|
The
Ancient Greeks are under assault in our schools!
For
the last 30 years the Ancient Greeks have been under attack in the
American school system. The study of Ancient Greece
has been de-emphasized, while the study of classes that often distort
Greek history are frequently required.
Many,
if not most, students educated in this school system during the
last 20 years have no idea about the importance of Ancient
Greece. This is tragic since the foundation of
Western Civilization began in Greece.
The
immortal British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley stated,
“We
are all Greeks, our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts
have their roots in Greece.”
These
words expressed the views of most intellectual and educated Europeans
and Americans for hundreds of years, before the recent “trends”
of the last 20-30 years.
Emphasizing
the importance of Greece in the school systems was a foundation
of the educational system in both Western Europe and North America
for nearly three centuries. Until the mid 1970s, any student
in the American public school system received a generous introduction
to Ancient Greece in the 8th grade and again in
the 10th grade. In college, students were required to take Western
Civilization—and Ancient Greece was definitely emphasized
there.
From
the mid 1970s a dangerous trend was established in public education
to try to make history “sensitive” and “inclusive,”
whether it is true or not. One pervasive theme is “multiculturalism”
– the notion that all cultures made equal contributions to
Western and, specifically, American society.
As
a result, in public schools the study of Ancient Greece
is frequently minimized or omitted, while the study of
non-Western cultures, such as the Islamic religion and Latin-American
cultures, are taught as being as significant to American Civilization
as Greece, Rome, or Renaissance Europe. The inaccuracy of
these assertions does not seem to bother educators who are concerned
with “sensitivity.”
On
the college level, Western Civilization is no longer required
by most universities, while taking classes in ethnic studies
and “cultural pluralism” are required. Militant
ethnic studies classes frequently teach distortions. In
Black Studies classes a theme that is frequently taught is that
the Ancient Egyptians were black and that the Ancient Greeks stole
most of their core cultural foundations from the black Egyptians.
Some
distinguished scholars have responded to this assault on Hellenism.
Two
of the most successful are Victor Davis Hanson
and Mary Lefkowitz. Hanson co-authored Who
Killed Homer?: The Demise of Classical Education
and the Recovery of Greek Wisdom, while Lefkowitz
wrote Not out of Africa: How Afrocentrism
Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as History. Both Hanson
and Lefkowitz have been honored
by the Government of Greece for their writings.
These
scholars have had some impact, but multiculturalism is still stressed
in public schools and ethnic studies distortions are still taught
at universities.
A
video historical documentary may be the best response to multiculturalist
and “pluralist” attacks on Ancient Greece. This
documentary will be viewed on mainstream television, used in the
classroom, and made available to millions of homes through DVD and
VHS.
Additionally,
such a documentary may enlighten millions of Americans, including
Greek Americans, about the importance of Ancient
Greece.
Indeed,
many Greek-Americans are not aware of the fact that
Democracy
Consensual/Constitutional Government
Separation of Church and State
Civilian Control of the Military
Equality Under the Law
Modern Science
The Rational Pursuit of Knowledge, and
Organized Sports Competition
ALL
BEGAN IN ANCIENT GREECE.
|
