest and am always surprised where Colorado and Missouri actually are.

There were complaints years ago that American schools focused too much on Western Civilization. That had started to change.

[Anonymous]

What school system is this, OP? My kids in FCPS only learned about the Indus Valley. Maybe they did a slide or something on present day South Asia. Doubtful, but if so - I bet that would have included (heavily simplified) -

- Dutch East India and later British rule?
- Gandhi and nonviolence movement. Connection to MLK’s work. Independence and separation between India and Pakistan. Continued tensions between those nuclear countries?
- Transition in India’s role in world politics (ie, why do American kids need to care about this area?) ?
- Maybe Pakistan’s role in war on terror (but doubtful as that is a complicated conversation) ?

I’m not saying I agree with the approach, but US education is very US centric. Bangladesh isn’t on the US population’s radar and it doesn’t impact their lives.

Anything more than that requires too much context and time to make sense of it all.

With that said, and if you’re talking about elementary, I bet they would be happy to have you visit to share more. I might combine it with a discussion on some major Islamic holidays that kids now see on the school calendar.

I’m an immigrant minority also. It’s not fair, but we need to represent more than others. Also, please do present info objectively. I want my kids to learn about different cultures and customs but not in a way that is biased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. Bangladesh and Islam are part of the history but they are only touching on Hinduism and Buddhism. Our family is Bangladeshi and Muslim.

So give him a book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. Bangladesh and Islam are part of the history but they are only touching on Hinduism and Buddhism. Our family is Bangladeshi and Muslim.

So give him a book.

I bet they talk about Islam when they do whatever Middle Eastern history unit they do. Hinduism and Buddhism, among other religions, were born in South Asia. Not so with Islam.

[Anonymous]

I am also surprised that OP's child is learning about India and Pakistan. We've taught our child about the history there, but my H is half Indian and has family in a Muslim majority city in India (he is Hindu). My FIL lived through that time in the 40s and some of the stories are intense. You can teach more to your child, and definitely ask the teacher if you can share during this unit. Years ago when my kid was in PK, his teacher was doing a unit on types of storytelling, and one week it was hula. I used to be a hula dancer so I offered to go in and help. I went in twice (in full costume with gifts) and the kids loved it! If you went in to talk and maybe share something, all the kids would see Bangladesh in a more full and positive way, instead of just a country on a map.