Israeli education system dictates priorisation of the Holocaust in the history curriculum

In Israel there is a “national program for significant learning”. Its purpose is to enable certain subjects, which are squeezed into densely packed curricula, to be delved into more deeply. A discussion is now led about compulsory content of the curriculum for high school classes. The learning field Holocaust and its various aspects will get a very high status and cover 30% of the history curriculum. Usually the teachers choose the subjects to be included in “significant learning” by themselves. But the recent reform took this freedom of choice and dictates to set the Holocaust as the most important topic. Critics of this instruction see the risk of students getting kept away from other periods and events in history which might lead to restricted views of the world. Furthermore there is a sneaking suspicion that the government might use the focus on the Holocaust to promote nationalistic and political goals.
More information:
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.612664
Bild: Geograph Ireland / geograph.ie, Copyright Kenneth Allenhttp://www.geograph.ie/profile/2282
Redaktion (sz)