On 10th Anniversary of Iraq War: Are Schools Teaching History or Pentagon Propaganda? -- Read and Share

If We Knew Our History - Zinn Education Project Monthly Column

Presented by the Zinn Education Project
A Collaboration between Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change

Ten Years After: How Not to Teach
About the Iraq War

By Bill Bigelow

Co-director of the Zinn Education Project and curriculum editor

of Rethinking Schools

In 2006, with U.S. troops occupying Iraq, the great historian and humanitarian Howard Zinn expressed his desire for the end of the war: "My hope is that the memory of death and disgrace will be so intense that the people of the United States will be able to listen to a message that the rest of the world, sobered by wars without end, can also understand: that war itself is the enemy of the human race."

At least in a formal sense, our country's memories of war are to be found in school history textbooks. Exactly a decade after the U.S. invasion, those texts are indeed sending "messages" to young people about the meaning of the U.S. war in Iraq. But they are not the messages of peace that Howard Zinn proposed. Not even close. Read more.

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"Ten Years After: How Not to Teach About the Iraq War" is the newest article in the Zinn Education Project's column called If We Knew Our History posted on Common Dreams, GOOD magazine, and the Huffington Post. You can help us reach a wider audience in three steps:

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Related resources at the Zinn Education Project website

	Teaching About the Wars Teaching Guide. Edited by Jody Sokolower. A collection of articles and lessons for K-12 on U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan and the Middle East.		What War Looks Like Background reading for teachers and high school students. By Howard Zinn. An essay on the impact of war.
	Whose "Terrorism"? Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Using scenarios based on real situations, this lesson helps middle and high school students examine the definition of terrorism and the use of the term terrorism in the media and U.S. foreign policy.		The Most Dangerous Man in America Teaching Guide Teaching Activity. By the Zinn Education Project. Eight lessons for use with the documentary film about Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers, the Vietnam War, and whistleblowing.
	Howard Zinn on War Book - Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. Introduction by Marilyn B. Young. Essays spanning 1962 to 2006 that examine specific wars, wartime incidents, and the force of non-violence to move beyond war, if we are to survive.		Sunrise Over Fallujah Book - Fiction. By Walter Dean Myers. Young adult novel about a U.S. soldier in Iraq.
	Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam Book - Fiction. By Walter Dean Myers. Upper elementary. Sophisticated picture book on one soldier's patrol in Vietnam.		Against War: Alternative Radio Broadcast by Howard Zinn Audio. Broadcast of Howard Zinn's powerful critique of the war against Iraq and the history of U.S. empire building.

More Resources for Teaching about War and the Peace Movement

The goal of the Zinn Education Project is to introduce students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of United States history. www.zinnedproject.org