CALIFORNIA STUDENTS STUDYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
yourcentralvalley.com
March 25 2015
At a recent national teaching conference, Fresno Unified’s Mary Janzen
asked her colleagues if they had ever heard of the Armenian Genocide.
28 of the 30 teachers in the room told her they had no idea what
she was talking about. Incredibly, this was a room full of history
teachers.
The Armenian Genocide has always been the lesser known of 20th century
genocides, a fact that understandably frustrates the Central Valley’s
large Armenian population. These people had relatives– often entire
families– killed by Ottoman Turks. 1.5 million were killed. And still,
28 out of 30 history teachers from around the country had never heard
of it.
In recent years, California’s 10th grade curriculum included learning
about the Armenian Genocide. But a recent law is taking that a step
further– requiring the subject to be taught and funded thoroughly.
New history textbooks, when published, will be required to include the
genocide, without any hint of controversy it has carried in the past.
In Fresno Unified, students begin learning about Armenia at a young
age. Students begin learning about the country’s music in elementary
school– it isn’t until later that the Armenian Genocide is taught
in detail.