annaiswriting, 11/2

        While discussing Frederic Jameson during Tuesday’s class, I found the concept of historicism interesting to discuss, as I have been aware of the fact that our knowledge of history is skewed by the way in which people choose to portray it, but I never knew the term for that concept. A classmate brought up the term classicism, which seeks to bring out only the best of history, relating to historicism as it frames its own narrative. It differs though because while historicism chooses the way to represent history, it does not always represent the best of history. However, historicism often conceals the rather harmful aspects of our history, and a perfect example of this is how our school system fails to comprehensively educate us on the horrible ways white Americans have treated African-Americans throughout history. In class, we discussed the current debates around whether or not schools should implement critical race theory, which would educate students on the harm done to Black people in this country. Our professor stated that those opposed to critical race theory were basically opposed to teaching students about the truth, which I completely agree with. The most common arguments for abstaining from teaching critical race theory are that racism no longer exists in America and that we should not teach white students to feel bad about themselves. Many people who do not believe that racism exists in America are likely uneducated about systemic racism from never learning enough about racism in their curriculum, which makes it even more necessary for students to learn about racism to stop this cycle of ignorance. Implementation of critical race theory within the education system does not serve to make white children feel guilty for America’s racist history. Rather, it serves to teach them about the truth, enabling them to use their knowledge of racism in the past to confront racism in the present, and to become allies who confront their own biases and stand up against racism whenever they see it.