Iraq: Teachers Told to Rewrite History

A 1996 British law requires balance in the teaching of political issues. But on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, Britain’s biggest teacher union gives low grades to a lesson plan devised by the Ministry of Defence that includes no mention of Iraqi civilian casualties or the lack of United Nations’ approval for the war. The teachers question why the lesson plans rely on US spellings like “program” rather than the British spelling of “programme” and also express concern about military-recruitment efforts in the schools. An independent review by the Joseph Rowntree Trust suggests that the class material had used “misleading marketing with advertising campaigns that ‘glamorise warfare, omit vital information and fail to point out the risks and responsibilities associated with a forces career,” reports Richard Garner for the Independent. The teachers offer a stark reminder that military activity and any historical analysis are complex, expanding beyond immediate defense of one’s country. – YaleGlobal