Educational wars

I’ve always liked history. Both my parents enjoy reading about history and I guess I inherited the interest from them. My particular interest is in American military history, particularly the American Civil War and World War II.

          One thing is for sure, I didn’t develop my interest in military history in grade school. Wars were ignored by my teachers through grade 12. My instructors taught history this way, in terms of armed conflict: A few minutes each day for a few days spent teaching what issues led to conflict. Then a few minutes one day spent teaching about the years immediately after the war. And then on to the next item.

          The Civil War, which was fought entirely on American soil and almost entirely by Americans, wasn’t included in during my grade school years. The causes of the war were detailed and I recall something about Reconstruction. But the war itself? No, we didn’t discuss things like that.

          The 20^th Century? No mention of the sinking of the Titanic, but we learned that armed camps and nationalism led to World War I (which we ignored), followed by the Great Depression (the craziness of the 1920s must not have happened) and the rise of Hitler. Not too sure what happened to Hitler, but then came the reconstruction of Europe, which led to the Cold War, which ended. President Eisenhower was in the Army before he ran for president. President Kennedy’s boat sank when he was in the Navy. President Truman didn’t have to make a decision about the atomic bomb, since there was no war, and the United States never sent troops to Korea because, heck, that wasn’t even formally a war.

          My wife says wars were covered when she was in school. But that was in Ohio, not California.

          We’re making a mistake when we ignore the horrors of battle and the beneficial scientific developments that come out of wars. Wars happen; they are a part of history. It is sad but true to say that the only consistency through all the centuries is warfare.

I say we should teach it.

          Want to convince students that war is a bad thing? Teach them what happens when armies clash on battlefields, when navies go to sea and when war planes sortie. Sometimes there is little choice for political leaders but to send the military into harm’s way. Let’s teach our students the importance of considering the implications of making that decision.

          The pros in the education business say I’m wrong about this and we know they’re always right. But I’d sure like to know what I’m missing. Maybe someone will explain it to me some day.

          Thanks for reading.