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Isn’t learning history educational? And yes, some history is horrific but I don’t see the problem with that. I was in elementary school when we took a field tr

Isn’t learning history educational? And yes, some history is horrific but I don’t see the problem with that. I was in elementary school when we took a field trip to see a ww2 concentration camp. Was that appropriate for our age? Hard to say. Did I still remember it all these years later? Yes. Was it educational? Also yes.

ianai 3y ago
(US) I think every year in public school for me included a WWII/Holocaust remembrance period. I think across both literature/English and history classes. Seems like public education doesn’t do that anymore. And society is much worse off.
- manuelmoreale 3y ago
  I’m in northern Italy. Traces of those wars are literally everywhere. One of the largest war memorials is near here [0] Learning history is important. And it’s educational. And if to learn it you have to see something gruesome, so be it. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redipuglia_War_Memorial https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redipuglia_War_Memorial
  - ianai 3y ago
    And of course we must avoid presentism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_histo... History is many things including terrible and gruesome. But ignorance of history is no answer.
barelysapient 3y ago
I like your example because its a specific, physical place. Probably part of a syllabus for your class. And hard to argue that, in this context, a profound and educational experience. Now contrast that with online 'educational' content. That's way to vague. One could argue that really just about _anything_ is educational. But that same thing in the eyes of another person is pornography, extreme violence, or a hate crime. Take executions. There's footage of illegal executions in Word War 2, and recently with ISIS. Are both of those educational? Maybe with the right context and in a curriculum, sure. But gosh, sure seems it should at least be age restricted on Youtube. I think we have two choices to fix this: First, if the regulators want an educational carve out they need to get incredibly clear what is and is not educational. Or, barring that, then lets create an "educational" platform that can host this sort of content. You know, like OnlyFans, but for "educational" topics.

ianai 3y ago

(US) I think every year in public school for me included a WWII/Holocaust remembrance period. I think across both literature/English and history classes. Seems like public education doesn’t do that anymore. And society is much worse off.

manuelmoreale 3y ago
I’m in northern Italy. Traces of those wars are literally everywhere. One of the largest war memorials is near here [0] Learning history is important. And it’s educational. And if to learn it you have to see something gruesome, so be it. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redipuglia_War_Memorial https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redipuglia_War_Memorial
- ianai 3y ago
  And of course we must avoid presentism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_histo... History is many things including terrible and gruesome. But ignorance of history is no answer.

barelysapient 3y ago

I like your example because its a specific, physical place. Probably part of a syllabus for your class. And hard to argue that, in this context, a profound and educational experience. Now contrast that with online 'educational' content. That's way to vague. One could argue that really just about _anything_ is educational. But that same thing in the eyes of another person is pornography, extreme violence, or a hate crime. Take executions. There's footage of illegal executions in Word War 2, and recently with ISIS. Are both of those educational? Maybe with the right context and in a curriculum, sure. But gosh, sure seems it should at least be age restricted on Youtube. I think we have two choices to fix this: First, if the regulators want an educational carve out they need to get incredibly clear what is and is not educational. Or, barring that, then lets create an "educational" platform that can host this sort of content. You know, like OnlyFans, but for "educational" topics.