Two conversations this week on the sensitivity of certain subjects in the classroom produced lots of reaction from listeners. A ban on ethnic studies in Tuscon Arizona, and a resistance to teaching Climate Change as an accepted body of knowledge in certain school districts around the country raises a broader question. Are there pieces of history and science that are simply too hot to handle in a classroom where active debate may get away from the truth and consensus on what to teach may be hard to find? Jonathan Zimmerman is the department chair of the history and education program at New York University. He is also the author of “Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools.” Zimmerman examines who decides curriculums for classes and how educators teach history.
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